An Invitation To Settle The Mind

One of the common misconceptions of mindfulness meditation is to stop your thoughts and clear your mind. In fact, that is quite the opposite. Through meditation, we hope to become aware of the thinking and sit with it.

There are some days when the mind is busier than others. This meditation invites you to become aware of your thoughts and emotions. We will use the breath to soften, soothe, and release tension in the body and invite stillness into this present moment.

It can be done anywhere or anytime when you need a moment of calm.

From my heart to yours.

Transcript

Hey friend,

Let's take a moment to ease your way into your meditation position.

It could be sitting or lying down,

One that serves you best today.

Once you're settled,

Take a moment to notice if there are any areas of physical tension.

Maybe you just breathe into them.

Maybe you physically stretch them or massage them out for a moment,

Whatever intuitively feels good right now.

Do that and allow your body to soften.

Now let's take five deep cleansing breaths.

Breathe in through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

Allow these breaths to soften your body further and remove negativity and heaviness from within.

Sink into the stillness of your body and just become aware of the thoughts and feelings.

Do not assign judgment,

But just observe them and call them out as they appear,

Almost like you are watching someone else having these feelings and thoughts,

And you're just making note of what you see.

If you're feeling anxious,

Just say,

I'm feeling anxious and try to let it go.

It's just a feeling.

Relate any thoughts or emotions that are present with a gentle awareness,

Recognizing them for what they are,

A passing phenomena.

Observe them,

Allow them to be present without clinging,

Then let them go with ease.

Take the moment to notice if there are any last thoughts or feelings and then ease into the stillness of the moment.

Now bring your awareness to your breath,

Your smooth,

Effortless,

Natural breath.

Feel the cool air move in through the nostrils,

Down your throat,

Into your lungs and the warm air moving back out through your nostrils.

Cool air in,

Warm air out.

Easy,

Simple and effortless.

Become aware of where you feel the breath most in the body,

As at the nose,

The lungs,

The belly.

Just rest your awareness there.

Feel the stillness and quiet that surround you,

Like the calm of the sea after a storm.

No movement,

No disturbances,

Just clear waters extending all the way to the horizon.

Notice you and the present moment becoming one.

And now start to let go of this meditation.

Begin to bring a little bit of movement back into your body,

Perhaps a little wiggle of your fingers,

Your toes.

And whenever you're ready,

Slowly blinking your eyes open,

Maybe take another deeper stretch out.

Thank you for practicing with me and remember to be kind to your mind.