So let's begin seated or standing in a comfortable position.
For this meditation,
I prefer that you do not go down,
At least for the first few minutes of the meditation.
We're going to first relax the body and bring our shoulders up to our ears.
Roll the shoulders back,
Feel your chest open,
Exhale,
And let the shoulders come straight down.
Inhale,
Shoulders up to the ears,
Begin to roll them back.
Exhale,
Let the shoulders come straight down.
Now bend your elbows and inhale,
Push the elbows beyond the rib cage,
Even beyond your body.
And on the exhale,
Bring your left hand to the front of your body,
To your right rib cage,
And your right hand to the front of your body,
To the left rib cage.
Inhale,
Bring the elbows back behind the ribs,
Well beyond the back,
Feel your chest opening and the back muscles shortening.
Exhale,
Bring your arms forward,
Crossing the front of the body,
Touching the opposite side of the ribs.
Inhale,
Elbows slowly back.
Exhale,
Arms slowly come forward.
Last time,
Inhale,
Slowly bring those elbows to your side and then push them straight back.
Your chest open,
Your rhomboids tighten,
And inhale,
Let your arms come forward,
Cross the front of the body,
And then just relax them where you find them to be a very comfortable place.
The next is the double inhale and then one slow exhale.
So you inhale,
Pause,
Inhale again,
Pause,
And through pursed lips slowly exhale for the same length of time.
Now do this on your own,
Double inhale,
The slower the breath,
The deeper the breath.
Do this for a few times until you hear my voice again.
Good,
Right?
And now just follow a regular slow,
Deep inhale with a slow,
Deep exhale.
And you're going to practice a little visualization as you breathe slowly and deeply.
Imagine that you're walking along the ocean.
And where the sea meets the land is very inviting.
So you decide to walk towards the ocean.
Allow your feet to get wet.
And then walk a little further into the ocean,
But no further than knee deep.
And as you feel the waves lap against your legs,
You can tell when the ocean comes towards the shore and when it retreats and goes out.
And as you feel this movement against your legs,
Your breath follows the same movement as the ocean.
Each time you see a wave come in,
You breathe in.
Each time you see or feel that wave recede,
You exhale.
Any thoughts that you begin to have that distract you?
Just see them in the form of a shell or a pebble and drop the shell or pebble into the ocean.
And then come back to the feeling state of flow and ebb,
Ebb and flow.
Slowly breathing in,
Slowly breathing out,
And slow,
Slow,
And ebb.
And casting away unwanted thoughts like shells or pebbles into the ocean,
Returning to the breath and the feeling state of ebb and flow,
Flow and ebb.
You slowly turn towards the horizon.
Focus at first on the water and just follow it further out,
Still noticing that as far as you go,
There's this natural rhythm of ebb and flow,
Flow,
And ebb.
Allow your thoughts to your vision,
Your sight to raise a little right to the horizon line,
The meeting point of air and water,
Earth and heaven.
And just focus on that thin thin strip of the horizon.
Allow that to be this moment right here,
Right now that you are experiencing this moment.
Let your eyes rise up to the sky,
As few or as many clouds as you wish,
But know that right now this is the future.
And slowly bring your attention back to that fine line of the horizon.
This moment now,
The water is the past,
The sky is the future,
Your focus is right here,
Right now.
This thin line,
The breath is no longer focused upon,
Simply experienced,
The second inhaling,
The second inhaling,
The second exhaling.
Slowly,
Notice your breath,
Notice who it is that wants to change the direction of the breath.
Notice who it is,
Who decides how long the breath is inhaled,
Before it is exhaled.
Learn to become part of this chooser,
This decision maker.
Stay in this moment now,
Let alone thoughts from the wave of shells or devils in the ocean.
Focus on your eyes and mind,
Focus on the internal,
The value,
The manner,
Who decides,
Each moment now,
What to think,
What to do,
What not to do,
What to just be,
Focus on your eyes and mind with great clarity of mind.
In this place of stillness,
Express gratitude to your higher self,
For all the clarity you are given and for the greater understanding that you are given regarding all issues of the day.
Come back to your breath,
Look once again at that thin horizon line,
Begin to walk away from the ocean,
And with each inhaled breath,
Allow yourself to come out of the water and work your way back to where you started.
Notice your breath,
Notice who it is who decides to change the breath from inhaling to exhaling to inhaling.
Notice the rhythm of the water within your own body as you breathe in and breathe out.
Come on in,
Let any smells,
Fragrances,
Into the room in which you sit.
Come on in the temperature of the room in which you are.
Become aware where you are within the space of your own.
And then,
As if you have no one to notice,
Very slowly open your eyes to conclude this meditation.
