Find Stillness
This meditation gently guides the listener into stillness, beginning with awareness of the mind and body without judgment. It emphasizes acceptance of whatever thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations are present in the moment. Through breath awareness and a descending count, the body and mind are invited into deeper relaxation. The practice incorporates loving-kindness (metta) by extending wishes of peace, health, and resilience to oneself, loved ones, and even difficult people. The session concludes with a return to the heart center and a reaffirmation of the initial intention, grounding the practice in compassion and presence.
Transcript
And then beginning to settle into your position whenever you feel ready.
And then whenever you feel comfortable,
Beginning to gently close your eyes.
As you close your eyes,
Noticing how you're feeling when you initially started to slow down and find a bit of stillness.
Usually this time is the most difficult when we first start to slow down.
And so noticing how your mind is feeling right now.
Is it a little jittery?
Do you have a lot of thoughts floating?
And as you notice where your mind is right now,
Accepting it.
So welcome exactly how you feel,
Accept exactly how you feel,
Exactly what your mind is doing right now.
And then from our mind,
Let's move into our bodies.
So noticing the exact same thing,
Noticing how you feel physically when you first sat down.
Is your body feeling jittery?
Do you feel a bit tired?
Do you feel excited?
Anxious?
And the same thing we did with our mind,
We're accepting exactly how our body feels when we were first sitting down.
And before we begin to go a little deeper,
I want everyone to set an intention for this meditation today.
So the meditation could be inviting in an aspect of your life that you might need right now.
Maybe right now you're looking for a little inspiration or creativity.
Maybe peace and calmness.
And so if you want to even just say one word that summarizes it,
You can.
And that's just a little bit simpler for you.
So maybe even just saying peace or fluidity.
And after you have set that intention,
That one word for your practice,
Dedicating this next 30 minutes to that idea,
You're ready to go.
Now let's move on to our bodies and noticing how we're feeling physically right now this evening.
Beginning with your forehead.
Noticing if you're scrunching your forehead or if it feels open.
Noticing how your cheeks are feeling.
Is there any tightness within your cheeks?
Is there a difference between your right side and your left side?
Noticing your mouth.
Is your tongue pressed on the top of the mouth or resting on the bottom?
Are your teeth slightly parted or are they closed?
Does your jaw have any tightness?
And as we're examining these physical sensations of the body,
We're staying as simple as we possibly can.
We're just going to say the right corner of my jaw feels a little tighter and we're going to leave it there.
We're not going to analyze why that right corner might feel a certain way.
And then moving on to our throats.
Noticing if your throat feels open,
Relaxed,
Or tight.
Maybe even a different sensation that comes to your mind about how you're physically feeling within the throat.
Noticing how your shoulders are feeling.
Checking in simply,
Just noticing the physical sensations of your shoulders.
Noticing if there is a difference between the right side and the left.
Moving down onto our arms.
Noticing how the arms are feeling in this exact moment.
And your hands.
Are you clenching your hands?
Are the fingers opened and not touching each other?
Are the fingers close together?
Simply just noticing how you're physically feeling.
Moving on to the chest.
Does this area feel open?
Does it feel tight,
Constricted at all?
Is there a color associated with it?
And you may not know all of the answers,
So just stick with what you do know.
Checking in with the belly.
Is the belly moving gently with the breath?
Does it feel constricted or tight in any area?
Moving on to our hips.
Noticing are you gripping anywhere?
Does your right side feel different than your left side?
And the same thing with your glutes.
If you are seated or lying down,
Are you gripping them at all?
Or are they well supported by the surface below you?
How do your thighs physically feel?
Are they open?
Are they relaxed?
And moving to the lower legs.
And then on to the feet.
If you're lying down,
Noticing where you're healing.
And continuing to hold your awareness into the physical body.
Maybe checking in with the belly.
Checking in with a couple more points or maybe one more point.
So it can be an area that I have already named.
Or maybe you want to examine a physical area a little more.
And as you mentally examine these physical areas of the body,
If at any point you feel like you need to release anything or move and shift,
Allow yourself to do so.
So you don't need to feel like you need to stay still the entire time.
And now beginning to move on to our breath.
If you have not checked in with that area already.
Noticing the flow of the inhale as it travels down the torso.
And then the exhale as it gently travels back up the torso.
And then out the nose again.
And as you're examining the breath mentally,
Noticing the parts of the body that begin to rise with the inhale.
The chest,
The ribs,
The belly.
And as you exhale,
Noticing these parts of the body that gently fall.
And as you exhale,
Noticing that gentle release sensation that comes with exhale.
And then beginning to count your exhale,
Starting with the number 10,
Going all the way down to the number one.
And so beginning with inhaling,
Exhaling 10,
And then continuing to inhale,
Exhale nine,
And then continuing to travel all the way down to one.
And as you lower down through the numbers,
Your body continues to drift into a deeper state of relaxation.
With each exhale,
Your body settles a bit more into the surface that is supporting you.
With each exhale,
You release a bit more.
And continuing to make yourself,
To count all the way down to number one.
And allowing the entire body to relax.
And now I want you to bring to mind someone for whom you have deep feelings of love.
Seeing or sensing this person in no particular way,
Noticing your feelings that arise within the body.
Maybe a simple smile spreads across your face.
Allowing yourself to feel exactly what begins to arise.
And now letting go of this person in your imagination,
But keeping the awareness that the feelings brought forth.
And bring yourself to mind now.
And see if you can offer yourself loving kindness by letting these words become your words.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I ride the waves of my life.
May I live in peace,
No matter what is given.
And noticing any feelings or sensations that arise.
And when you are comfortable,
Bring to mind someone who supports you.
Someone who has always been by your side.
And bringing this person to your mind,
And letting these words become your words.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you ride the waves of your life.
May you live in peace,
No matter what you are given.
And noticing any sounds that might be arising around.
Noticing any distractions.
And bringing your attention back into your body.
And now bringing to mind someone which you might have difficulty with.
And maybe not starting with the most difficult person.
And with this person in your awareness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you ride the waves of your life.
May you live in peace,
No matter what you are given.
And now,
Now bringing to mind the broader community of which you are part of.
You can imagine your family,
Your neighbors,
Or maybe even fanning out to all persons and creatures on this planet,
Including yourself.
And let these words become your words.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we ride the waves of our lives.
May we live in peace,
No matter what we are given.
Noticing any physical sensations that arise.
After you let those words become yours.
And now bringing your attention into your heart center,
The very center of your chest.
And with your attention on this area,
Calling to mind that word that you said at the very beginning,
That intention that you said.
And as you inhale,
Silently repeating to yourself,
I am.
And as you exhale,
Using that word,
Peace,
Settled,
Happy.
We will be continuing here using our breath.
And this phrase,
This intention that you said.
Inhaling,
I am.
And then exhaling,
Whatever word you need right now.
And continuing to stay with these words.
And if at any point your mind wanders,
Just noticing that it did.
And gently coming back.
And if at any point you feel as though you can release these words,
And this meditation takes you into a different place,
Allowing yourself to do so.
But if you need the focal point to stay right here and now,
Staying with the inhaling,
I am.
And then the exhaling,
The word that you need.
And then gently finishing up wherever you are.
Allowing the mind to travel back into the physical body.
Noticing how the physical body feels now.
Notice areas that maybe felt tight before.
Maybe they feel a little less tight.
Noticing maybe any area that you were gripping.
Maybe it feels a little different.
And noticing your mind.
Noticing if there was any shift from when we first began.
From when we first started.
Noticing that the longer we stay in stillness,
What changes?
And then gently bringing your hands into a prayer position in front of your heart center.
And if you're lying down,
You can just stack one hand on top of the heart,
And then the other one directly on top,
On the center of the chest.
Bow to the space behind your hands,
Your heart chakra.
And as you bow,
Send yourself a message of love or of gratitude.
Or maybe even that word that you said at the very beginning.
And from my heart space to each of yours,
May you be happy,
You be healthy.
May you ride the waves of your life.
May you live in peace,
No matter what you are given.
Namaste.
