Welcome to part 8 in this 8 part stay with yourself meditation series on the practice of being who you are,
Where you are.
Part 8 is about homecoming,
Coming home to yourself,
Welcoming yourself back into yourself.
You can listen to each part of this series on its own as an individual standalone meditation.
Or you can listen to each part consecutively as each part builds off the last and culminates into this final meditation.
This series was designed for you to use in your daily meditation practice to help you build,
Grow and sustain a meditation practice that is all your own,
That works for you in any given circumstance,
Whether you're at home in stillness meditating or whether you're out in the world and you could really use something to ground you and to bring you back into yourself in the present moment.
Being with yourself and being who you are,
Where you are.
Let's start by lying down comfortably on our backs.
If you need to pause this recording to get blankets and pillows and to clear a space in which you can lay down,
I encourage you to do so and come back when you are ready.
Feel how the ground supports you as you lay down.
Use blankets and pillows under your knees for optimal comfort.
Feel the back of your body supported by the ground and allow the front of your body to soften and open up.
Feel your feet turn outwards,
Your hands relax and feel the back of your body letting go as you are completely supported.
Bring awareness into your breath.
Take a deep breath in through your nose,
Out through your mouth.
With each inhale,
Feel your tummy expanding as if you are filling a balloon with air.
With each exhale,
Feel your tummy soften and release tension.
Continue breathing deeply like this,
Deep into your tummy.
Inhale and hold.
Inhale release tension.
Breathe into your back and hips.
Inhale hold.
Release tension.
Breathe into your neck and shoulders.
Inhale release tension.
Continue doing this throughout your body from head to toe.
Inhale and exhale.
Imagine the sleeping baby,
Napping cat,
Dozing dog,
Completely at peace,
Completely relaxed and full of rest.
Bring this into your body,
Breathing deep,
Circulating air throughout your entire being.
Imagine as you breathe deeply into your body that the inside of your body is hollow.
When you breathe deeply into this empty vessel of your body,
It kicks up dust.
On the exhale,
That dust is released.
Breathe like this a few more times,
Deep cleansing breath.
In and out.
Deep into your empty,
Hollow vessel.
In and out.
Now imagine that the inside of your body is like giant,
Beautiful,
Grassy field.
Golden yellow grass,
Blue blue sky,
And your heart burning like the heat of the sun down upon this golden field.
And your breath,
Slight breeze,
Pushing and pulling on the grasses in this field with each in-breath and out-breath.
Imagine your body is a field of grass and your breath pushing the grass backwards and forwards.
Connect now with what it is you need today.
What is it you need to hear?
What affirmation could you use?
Choose a mantra in this moment.
And be simple,
I am breath.
I am loved.
Whatever it is,
Breathe deeply in,
Breathe your mantra in.
Infuse this grassy field with your mantra.
Exhale.
Release your mantra out into the world.
Breathe in.
Mantra.
Exhale.
Feel yourself here now,
Safe breath and body and affirmation.
Breathing is one,
Existing is one.
Imagine now that the inside of your body is more than just a grassy field.
Imagine your body,
The inside of your body is like the earth.
Full of oceans,
Lakes,
Rivers,
Streams,
Waterfalls,
Whole other parts of yourself like the desert with sand dunes that look like ocean waves frozen.
And your breath pushes and pulls on these dunes and they form into great peaks.
Deep breath in.
Exhale,
Forming mountains,
Valleys,
Crevasses,
Caves.
There are trees and flowers and plants and bushes,
All kinds of vegetation on this earth that is your body.
With each in-breath and out-breath,
You make the trees sway and the leaves shake.
As an observer of this body,
Notice the metaphor.
Your veins like rivers.
Your breath like the air.
Your heart like the sun.
Full of sky and earth.
Breathe your mantra in and out and add to it gratitude.
Thank you,
Thank you,
Thank you for this breath,
For this body.
And be aware of the 50 trillion cells in your body that house all your memories,
Your emotions,
Your 50 trillion witnesses that have been with you your whole life,
That have carried it all,
That see it all and still do.
And as you breathe in,
Fill these 50 trillion cells with light and joy.
Access the joy already in your body and in your muscle memory of your cells.
Feel yourself expanding.
Feel your cells like flowers turning and opening toward the sun,
Receiving light,
Filling with light and joy and love and gratitude.
Giggling,
Being tickled by the light as they are filled deep down into your roots,
Connected to all parts of your being and your body.
And feel your heart like the sun,
Warm and hot.
Warming.
Warming you from the inside.
Radiating out.
You are the sun.
You are light.
And you at your fullest.
You your true self who is deeply loved,
Always has been,
Is here now.
Full,
Filling you to the edges of yourself and beyond.
Radiating,
Extending out beyond you.
Here you are full of glory and majesty.
Light,
Love,
Beingness.
As you observe the symphony that is you and you connect deeply with all aspects of yourself and your body through breath.
Observe all the parts of yourself that are still here in this internal landscape that looks very much like the earth,
All its various microclimates.
You can imagine that all these various selves that need to be healed,
That need to be received back into the fold and accepted and seen and loved for who they are.
Imagine they each live in a different,
Beautiful part of yourself that you get to go and explore.
The deserts,
The mountains,
The wilderness,
The caves,
The forests,
The ocean.
What a gift it is that you get to be your own witness.
That you get to go in search of yourself and all parts of yourself and bring yourself back home.
You are the only one who can do it.
You deserve all the love and the care and attention that you so desire and you can give it to yourself.
Remember the wise self within you too,
The oracle,
The mage.
In all your various forms,
Your wise self,
Your heart,
Deeply connected to source and wisdom who knows you by heart.
This wise self that you can always turn to and listen to and trust,
Your truest guide,
Yourself,
Your heart.
And when you listen,
Sometimes it takes courage to act on what feels right and best according to your heart.
I promise it is worth it and your heart will not lead you astray.
And you can and will be and already are whole,
Full,
Integrated with you.
Feel yourself now full and vast,
Complex and simple,
Exact.
You are so loved.
You are so valuable.
You are so worthy of knowing your love and value.
It has been a gift to create this series of meditation practices for you.
I would like to leave you here so you can continue practicing in whatever way feels best for you.
This is your practice,
Your time to commune with yourself in whatever way you see fit.
You are self-guided and you can trust yourself.
What a gift.
You are wonderful,
Beautiful,
Magnificent.
And we need you.
Thank you for being here and sharing your meditation practice with me.
May you stay with yourself today and always.