Welcome to this special meditation for mums and daughters.
This meditation is dedicated to helping us cultivate a healthier and more harmonious relationship with our thoughts.
So I invite you now to find a nice comfortable place to sit or lie down.
Take a moment to find a comfortable position to rest your body and gently close your eyes or gaze with soft eyes in front of you.
Notice how your body wants to settle,
Allowing any tension or restlessness to melt away as you arrive fully in this moment.
Sensing the weight of your body as it makes contact with the floor beneath you and gently guiding your attention towards your breath.
Take your attention down to your belly.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you inhale and exhale.
Breathing in a few deep breaths,
Allowing yourself to fully arrive in this moment.
Noticing the unique rhythm of your breath right now.
Now I invite you to imagine a beautiful river or stream of water.
You notice the sparkle of the water reflecting the sunlight as it dances on the surface.
You hear the soothing melody of the water as it softly splashes around the rocks and flows gently downstream.
Looking up above you,
You notice the vibrant colors and sweet fragrance of the flowers and trees around you.
They're rustling leaves.
Allow yourself for a moment to really immerse yourself in its beauty.
You feel the peace and calm of being here.
In front of you on the bank,
You see a soft picnic rug.
You move over and take a seat,
Getting comfy.
You reach your hand out and feel the coolness of the earth beneath it,
Giving you a sense of stability and connection with nature as you sit here.
You see a wide oak leaf placed on the side of the river.
Imagine yourself reaching over,
Picking it up and placing it in your hand.
You feel its smooth,
Waxy texture against your fingers and notice its brilliant green color.
Now you reach down and place the leaf onto the running water in the stream or the river.
You watch it land,
A brief moment as it ripples before the water transports it down the stream.
And you watch the leaf fall down the stream.
And you watch as it becomes smaller and smaller,
Carried into the distance.
Imagine now you pick up another leaf,
This leaf with bright red and orange hues.
As you hold the leaf in your hand,
Consider that each leaf is like our thoughts.
Every day our minds are full of thoughts,
A happy thought,
A sad thought,
A worry,
A fear.
Thoughts of today,
Yesterday and tomorrow.
Bring to mind now some thought that has been on your mind lately,
Something that you've been thinking a lot about.
Picture this leaf now as representing that thought you have been carrying.
Take a moment to reflect on this thought your leaf symbolizes.
Notice any feelings and emotions that arise.
Receive them with a sense of gentleness and compassion.
Every feeling is here to tell us something important in our life.
And now slowly leaning over,
Imagine yourself placing this leaf on the water,
Your thought.
And watch it gently float away,
Carried by the current.
As it drifts farther from you,
Feel a sense of release,
Letting it disappear.
Spend the next few minutes with this process.
Imagine picking up a leaf,
Attaching it to a thought and releasing it into the water.
Imagine letting go of the thought,
Letting go of the current.
Imagine picking up a leaf,
Attaching it to a thought and releasing it into the water.
Surrendering each thought to the flow of the river.
There is something really beautiful that nature has to teach us.
Everything,
Even our thoughts,
Have a cycle.
The less we hold on to our thoughts and let them ebb and flow,
The more we open ourselves up to a sense of lightness and freedom within.
By noticing and releasing each thought,
We create more space for new thoughts and can cultivate more clarity and peace in our minds.
So now slowly releasing the image of the river and bringing your awareness back to your body,
Feeling the support of the ground beneath you.
Taking a few slow,
Deep breaths.
Observing the rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
And noticing the sensations as it flows in and out,
Allowing it to serve as an anchor for your attention.
Before we wrap up today,
I want you to take a moment to recognize the wonderful thing that you've done for yourself by taking time out to practice today.
In a moment,
I'll ring the bell and I invite you to listen to the sound right up until it ends.
And when it finishes,
You can gently open your eyes.
