Settle in just where you are at this very instant,
Coming into this precise moment that you have given for yourself to care for yourself through meditation.
Acknowledge without judgment or grasping all the moments and minutes and hours that preceded this meditation,
And accept without over-eagerness or anxiety that there will be moments after.
But you are only here right now.
Make yourself comfortable.
If you're at ease doing so,
You can close your eyes.
Begin to settle in.
Begin to be slower,
Heavier,
And paradoxically lighter.
Noticing your body,
Its volume and weight,
Expanding all the way out to your outermost skin cells,
Where the world beyond begins and meets you.
Witness any discomforts,
A stomach ache,
A shoulder tightness,
A joint pain.
You've come into this meditation with a world of experiences,
And they've led you to these comforts and discomforts.
Welcome them all,
And breathe.
Breathe in and out.
Just notice where you're beginning.
And then with each subsequent breath,
Fractionally deeper on the inhale,
And fractionally longer on the exhale,
As a way to still the mind.
Recognizing that the mind can never be perfectly quiet.
There's always chatter as blood flows through your neurons,
And the neurons are activated and activate memory,
Thoughts,
And words,
Sensation.
That's the glorious nature of your brain,
And therefore your mind is rather ideal.
But if your thoughts carry you away and unspool in difficult directions,
Just return to my voice.
Take note of the place in which you find yourself,
And come back to deeper and longer breathing,
Settling in.
Knowing that your breath is feeding your body systems and cells with oxygen,
That your digestion contributes necessary energy,
Vitamins,
Minerals,
Amino acids,
The formation of your cells and the working of your organs,
Takes stock of your body and its magnificence,
Your first and best home.
You're breathing a little deeper on the inhale,
And a little longer on the exhale.
Listening to the small,
Still voice of the authentic and vulnerable you within,
Drawing inward by way of your attention and your breath.
Perhaps there's something in your life,
Something about your character that you would like to change.
Some piece of you or action that does not adequately represent your highest self.
Maybe you can put it into a word,
Or an image,
Or simply a feeling,
A sensation of a piece of you that you'd like to be less of,
And do less of.
You don't need to dwell on it,
Or get down over it.
Just want to name it,
Or notice it.
If you can notice and identify it,
Then return to your breath.
Just come back to a settling into the stillness and quiet,
And a deepening of your breathing,
And a relaxation of your muscles.
Continuing to breathe,
Continuing to feel the weight and paradoxical lightness of your body,
Continuing to settle into a greater stillness and quiet that is never and can never be perfectly silent.
Let's return to that small,
Still voice somewhere in your core,
Your deepest sense of self.
Draw in with breath,
Or simply your mind's eye,
And notice something you'd like to have more of,
A blessing as you move forward.
Some part of yourself,
Some regular or irregular action that you'd like to expand.
Again,
You can name it,
Or just give it an image,
Or merely note the sensation of this particular blessing.
Something you're good at that you want more of.
Return to your breath.
Come comfortably and deeply into yourself,
The moment in which you find yourself of this meditation.
However you've identified your deficit and your blessing,
Whether it's in word,
Or image,
Or sensation,
Or maybe something that's inexpressible,
We're going to spend most of the remainder of our time breathing in for more blessing.
Breathing in for more blessing,
And breathing out what is deficit within us,
What we would like to have and do less of after this meditation.
So begin breathing in with the blessing of something you would like more of,
And breathing out the deficit of something you would choose to have less of after this meditation.
You may breathe in on the word of blessing and breathe out on the word of lack,
Or you may just ask for those things without precisely naming them.
And I'll just gently cue you to breathe in on blessing and out on deficit for the remainder of this meditation.
Breathe in what is good.
Breathe out what no longer serves you.
Breathe in what you want more of and breathe out what you want less of.
In and out.
Breathe in what you hope to increase and breathe out what you hope to decrease.
Continue breathing in more blessing and letting go of any deficits.
In and out until you hear the closing bells.
