Welcome to Finding Mindful Now with Tia Ho,
Where we guide you out of your head and into your life with mindfulness.
Today,
This guided mindfulness meditation is intended to be listened to when you are in a yard or out on a walk,
In a park,
In a forest.
Wherever it is,
You can bathe your senses in the sights,
Sounds,
Sensations of the natural area.
And this invitation,
Like all invitations,
Is not mandatory.
So there may be a component or an element of the invitation that doesn't fit you and you can go with something that does fit you.
You can transfer your attention to a different sense than the one that is offered.
You can always bring your attention back to your belly and the feeling of it rising and falling with the breath.
Or you can notice whatever the surface is that you are standing or sitting on below either your feet or your bottom.
And if you are outside right now,
Then I invite you to find a comfortable place to sit or stand.
And find somewhere where you can listen to this voice at the same time you can also be present with the sights and sounds and sensations of the forest or the natural area where you are.
So perhaps you have one earbud in and one earbud out or maybe you have this device on speaker at a low volume.
And then after you have your sound set up,
I invite you to settle into a spot.
Maybe it's a little off of a pathway,
Maybe it's seated on a rock or a log or if you are in a yard or even in an apartment building surrounded by plants.
I invite you to close or lower or soften your gaze,
Lower your eyelids or soften your gaze.
And just notice your breath and its natural flow in and out.
As your body breathes in,
You might feel how the air fills your chest.
You might feel your body move against whatever clothing or cloth you have around it.
And just notice the breathing entering and exiting the body for about four breaths.
You don't have to change your breathing,
You're just noticing that breathing is happening.
You don't have to do anything for breathing to happen.
And this invitation,
The whole long piece of it is called belonging to the earth.
And if you are familiar with the concept of the four elements from Buddhist resin practice,
This might feel familiar.
So wherever you're sitting or standing,
I wonder what the sensation of belonging to the earth feels like.
Maybe notice where you feel the connection of the earth most clearly.
Perhaps you feel the embrace of the ground beneath your feet,
Beneath your seat.
What does that sensation feel like?
Notice if you can feel the textures of the ground in this place around you.
Perhaps you feel the solidity of the ground beneath the body in the same way you can feel the firmness of your teeth or the softness of your tongue in your mouth.
I invite you to notice where you feel stability of the same earth element,
The same element that's generally holding you up.
Where do you feel that earth element in your body?
Maybe you feel it in your feet,
Your bottom,
The density of your muscles,
Or maybe the firmness of your skin.
I wonder if the earth can feel your presence.
Can you feel the support of the earth?
Turning toward your imagination,
I invite you to imagine roots extending from your body down into the ground like a tree.
Let yourself feel the connection and the support traveling up,
Up from the ground into the body.
And imagine that your bones and flesh,
All the solidity and fluidity of the body is the earth in you.
In the air and in the ground,
I wonder what the sensation of water feels like.
I wonder if you can feel the moisture in your mouth or in your nose.
Perhaps you can feel water in the air around you or hear it nearby.
Maybe there's been recent rain.
Or maybe it's just that you notice the moisture in the plants around you,
The leaves,
The trunks of the trees.
Notice if you can feel your heartbeat pumping the water that is your lifeblood through the body.
Maybe you can feel it in your hands or your heart or your feet or your neck.
Notice if you can feel the flowing of this water of life within you.
Turning toward your imagination,
I invite those roots that extend from your body down into the earth to feel the upwelling of water,
Gently feeling them and sending support through the shifting of watery emotions that you get to experience.
You can imagine that your belly,
Your vessels,
Your brain,
Your organs hold water in the same way the earth does.
And I'm going to invite you to turn your attention next to the fire element.
I wonder what the element of fire feels like in the body.
I wonder if you can feel the temperature of your skin,
Where your clothing covers it and it feels warmer,
Or where the skin is exposed and it feels cooler.
Notice if you can feel the internal fire of the body in your armpits,
Your hands,
Your belly or neck.
And notice where the fire in this natural area is right now.
Maybe the sun is in the sky.
Maybe it's tucked behind clouds.
Maybe there's heat radiating up from the ground.
Just notice where you can feel the fire of the earth and then the fire of the body.
And now turning towards imagination,
I invite those watered roots in the ground from your body to feel the heat coming from deep,
Deep in the earth's molten core,
Very,
Very far below,
Gently warming from below.
It's so far away that very slowly,
By the time it reaches you,
It's a gentle warming wave.
And you can imagine that your belly,
Your mouth,
Your ears,
Your organs hold a slow,
Steady ember of fire in the same way that the core of the earth does.
And I invite you to turn your attention next to the element of air in this place.
I wonder what the sensation of air is like.
I wonder if you can feel the breeze or the wind moving in and out of your body through the branched tree of your lungs.
And notice where you feel your breath most vibrantly.
Maybe it's your nose,
Your belly,
Your back,
Your chest.
And if it feels good,
Perhaps open your mouth just a tiny bit and take a small sip of air in as you inhale,
Letting the air glide over your teeth and tongue and float into the warmth of your lungs.
Almost like you're sipping air through the straw of your mouth.
And then if it feels okay,
You can also release that air with a sigh.
I wonder where the air outside ends and the air you exhale begins.
I wonder if you can feel the air on any of the skin of your body that is exposed.
Maybe you can feel the air underneath the cloth.
Maybe you can feel the difference between where your skin is exposed and where it's covered.
And turning to your imagination,
I invite you to imagine the currents of air that travel across continents,
Across mountains and oceans to caress your skin.
Let yourself feel the gentle touch of the air and the support it carries that it surrounds your body like the trunk and branches of the tree.
Imagine that your lungs receive and give the same air back to the earth as all of the growing beings the more than human world gives back to you.
Now that we have moved through all four of the elements,
With your eyes closed or your lids lowered or your gaze softened,
I'd like to invite you to slowly make your way to standing.
If you've been sitting,
Let your hands rest on your heart.
Gently turn to face a direction wherever your heart nudges you to pause.
There doesn't have to be a reason why.
And once you find that direction,
Let your eyes open slowly as if for the first time.
I invite you to look around and consider that every more than human being is seeing you back as you look out on them.
There is belonging in this place.
You belong to the earth and it belongs to you.
Let yourself feel the embrace of the earth and when you feel ready,
You can open your eyes fully and move back into your day.
