Welcome to the Stay With Yourself Flow Like a River meditation.
Let's start by getting comfortable.
You could sit in a chair with your feet firmly planted on the floor and your hands gently resting in your lap.
Feel your spine tall and upright,
Supported so that the front of your body can soften and open,
Allowing your heart space to expand.
You might also be more comfortable laying on your back,
Again allowing the back of your body to feel comforted and supported so that the front of your body can soften and open.
Whatever posture you choose,
You can use blankets or pillows for optimal comfort and pause this meditation if you need more time to get comfortable.
We will start by breathing.
Take several deep breaths in through your nose,
Out through your mouth.
And with each inhale,
Imagine your tummy as an empty balloon being filled with air.
And on each exhale,
Release tension and allow your body to relax further.
Breathe deeply into your neck and shoulders.
Inhale deeply,
Exhale,
Release tension.
Breathe into your arms.
Exhale,
Release tension.
Breathe deeply into your hips.
Ah,
Exhale,
Release tension.
Breathe down into your legs.
Relax your body further.
Breathe into your heart space and up into your face,
Relaxing and opening.
And when you're ready,
Come back to your normal breathing.
I would like you to imagine you are standing on the edge of a gently flowing stream.
Notice that it's not terribly deep.
Dip your toes in the water.
Notice that the water is refreshing.
It's not too cold.
Slowly step down into the stream.
Take your way to the center of it.
Notice that it's deep enough for you to be able to sit down in the middle of the stream,
Comes up to about your waist,
And you can just sit here nice and easy.
Feel the stream flowing around your body,
The refreshing coolness on your hips and waist and lower body.
The weight slightly tugs at you but doesn't push you.
You can put your hands and lower arms down into the water and feel that gentle flow massaging your skin,
Refreshing your tired muscles.
Notice the environment around you.
The landscape.
Is the sun shining?
Is the air warm?
Are there trees?
Are there flat lands?
Are there mountains or animals?
Just take a moment to sit in the stream.
Feel it refreshing and cool on your body.
Breeze fresh air on your face and breathe deeply here,
Just sitting in this nice stream of water.
Take in your surroundings.
Feel how peaceful it is here out in nature.
Everything in perfect balance,
Everything aligned,
All is well in the world here in this stream,
This gently flowing stream that you have now become a part of by sitting in the middle of its flow.
Now imagine that you're able to lean back a little bit to the back of your body is touching the stream.
Feel the water flowing around your head and neck.
And allow this stream to just gently carry you along and trust its flow as you lay on the surface of this shallow,
Easy,
Gentle stream.
Feel the peace of it.
Look up at the sky as you float along on this easy,
Gentle water.
Allow yourself to just be carried.
The lazy river feels so good to just lay back and relax and be carried.
Water the softest thing on earth that wears away stone.
This gentle,
Loving stream.
Let it carry you and trust that you will not be carried anywhere that you don't want to be or you can't find your way back from.
And as you're carried along,
As you feel the warmth of the air and the sun in the sky and the wilderness around you,
Start to feel the edges of your body begin to sort of evaporate and soften and become one with the stream.
Feel your feet and hands sort of dissipate and become the stream.
Feel your arms and legs becoming more transparent,
Becoming the stream.
Continue doing this until you are the stream.
Feel yourself as the stream flowing gentle and easy.
You can still feel the sun on your surface reflecting.
Your surface is glistening.
It's reflecting back trees and mountains and grass.
A little deeper in the stream,
You're rolling over rocks and pebbles and the edges of you brushing against the banks next to the earth.
Feel yourself expansive and wide,
Stretching forward and backward,
Moving at this lovely pace.
Things that sometimes leaves or acorns drop and plunk or float on your surface.
And flow along here just feeling that your whole body is the stream.
You are large and expansive,
You are every part of this body of water.
And notice that you begin to widen.
You expand more and you start moving along at a faster pace.
But it feels good.
And oh,
It feels refreshing and exhilarating to expand as the banks of the riverbed widen and the depths of the ravine deepen.
And you can fill it more with your expansive,
Watery self.
So that you have now become a river,
A wide,
Deep flowing river.
You're not rushing,
Not hurrying to get anywhere,
Not moving too fast yet.
But you've grown,
Feel your depth,
The current down in the bottom of the river.
And feel the surface of your river,
Maybe placid but still moving at a very quick pace.
The sun still shining off your surface.
Notice the landscape has changed a little bit around you now that you are a river and not a stream anymore.
Again,
Feel the edges of yourself reaching from bank to bank,
From surface to depth.
Oh,
And feel that rush of moving a little bit quicker and a little bit quicker,
Faster.
Oh,
Now you're splashing into rocks and you're jumping and playing onto the surface,
The ground comes right up to your water's edge.
Feel yourself rushing and moving along,
Being carried still,
Carried forward,
Propelled.
There's nothing you need to do.
There's no effort that needs to be made.
You're just naturally flowing.
You're in it.
You're moving along,
Rushing as things wind up and the earth separates and pulls apart,
Allowing you to move through it.
Oh,
Feel that there's nothing in your way.
Again,
You are water,
Softest thing on earth.
Oh,
Flowing,
Flowing,
Flowing.
Feel yourself flow.
Yes.
Oh,
And here we're coming.
We're coming to a great drop where you get to be a waterfall.
Oh,
Yes,
Rush and leap over that edge and feel yourself fly.
But again,
You are so safe.
You are the water and you experience this gentle,
Wonderful,
Deep landing,
Rushing.
And there you go again,
Running off through this ravine,
In this riverbed,
Filling it with your presence,
Your largeness,
Your flow.
You are flowing.
Nothing can stop you.
You'll rush this endless flow that is you.
And know that you are always the river.
You are the water.
You are the river.
You're not the rocks in the river.
You're not the bank.
You're not the things happening to the river.
You are the river itself.
You are the one happening to everything you touch.
Allow yourself to flow and know that all is well,
All is well,
All is well.
Allow yourself to be carried along.
You can do this for as long as you would like,
Flowing and feeling yourself flow,
Feeling your body as the river moving,
Expansive,
Your heart and soul leaping with joy,
The rush of flowing.
When you're ready,
You can visualize whatever you need to in order to bring your body back,
In order to gently move your way back to the riverbank or take a little detour and become a small stream again.
Whatever is best for you to bring yourself back,
To feel the edges of your body again,
Your wholeness in this human form.
And as you do that,
Continue to feel that river rushing inside of you,
At your edges,
How much more expansive you are now.
And know that you are the river.
You are always the river.
The river is always flowing through you and in you and out of you,
Endless,
Abundant,
Eternal source of joy and love and delight.
And you are always carried and you are always well.
I'm going to leave you here with some soft music that will keep playing so that you can enter into your own visions,
Into your own flow,
Your own imaginings of how you would like to flow in the world as the river.
Or you can feel free to just end your meditation here,
Whatever you would like.
This is your practice.
Thank you for flowing with me today like a river.
You are strong.
You are powerful.
Yet you are so gentle and so good and refreshing.
We need your river.
Thank you for sharing your meditation practice with me today.
May you stay with yourself today and always.
God bless guitar.
You You You You You You You You You You
