Nightly Practice To Quiet The Mind

In this meditation, you’ll attune to the gentle rhythm of your breath, as though listening to the ocean within, allowing restless thoughts to dissolve like waves returning to the shore. With nightly practice, the mind grows still, the heart softens, and trust in life flows more freely. Over time, a deeper calm, a softer ease, and a radiant presence may awaken within you. An inner light, timeless and steady, reminding you that abundance and peace are not sought, but remembered.

Music Composer: Music Of Wisdom
Photo Credit: Jochen Breuer

Transcript

Hello,

This is Dani the Yogi Doc welcoming you to this guided meditation session.

I've recorded this session for you as a form of mindfulness meditation with the intention of helping you create a relaxed,

More observant,

Quieter,

More calm mind.

In this session you will be released from the chronic busyness of your daily thoughts,

Allowing you to positively benefit in everything related to your mind,

Body,

And spirit.

This meditation should be listened to daily during the next 10 days to cultivate a loving awareness that will help you maintain calm and presence during challenges.

Sometimes you may find that your own thoughts can build up,

Sometimes so much that it becomes a worrying,

Stressful sort of constant mind chatter.

Maybe you recognize this as an excessive need,

The mind analyzing,

Evaluating,

And replaying certain personal life events repeatedly.

The experience can feel like being trapped in some endless cycle of unhelpful mental activity without clear signs of relief.

Psychologists call this continuing replaying,

This re-analyzing or reframing of one's life events,

Rumination,

And it is often associated with chronic anxiety and depression.

A mindfulness-based meditation practice offers a happier solution to these habits of rumination.

With these relatively simple and easy techniques you're about to learn,

You'll discover how we can train our everyday conscious minds to move toward more productive,

Resourceful states of enjoying the very real feeling of pleasant,

Confident,

Emotional detachment.

And with that,

When you're ready,

Either sit or lie in a comfortable position away from distractions and I invite you to close your eyes.

Allow a wave of relaxation to slowly sleep through your body,

Dissolving any tension you've been holding onto and instilling a sense of peace and serenity.

From the crown of your head,

See this gentle wave relaxing your face,

Shoulders,

Slowly moving down your chest,

Stomach,

Pelvis,

Feeling calm and light.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Allow yourself to relax and let go fully,

Knowing that you are safe.

Now gently allow your awareness to move to your breath,

Noticing the rise and the fall of your chest,

Noticing the rise and fall of your lower stomach.

As you become aware of your diaphragm muscles there,

Bring your attention to your ribs,

Expanding with each breath.

Your ribs gently contracting as each breath exhales,

Remembering there is no need to hold any individual breath,

We are simply becoming aware of the movement of your breath.

As each breath moves in,

And each breath moves out,

Now bring some awareness to the temperature of your body,

The sensations of coolness or warmth,

Perhaps some parts of you are warmer than other parts of your body.

Reminding yourself there is no right way or wrong way,

Just be here.

Becoming aware of sensations of warmth in your hands and your fingers,

Sensations of warmth in your feet,

Your toes,

Your arms,

Or your legs,

And any sensation felt closer in towards the center of your body.

Just notice and become aware of these sensations,

And acknowledge those sensations,

Knowing and understanding that these sensations may change over time,

And that is perfectly normal.

Now becoming aware of your resting body's subtle movements,

Even as you relax,

Allowing those shoulders to fully melt down,

Notice any parts of you that may feel more relaxed than others,

Any parts that may feel tension or tightness,

Again there is no need to force any particular relaxation,

As you're simply allowing your mind to accept whatever it notices and observe,

As you become more aware of your body functioning automatically,

Continuing on all by itself.

Time here is unfolding at its normal pace.

There is no need to rush,

No need to be anywhere else at all.

This moment,

This now,

Is time for you.

Right now is the perfect time for you to learn and gain a better understanding about yourself,

Your reactions,

Your behaviors.

You are becoming more capable of simply observing and accepting that you can rest and remain here fully in the present moment.

Understand that this is the way you are,

Becoming anchored positively into the here and now.

As you continue to breathe,

I invite you to slow down your breathing,

Follow a rhythm that feels comfortable to you.

You can begin by allowing your very next breath in to become just a little slow,

And allowing your next breath out to become just a little longer,

Or slowing your cycle of breathing,

Allowing your mind to inform your rhythm of breath.

Notice that pleasant sense of feedback there,

Your own awareness that reflects back to here,

Becoming aware of how your body can and does naturally respond.

You are simply thinking,

Normally and naturally,

Asking your body to slow down and fill into this calmer breath,

This calmer way of being.

Easily and effortlessly,

Notice your gentler,

Slower breathing.

And because you are extending your awareness here,

Orienting your gentle focus to your breathing,

You may feel that calm and relaxed aura of simply being present,

Which will relax and reassure you with each new breath you take.

As you continue to observe each breath,

It is possible that you are noticing,

Too,

That thoughts are emerging,

And that's okay,

We just want to notice any internal judgments,

Any evaluations,

Which the mind may want to create.

Just observe whatever thought your mind may wish to create,

And sometimes there is a sense of boredom or distraction.

Sometimes there is a label or a phrase.

Sometimes there is a description.

Just simply take note.

When we become aware of the temporary nature of thinking,

Understanding that thoughts come and thoughts go,

And choosing to instead remain just a little further removed,

Because you are allowing yourself space outside of evaluations,

Allowing yourself a space outside of the mind's judgment,

Instead,

You are simply being.

Noticing these judgments for what they are,

Creations of the mind,

As you allow your thoughts to just exist under your own calm observation,

Knowing there is no need to try to control the thoughts or the thinking,

There's no need to try to change.

Perhaps as simple,

I was thinking.

There is simply an allowance and a space given to those thoughts as they play out there across your mind.

And you offer your best acknowledgement to those thoughts,

Accepting and allowing them as they come,

And then allowing them to dissipate and fade away,

Understanding that yes,

These are your thoughts,

But you also know and understand who you are is so much more than simple thoughts.

You can witness sparks of thoughts coming and going.

A single thought can enter your mind's field of awareness,

And you can acknowledge it.

That thought carries its own certain energy,

And sometimes thoughts have a particularly strong energy and like to call attention to themselves.

Some thoughts seem to like to jump up and down,

And yet other thoughts are much more quiet and subdued.

Always,

You can rest and relax,

Observant,

Outside of all thoughts,

As you are choosing to witness and watch from this comfortable distance as each thought simply passes.

Calm and observant in each moment,

You can choose to return your focus and your gentle attention back again to your calming,

Full,

Breathing in and breathing out,

Always able to return to this safe and calm focus of your breath.

Know that you are training your observing mind as you acknowledge and notice.

Begin now to feel that calm expansion.

With each inhale,

You can remain the silent,

Observing watcher of each breath.

Now,

This is the basics of mindful breath awareness,

And this practice in and of itself is a very powerful practice.

By simply allowing yourself to become aware of your calm breathing,

In this way you can gently guide and return your conscious awareness always back to your breath,

Your anchor.

In this way,

You can gently guide and return your conscious awareness always back to your breath,

So that as you allow individual thoughts to enter into your observation,

However,

Wherever,

Whenever they may arise,

It will now offer to those thoughts your calmest acknowledgement,

Just as if a wise older teacher might appreciate and observe the youthful energies of a small child,

And then you may easily watch again as the energies of those very same thoughts fade away and disappear,

And you allow those thoughts to easily continue passing by,

Offering no resistance,

Simply allowing those thoughts to disappear and fade,

And yet you can observe that you and who you truly are always remains observing,

Calmly detached,

Always here in the present moment,

Understanding you are more than your thoughts,

You are more than your reactions,

And in this very real way,

This very real part of you that continues on simply observing and watching and witnessing,

You are easily and naturally able to return your awareness always back to the breath,

Breathing in and breathing out.

You can remain in this mindful state for as long as you wish,

As the background will continue for some time,

And if you are listening to this as you drift off to sleep,

You can further relax your conscious awareness to enter into that pleasant and restful slumber,

So that you will awake feeling rested,

Relaxed,

And re-energized,

Or you may choose to remain awake and alert,

Calmly observant of your own mindful breathing,

Now feeling powerfully confident,

Peacefully detached,

Knowing you may return again to a fully alert state,

And bring this meditation session to a close.

My voice will leave you now to continue as you may,

With infinite love and gratitude.