Soften Into Spaciousness: 12 Minute Visualization Meditation

In this short 12-minute meditation you are guided through a powerful yet gentle visualization practice to learn to co-exist with and find space from your thoughts.

As you sit as the observer of your thoughts, instead of the main character in them, you can begin to gain some perspective on the stories passing through your mind: to find space from anxiety, stress, or self-criticism and even learn to use them as tools for your greatest evolvement.

Expect to be guided into a state of calmness, clarity, and quiet empowerment.

Transcript

Hi, My name is Ellie. I'm here to guide you through this meditation today. Make sure that you're sitting comfortably, Either with your legs crossed or sitting on the chair with your feet flat on the floor. Lengthen through your spine so you feel that inner lift from the grounding at your hips to the length of your waist. Lengthening through the back of your neck. Soften your jaw, Soften your tongue and if you'd like to invite your eyes to close. In today's meditation I'll be guiding you through a visualization aiming to assist in cultivating that feeling of being the observer to your thoughts instead of the main character in them. We can get so caught up in the story that our mind weaves. Our meditation practice offers us up some space from the drama of the mind and perspective as to what's true, Which thoughts are helpful and which thinking patterns we can start to shift, To transmute and to turn into our power. You see, Thinking is never right or wrong. We have helpful thoughts and unhelpful thoughts. Some may be repeating patterns moving through your mind of anxiety or stress that we'd rather resist or avoid. If we turn into and really open our arms to those thought patterns, We can use them as a radical tool for learning, For growth and for transmuting pain, Into power. But to do that we have to first detach ourselves from the story of the thought by learning to coexist with it. So through our visualization today that's what we'll learn to begin to start cultivating. A note on visualization if you haven't practiced much before. Rarely do we have a clear cinema screen image flowing through our mind at all times. It's more likely to be flashes of images and that's okay. Begin to drop into your breathing, Breathing in and out through your nose as best you can, Resting your awareness on wherever in your body you sense that flow of breath the most. Is it at the rise and fall of your belly, The expansion at your ribcage or maybe the rise and fall of your chest or somewhere else? See if you can just take a moment here to connect with that flow of breathing, Maybe even lengthening your exhale if you feel particularly restless or stressed today. In your mind's eye start to visualize a scene, Imagining yourself sat on the bank of a river. Imagine that scene sat next to the river, Like you're watching the water flow past you. There's some pace behind the water but it's not rushing. You notice that glitter of the sunlight dancing across the water as it passes past you. Notice what else is here in your scene, Knowing that it will always be different. Are there trees by this river? Animals? Flowers? How's the weather where you are? Just continue imagining that flow of water passing past you. Which direction is it going? In this visualization the river and the water represent your mind and your thoughts. You sitting next to that river represent your awareness. Notice that you're not the water, You're not the river, You're not swimming with the tide. It's simply flowing past you. Your thoughts are the same. Thoughts come and go and they flow through the mind. With this subtle sense of detachment you can see them for what they are, Just passing visitors. So as we sit here for the next few minutes, Simply maintain this visualization, Watching the river and watching the water flow past you as and when your mind starts to wander, Knowing that it will. Can you imagine or even place that thought into the water and watch it flow past, Leaving clear running water behind it. Come back to you, Come back to that feeling of sitting and watching that water flow past, Watching the sunlight glitter, Watching the water flow and meander and just repeating that process as and when your mind starts to wander just for the next couple of minutes here. I'll mind the time and I'll come back to you in a few minutes. If your mind has started to wander, Come back to that visualization, Imagining yourself sat by the water, Watching that river flowing past you. Place that thought in the water, Allow it to flow past and watch it flow past you as the observer to it, Not the main character in it, Not drowning in the water, Just watching it and just continue that process for the next minute or so here. Once you're ready to, From wherever your mind is, Can you arrive back into your body? Feel the connection between your body and whatever is supporting you, Your chair or the floor. Feel that sense of groundedness there, Of arriving here. Take a moment of gratitude towards yourself for cultivating some space from your thoughts today. Maybe start taking some conscious deep breaths and whenever you're ready to, Slowly start to open your eyes. Enjoy the rest of your day and take care.