Welcome to today's meditation.
My name is Elizabeth and today I will be your guide inside.
Today I would like to talk a little bit about our relationship to the chattering mind.
I often say allow your thoughts to be drops of water.
They say we have 60 to 80,
000 thoughts a day.
We can think of that like rain falling from the sky.
And we cannot stop the rain from raining,
Just like we cannot stop the thoughts that pass by.
Meditation and mindfulness are wonderful ways for us to deepen into equanimity.
Deepening into a space where we allow these drops of water to come and go.
Simply moving through our mind like rain.
Yet often a thought moves through your mind that grabs your attention.
And where attention goes,
Energy flows.
So what was once a drop of water becomes a thought stream and then a river of thinking.
And then we are drowning in an ocean of thinking.
So something like a worried thought may come up in life and we grab onto it,
We pay attention to it,
And then we find ourselves drowning in that ocean of thinking.
This is what happens.
But the more that we can understand that where attention goes,
Energy flows,
And the more that we can sharpen our tool of awareness or our focus,
We can come back to the present moment.
We can move our attention into our body,
Noticing that this thought may be creating some turbulence inside my heart.
So I want to invite you to allow the thoughts to come and go.
And when you get lost in a thought stream,
River,
Or ocean,
It's not a problem.
Simply once you notice that,
We can close our eyes.
We pause and we bring our awareness from our mind down into our body.
So let's do that now.
Just gently closing your eyes and sitting in a place that's comfortable if you want to lie down and just noticing what's happening here in your heart center.
And maybe place one hand on the heart and one on the belly.
This position is wonderful for our nervous system.
So this practice of pausing and bringing our awareness into our body and then connecting with our breath,
Feeling the movement of the breath as your hands move up and down,
Not judging if I'm breathing in my belly or in my chest,
Just noticing where the movement is and allowing the breath to be a gentle massage to any energies you are aware of and even inviting it to massage those energies we aren't quite aware of.
Pausing with breath is a wonderful way for us to rewire our brains.
So let's go a little bit deeper here now.
The mantra for today is Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti means peace.
So we will repeat Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti in silence.
And as I mentioned,
You will have other thoughts that come and go.
And if you get distracted,
That's totally normal.
Just come back to the mantra anytime you notice I'm in other thinking or I'm not saying the mantra.
This is how we learn to come back to the present moment,
Just like we come back to the mantra.
So this practice is very teaching.
And also the vibrational power of the Sanskrit is one that I find incredibly nourishing to my entire being.
So we begin by saying it aloud together,
Shanti.
And now whisper,
Shanti.
And now repeating in silence.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
Shanti.
You You Shanti Allow yourself to connect in to the inner shift that you may feel in your body In your heart and in your mind I'm so grateful to have this time with you guiding you inside And I invite you to bring more pauses to your day Especially when you find yourself lost in any oceans of thinking Simply pause Bringing your awareness back into the present moment So that these oceans of thinking May become simply drops of water I wish you a day or evening of peace Shanti You
