Coming into a point of stillness,
Letting your eyes close if you're in a place to do so,
Noticing the length of your spine,
Whether you're standing,
Seated,
Or lying down,
The entire length of your whole body,
In fact,
And its mass,
The pull of gravity alone giving you cause to settle down,
To become heavy and still.
Slow down your breathing a little at a time,
With every breath fractionally deeper on the inhale,
And marginally slower on the exhale,
Deepening and slowing down,
Coming into a deeper stillness,
And a more profound quiet,
Accepting that stillness always contains fidgeting and vibration,
And that quiet is never perfectly silent,
And the energy of mindfulness is just becoming attuned to those factors inside and outside of your body,
The little perturbations in the quiet of the stillness,
Accepting all the rough edges,
Breathing in deeper,
Breathing out slower,
Feeling your body expand and soften with the breath,
Becoming heavier and paradoxically also lighter,
And just as quiet is never silent,
So too your mind cannot be still perfectly,
Your brain and its neurons are always fluctuating,
Part of thinking,
You have to do that to be alive,
So don't fight it,
Your mind will move over the course of a meditation,
Let it drift by,
Try not to hold on to any one particular thought,
Imagine a comfortable evening outside,
The sky is dark,
Yet brightly lit by a full moon,
And you are you on the ground,
Bathed in the light,
The air is just right for you,
Whatever your preference,
Whatever thoughts or worries or excitements you feel,
The full moon is steady,
Breathing in and out,
Inhaling the glow and exhaling with ease,
Just as you remain,
The moon is constant,
Even as it wanes over the course of a week to become roughly a half moon,
Its gravity is still there,
Moving the tides,
Picture yourself in that dimmer light,
Breathing in the shadows and glow,
In and out,
And whenever feelings or thoughts cross your mind and traverse your body,
The moon remains,
Changing in brightness,
But not its presence,
And you are steady,
Held between the gravity of Earth and the gravity of the moon,
Breathing in and out,
Imagine yourself outside on a comfortable night under the new moon,
Visibly absent,
And inviting darkness all around,
But you can be sure the moon still is,
Just as you still are,
In all of your phases,
Coming and going,
Whatever your experience at this moment,
The moon remains,
And you remain,
Experience is transitory and fleeting,
Breathing in deeply and out slowly,
Roughly another week passes,
The moon waxes again to a half moon,
Whatever changes in your life,
The moon remains,
You remain,
Held between the specific gravity of the Earth and its satellite,
The moon,
The light of the moon increases,
But it is always the same,
Constant and consistent,
And whatever the perturbations in your emotional state or mental activity,
Like the moon,
There is a you that is unchanging,
Breathe into that,
Inhaling fully,
Exhaling with care,
And again,
And again,
Like the tide,
Even when another week passes and the moon becomes full again,
It has not changed,
And likewise,
There is an essence to you that is unchanged,
Experience changes,
Feelings change,
Thoughts change,
But the moon,
Despite appearances,
Remains,
And if you imagine an evening again under the full moon,
Respect the part of it that has never changed,
And as you breathe,
Honor the part of you that is also consistent,
And as you breathe,
Honor the part of you that is also consistent,
Please open your eyes when you are ready to return.
