Hey there,
Thanks for joining me today.
This is a breathing and visualization meditation designed to offer you relaxation,
Alertness,
And perspective.
You'll be using the breath as a tool to focus awareness on the sensations of the body.
Settle into a cross-legged posture with your hands open facing upward.
Maintain a straight back with its natural curves.
With your face slightly upturned,
Allow your focus to rest between the eyebrows,
Then gently close the eyes and mouth.
I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which this meditation was created and will be practiced on around the world.
I call on the spirit ancestors to walk with us as we share and learn together.
I acknowledge that they have occupied and cared for this space over countless generations and I celebrate their continuing contribution to the life of this planet.
Check in with the body.
Observe any sensations.
Check in with the mind.
Each thought is a cloud floating by.
Check in with your emotions.
Simply notice any impulsive reactions.
Dropping deep down into the body now.
Sensing the gentle weight of gravity holding you in place.
The contact points with your surroundings.
Balance of the body.
The gentle ease of the body sitting.
The aliveness inside the body.
The life energies that animate you.
Any body sensations,
Acknowledge by placing awareness on them,
Then return to the breath.
Any thoughts,
Acknowledge them and return to the breath.
Any emotions coming up,
That's alright,
Acknowledge them and return to the breath.
This is the practice.
This is where the act of simply being can be felt at its core.
Breathing.
Breathing.
Observing.
Noticing how the breath rises to the sky on the inhales and falls down to the earth on the exhale.
As we continue,
You can mentally note sky on the inhale and the word earth on the exhale.
When your attention has wandered,
Gently bring your focus to the body breathing itself.
There is no resistance in this practice,
Allowing the mind to wander off and witnessing it has done so is okay.
This is the practice.
Welcome this to happen.
Embrace this cycle.
It is how you will improve and gain mastery over your energies and your ability to focus and manage any situation that you find yourself in.
You are an individual.
A complete life.
You are one with life.
You are boundless.
You are beyond thought and body and emotion.
You are boundless.
Returning to the breath cycle.
Each time your focus has wandered.
In sky.
Out earth.
Rising sky.
Falling earth.
In sky.
Out earth.
Rising sky.
Falling earth.
Now,
Letting go of the repetition,
Just releasing and relaxing the body.
Allow the image of a hawk to appear in the mind's eye.
This image may be blurry,
Vivid,
Or non-existent yet.
If the hawk appears,
Notice its feathers,
The way they move against the wind.
Noticing its alert eyes,
Its curved beak,
Muscular legs,
Sharp talons.
Seeing the bird flying.
Seeing the long wings steadily guiding its body as its eyes keep a lookout.
If you wish,
Imagining being the hawk now,
Sensing its aliveness.
The bird takes off from its perch and the wings are activated for flight.
The feet tucked in.
You drop a bit before rising higher and higher.
All of the land is beneath you and only the sky above.
Your eyes are super keen.
Your sense of hearing is acute.
You're able to soar high in the sky and see everything below.
In sky.
Out earth.
Rising sky.
Falling earth.
In sky.
Out earth.
Rising sky.
Falling earth.
In sky.
Out earth.
Rising sky.
Falling earth.
This vantage point offers you perspective.
Notice the way that everything feels up here.
You're in a place of observation and choosing when to act.
You have the ability to exist in a space without impulse or distraction.
You see everything beneath you all laid out and you're just noticing what's down there.
Coming from a distance.
Your thoughts are passing like clouds.
Identify with the sky,
Not the clouds.
Everything from a distance.
Your body is soaring in complete stillness.
Identify with the wind,
Not the object.
Coming from a distance.
Your emotions are still like a pond without disturbance.
Identify with the pond's clear reflection,
Not the water.
Notice how there is some gentle space growing between you and your thoughts.
You and your body.
You and your emotions.
This gentle space continues to grow with each breath.
Your perspective on life comes from what you are able to see.
If your thoughts,
Emotions,
Or the physical realm become too dominant,
You lose sight of the bigger picture,
The spiritual,
And the connectedness.
Sitting in silence and focusing our awareness on the act of simply being,
We can raise our consciousness and elevate our existence to new levels of pleasantness.
If you can be the hawk with the mind,
Body,
Emotions,
Or life energies,
Then you can go beyond perceived limitations and gain perspective.
In bringing this meditation to a close,
Come back to a full awareness of the body.
Recognizing that awareness contains everything we are.
Simply take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in and breathe out.
Take your own time in slowly opening the eyes once again.
See if you can take this quality of awareness with you into your day and into your life.
May your presence be your blessing to yourself and to all.
Thank you for sharing your meditation practice with me.
Namaste.
Namaste.
