Gentle Presence A Meditation On Breath And Stillness

This track invites listeners to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery through mindfulness and meditation. With soothing guidance, you will learn to anchor yourself in the present moment by focusing on your breath, fostering a sense of stillness and acceptance. Embrace the ebb and flow of thoughts, emotions, and sensations, allowing them to arise and pass away without resistance, deepening your connection to the infinite peace and love within. Prepare for a transformative experience that nurtures healing, tranquility, and a deeper understanding of your true essence.

Transcript

So to get started,

Please find a sense of presence with your own breathing,

With your own breath,

Just noticing the gentleness of the breath,

Noticing the gentleness.

The breath is a powerful anchor to the present moment.

You carry it with you everywhere.

You're always with your breath,

Always breathing.

And so paying attention to the breath is a powerful practice that grounds you in the present moment.

And as you pay attention to your breathing,

You may like to close your eyes and allow yourself to sink deeper into the present moment.

Sink deeper into the present moment.

And as you sink deeper into the present moment,

You begin to feel a sense of stillness.

And there may be sounds arising and passing,

Thoughts arising and passing.

Allow them.

Allow whatever is to arise and pass away.

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Sensations,

Sounds arise and pass away,

Constantly changing.

And you are there,

Present,

Still,

Allowing whatever is to be without resistance.

Allowing whatever is to be without resistance.

Surrendering to the present moment,

Allowing the unfoldment of whatever is in this present moment.

Whether there's pleasure or discomfort,

Whether there's pain,

Allow it to arise and pass away.

Arise and pass away.

For in time,

Everything arises and passes away in form.

We are born,

We live in the physical realm for a period of time,

Then we pass away.

Our thoughts arise and pass away.

All existence will arise and pass away.

A new existence will arise and pass away.

The beautiful dance of life.

There is no good or bad in any of this.

But stillness allows you to tune in to the infinite that allows the arising and passing away.

The infinite cradle of life.

The deep presence that permeates all time and space that is always there regardless of the arising and passing.

The source of all creation.

There,

We tune in to that stillness,

That presence,

That is coming from the infinite.

Inconceivable by the human mind,

Yet,

Your stillness is opening a space within you that recognizes the infinite.

And in that space,

The qualities of the infinite become manifest.

There is peace.

There is love and kindness.

And so we allow ourselves to be nourished by that.

The unconditional love and peace that is at the depth of that presence,

That infinite,

Always there.

Unconditional,

Unconditioned and infinite.

So we rest in that peace.

We rest in that peace.

As we sink deeper into the present moment and reconnect and reunite with the one life that nurtures and nourishes and heals.

The one life that is the source of all love and peace.

And as we enter that space,

We feel every cell and every atom of our bodies realigning with that light and that life.

Healing and being nourished by the infinite love and peace that is there,

Always there.

Accessible to you anytime and anywhere.

Always masked by the thinking mind that is blocking the passage,

But all it requires is a breath,

An awareness of the breath,

An awareness of your own body.

Awareness of a leaf,

A shrub,

A flower,

A tree,

A bird.

Your own presence and others presence.

Even if you look at a piece of cloth,

A dot on a wall.

Anything and anywhere you can find stillness and reconnect with the infinite presence of God within you and in all creation.

In that there is peace and love.

No status or wealth can get you there,

But your own breath can.

Your own presence is all that is required to find that stillness within you,

That peace of God within you,

The peace of God within you,

The deep peace of God within you.

And how healing that is,

Nourishing,

Loving.

Allow yourself to be nourished.

Drop all your guards and all these obstacles that you create for yourself.

The obstacles between you and God.

Drop them.

And let yourself be nourished.

Let yourself be healed.

Let yourself rest in the infinite loving presence of God.

And God points to the infinite.

Indescribable,

Unthinkable.

For infinite cannot be conceived.

It is beyond the mind.

And it lets,

It requires you to let go of all the mental concepts,

All your judgements.

It requires you to drop everything and just be there in stillness.

And feel that big presence and that deep love.

Know that you have access to this anytime and anywhere.

Through your own breath.

Through your own gentle breath.

Feeling your breath and feeling your body.

Feeling.

That's an access point.

Noticing.

Noticing in anything.

With intense presence and awareness.

Just being here and now.

And for a moment letting go of the mind that is constantly planning and thinking and judging of the past and the present and the future.

Always trying to get somewhere.

Never present.

Never wanting this present moment.

Always trying to arrive.

Never arriving.

The mind has this quality of always wanting to be somewhere else.

And at that moment you are gentle with the mind.

Kind to the mind.

For you recognize the quality of the mind is trying to arrive.

Arrive.

But never arriving.

And so you bring kindness to the mind.

Just as you bring kindness to that little child that is trying to get somewhere.

But not realizing it is exactly where it needs to be.

In this present moment it is exactly where you are.

And where you need to be.

Where we all are in this present moment.

Is exactly where we need to be.

Nowhere else.

And in that you find that peace.

You realize the illusion.

The illusion of trying to get somewhere.

Begins to diminish.

And in this present moment you find peace.

Peace amidst the chaos that you are in.

Your life situation.

The world is in.

The mind says but we want to be somewhere better.

Somewhere more peaceful.

More loving.

Not realizing you have access to all of that within you.

Regardless of the external circumstances.

That your own gentle breath and your own presence is all that it takes.

And it all is within you.

All that it takes.

To not only bring peace within yourself.

But peace into your relationships.

And peace.

Your own peace is all that is required.

The inner transformation transforms the world.

Just as Gandhi said be ye the change you want to see in the world.

If you want to see peace.

Bring peace within.

Cultivate loving presence.

Realign yourself with the loving presence of God.

The divine that permeates all time and space.

Mirror the universe by allowing what is to be as it is.

Your surrendered state is the pathway to peace.

It is the pathway to healing.

Self and others of the world.

So be present.

Be still.

Be loving and be peaceful within.

And the world will transform around you.

So as we come close to the end of this meditation together.

Know that you have access to this peace.

Through your own presence and your own stillness.

Your own breath and your own body.

The gentleness within you.

That is your natural state.

Recognize for yourself that your natural state is peace and love.

Not chaos and turmoil.

Not anxiety.

Not fear.

For all of those things are caused by the thinking mind.

That is trying to survive.

But there is no survival.

There is only the arising and passing of forms.

Our bodies are born and they will die.

And that is so beautiful and natural.

So knowing that.

The struggle is relinquished.

In realization of truth.

The truth of the arising and passing.

And relinquishing the resistance to reality.

Relinquishing resistance to truth.

Brings peace and love.

Your natural state.

Beyond the mind.

Beyond the mind's constant struggle.

Beyond the mind's constant seeking of pleasure and the minimization of pain.

Beyond that you find the peace of God within you.

And how deep is that peace that nothing of this world can ever bring.

Nothing of this world can bring this infinite peace of God within.

But your breath can.

Your own presence.

Your own gentleness.

So know it.

And practice your presence.

At every single moment.

Let every cell and every atom of your body too.

Become present and still prostrating before the divine presence.

That permeates all time and space.

How beautiful that is.

How beautiful that is.

That all saints and sages are pointing to this.

Be still.

And know.

Thank you for being in this space with me and each other.

Know that you have access to this practice anytime and anywhere.

Whether you're at home,

At work,

Commuting,

Waiting for something.

At any moment become still.

Surrender to what is.

In moments of frustration,

Allow your frustration to arise and pass away with your own gentle presence.

Any anger,

Rage,

Allow it to arise and pass in your own peace.

Peaceful presence.

That is connected to the presence of God within you.

For God is loving.

When you recognize that within yourself.

Life becomes simple.

Gentle.

When you're kind to your own unkindness.

Your own anger or frustration.

When you're kind to whatever you face.

Suddenly.

Life transforms within.

At that very moment.

At that very moment.

Life becomes gentle and peaceful.

So take this practice with you in every moment of life.

Every moment.

With every breath be present.

With every breath be present with God.

And recognize the loving presence that permeates every single moment.

That manifests forgiveness and gentleness,

Kindness,

Compassion.

And you look at everything with that kindness.

With loving presence.

And there you find the freedom that nothing of this world can give you.

No circumstance can bring the level of joy,

Peace and love.

That comes from deep presence.

Deep presence.

At any moment that you experience inner turmoil or suffering.

Know that you have simply lost your presence in God and returned.

That is all that is required.

To return.

Again and again.

Each time we forget.

To return gently.

Gently.

Gently returning.

To God's presence.

Without disappointment.

Without blame or shame.

Just gently returning.

Again and again.

And practicing this.

Each and every single moment for the rest of your life.

Bringing peace.

To every moment.