Find a comfortable position.
You can do this standing seated or lying down.
But position yourself so that you don't use much excess energy just to support your posture.
Come into relaxation.
Make yourself cozy.
When you're ready,
If you're comfortable,
You could close your eyes and just arrive.
In some measure,
You've hurried or scurried to be here.
And in some ways,
You'll probably rush off afterward.
There are things you may worry about.
Give yourself permission to spend about 20 minutes not worrying about or even thinking about any particular thing.
But just coming into your body and your space and your breathing,
Listening,
Settling down,
And settling into a pleasant,
Quiet that is not silent nor perfectly still.
But just sedate,
Calming.
When you are distracted during this meditation,
Just breathe.
Extend your breath in and slow your breath out.
Minds wander,
Thoughts play as neurons fire inevitably.
So when you notice yourself getting distracted,
Just listen to my voice.
Notice your body and feel your breath.
It doesn't have to be much more complicated than that.
And meditation can just be a chance to let yourself be bored and wonderfully unproductive.
Breathing in,
Letting it out slowly.
In deeply,
Out slowly.
When you exhale,
You may use the ancient biblical word salah,
A breath speak,
Or you could even just yawn.
Whatever helps you stay calm,
Peaceful.
Letting your breath and gravity do their thing to release and relax muscles,
Soften joints,
Settle in,
Settle down.
In our mind's eye,
We'll go on a little trek.
In this trek,
We'll consider the challenges we've faced,
Where we are now,
And what we might need for challenges ahead.
All the resources you might already possess and some that you will need to cultivate.
Breathing in,
Exhale,
Salah.
Typically,
The most significant and valuable experiences in life were gained through difficulty,
Challenge,
And effort.
Look back on those rocky places in your life.
You may choose an incident or a period or just an experience of emotion.
What thoughts and images and especially sensations come up when you reflect on difficult history?
If it makes you tense,
Just breathe into it,
Letting breath and gentle attention and even gravity soothe.
What traits and capacities did you discover in yourself during those difficult times or experiences?
Let them come up in words or images or just sensations.
What did you learn about yourself?
What skills did you need to grow or knowledge did you need to attain?
What skills did you need to grow or knowledge did you need to attain to persevere and overcome challenges in the past?
How do you feel about the efforts you put in,
The hard work in those challenging times?
You might want to speak to yourself words of compassion,
Gratitude,
And pride for what you did.
Breathe all that in,
Let it out.
Take it all in,
Let it out.
Salah,
Where do you stand today?
What hills and mountains have you climbed to reach this point in your life,
At this moment of this meditation?
What depths have you discovered about yourself?
Reservoirs of strength and talent within.
Are there places of challenge still?
Times where you might consistently fall short,
Be shallow or be in a state of confusion,
Or feel hollow?
Take a moment to accept yourself,
Accepting that we all have room to grow every day of our life.
Breathing in and out.
Breathing in and taking in all that you have gained and grown,
And all that's still possible to do.
Consider in your mind's eye the next phase of your life,
Mysterious it might be.
Look over the excitements and challenges ahead,
As one might look on a valley from a hillside or mountaintop,
Surveying it all in its beauty from a distance.
Acknowledge what about the next period excites you,
And of what might you be afraid.
Breathe into that.
Slowing yourself down with your breath,
If you get caught in fantasy or peril.
Now we're just surveying from a distance what could be.
What strengths and capacities do you already have,
And what are you still lacking?
What strengths and capacities do you already have that you can carry forward in this next time?
Wow,
You are very powerful and skilled.
From a lifetime of living,
What new skills or simply habits of mind do you think you might need to cultivate moving forward?
Give yourself permission to grow,
With no shame that you aren't there yet.
Breathe into it all,
The excitement,
The fear,
The sheer possibility of future.
Take it all in.
Breathing in and out.
Taking some more time just to accept with generous awareness.
