Welcome to this guided meditation.
My name is Eric and I invite you to get settled.
Fully arriving into this space together.
And allowing yourself to become fully relaxed.
Taking a breath in through the nose.
And sign it out.
If your thoughts have been looping,
Replaying conversations.
Rehearsing what you should have said.
Imagining every possible outcome.
We're trying to solve something that may not even have an answer yet.
Just remember.
You're not alone.
Your mind isn't broken.
It's simply trying to protect you.
It's diligently searching for certainty.
Looking for an answer.
Trying to think its way towards safety.
And sometimes,
It simply doesn't know when to stop.
So for the next few minutes here,
We're not going to fight your thoughts.
We're not going to force the mind to become quiet.
Or simply going to give it somewhere softer to land.
Take a moment here and bring awareness back to your breathing.
Feel each inhale.
And feeling the exhale.
Notice that your body is here.
Because while your thoughts may be traveling into the past,
Or projecting themselves into the future.
Your body has never left this moment.
And each breath is an invitation to come home.
You don't have to believe every thought that enters your mind.
Thoughts are events,
Not instructions,
Not predictions,
Not problems that all need to be solved.
It's just mental activity.
And sometimes we get caught in the belief that if we think about something long enough,
We'll finally think our way out of it.
But you can't always outthink your way out of something you thought your way into.
Sometimes more thinking simply creates more thinking.
More questions.
More scenarios.
More loops.
So instead of trying to find the perfect thoughts,
Try changing your relationship with the thoughts that are already here.
If a thought arises,
Notice it.
Acknowledge it.
You don't have to push it away.
You don't have to argue with it,
And you might even appreciate it.
Thank you.
I know you're trying to help.
And then,
Just let it pass.
Let it go.
Give yourself permission to return to the breath and silence.
Because the thoughts we resist often become the thoughts we keep returning to.
What you fight for your attention can become what holds your attention.
So just let the thought be there.
Without giving it the responsibility of deciding what happens next.
Your mind's eye,
Imagine placing each thought onto a leaf floating down a gentle stream.
Some will move quickly.
Others linger for a while,
And that's okay.
You don't need to push them downstream.
You don't need to chase after them.
Just let them move at their own pace.
And as one thought passes,
There is room for another.
Maybe a more grounded thought.
A more compassionate thought.
A thought that reminds you.
I don't need to figure this out right now.
I can be here.
And I can take the next step when it's time.
Notice the space between the thoughts,
Even if it's only a second.
Recalling that that space has always been there.
Quiet,
Steady,
Available.
And if your mind feels especially activated right now.
If you're having trouble settling.
Let's give your body a little more support.
We're going to practice the physiological sigh.
And that's simply two short gentle inhales through the nose and then one long slow exhale through the mouth So let's try it together here.
We'll inhale through the nose.
And then a second smaller inhale.
And slowly exhaling out through the mouth.
And again.
Inhaling.
Small inhale.
Long,
Slow exhale out.
This exhale can be through the nose or the mouth.
And again.
Inhale,
Small of him.
Exhaling out.
Once again,
Inhale.
Smaller him.
Exhaling out.
And help.
And again.
Exhaling out.
Inhale again.
Once more and exhale out.
We'll do four more like that.
Inhaling through the nose.
Want more?
Exhaling out.
Once more?
Exhaling out.
You Two more,
Inhale.
And again.
Exhaling out.
And what's more.
And again.
Exhaling out.
Letting your breathing return back to normal.
And just take a moment to notice your body.
Noticing the space around you.
You may still have thoughts,
And that's okay.
But the goal was never to eliminate them.
But the practice is learning that you can have a thought without becoming the thought.
Simply observe it with curiosity and compassion.
And you can feel activation without needing to immediately act on it.
And you can experience uncertainty without solving your entire future in your mind.
So as you move through the rest of your day,
Remember this.
A busy mind doesn't mean something is wrong.
It just may simply mean that your mind has been working very hard.
And perhaps what it needs isn't more effort,
But a little kindness,
A little space,
A little trust.
Let's take one final slow breath together.
And sign it out.
And remind yourself.
I don't have to figure everything out right now.
I simply just have to be here,
Right here,
Right now,
In this breath.
In this moment.
And then the next.
Carry that gentleness with you.
If this track supported you in any way,
Please follow me here on Insight Timer.
And consider leaving a kind review,
As it helps more people find this work.
My name is Eric.
Be well and be inspired.
Namaste.
