This guided meditation is titled,
The Breath of the Seven Billion.
Begin in a comfortable seated position.
You can sit on the floor,
Or you can sit on a cushion or a pillow if you like,
Or you can sit in a chair.
Allow your eyes to gently close.
And now bring your awareness to your body.
Take a quick scan of your body all the way from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.
And begin to notice any areas of tension.
Some likely suspects include the jaw.
Notice if your jaw is a little bit clenched.
Or the neck,
We often store tension in the neck.
Or the shoulders.
Sometimes the hands or the fingers can feel tense.
Notice if there's tension in the hips,
Or the legs,
Or the feet,
Or toes.
If you feel any tension anywhere,
Just begin to invite the tension to flow out with each exhale.
Breathing in,
Bring your awareness to any areas of tension.
Breathing out,
Invite the tension to release and flow out with the exhale.
Breathing in,
Notice tension.
Breathing out,
Let it flow out.
Let it go.
Give yourself a few more breaths.
Just to allow the body to start to relax and to settle in to your meditative posture.
Feel the breath as it flows in,
Flows out.
Feel your body settling more and more profoundly with each breath.
Now bring your attention,
Your awareness exclusively,
To the flow of the breath in and out.
Remember that you breathe in and out probably 15,
000 times each and every day of your life.
Take this opportunity to get to know that breath a bit more deeply.
Notice the more subtle aspects of the breath.
Notice how it relates to your body.
Notice how it feels in the body as you breathe in,
And how it feels as you breathe out.
Notice the temperature of the breath,
Both on the inhale and the exhale.
Notice the subtle space between the inhale and the exhale,
And between the exhale and the inhale.
It's almost as though when you inhale,
The breath pauses for a moment and turns in the body,
And then the exhale.
The same on the exhale as you breathe out.
There's a pause,
And then the breath returns to the body.
Feel the full cycle of breath flowing in,
Turning,
Exhale,
Turn.
Just keep your awareness on your breath,
Flowing in and out.
Allow the breath to slow and to soften,
But keep your awareness firmly focused on the breath and the breathing process.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now allow your awareness to expand,
And begin to imagine the other people in the same house,
Or same building,
Or same location where you are presently located.
Become aware that they are breathing in and breathing out just as you are.
It doesn't matter who they are.
It doesn't matter whether they're old or whether they're young.
It doesn't matter whether they're awake or whether they're asleep.
They,
Just like you,
Are breathing in and breathing out every few seconds.
All breathing in and breathing out together.
Begin to envision everyone in the neighborhood.
Imagine the people tall and short of every gender,
Every nationality.
Some awake,
Some asleep,
Some working,
Some at play.
But everyone is breathing in and breathing out.
Bring your awareness to their breath.
And notice that they are breathing in and breathing out just as you are.
Everyone in the neighborhood breathing in and breathing out together.
Now allow your awareness to expand even more.
Bring your awareness to everyone in the city in which you live.
Become aware that everyone is breathing in and breathing out just as you are.
It doesn't matter how old they are or how young.
It doesn't matter what language they speak or where they came from.
It doesn't matter whether they're employed or unemployed.
It doesn't matter whether they're walking or standing still.
Everyone in the city is breathing in and breathing out just as you are.
Everyone in the city breathing in and breathing out together.
Let your awareness expand even further.
And imagine all of the people in your country,
Millions and millions of people,
Rich and poor,
Hungry and full,
Rested and tired,
People of every color,
People of a huge diversity of views and beliefs,
People of all religions and of no religion at all,
All breathing in and breathing out together.
Take just another few moments and imagine everyone in the whole country breathing in and breathing out all in exactly the same way,
At exactly the same time,
Together.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Everyone in the country breathing in and breathing out.
Now allow your awareness to expand so that it includes all beings everywhere on this planet.
Now imagine all people everywhere breathing in and breathing out all in the same way.
It doesn't matter what country they're from.
It doesn't matter whether they're friends or whether they're enemies.
Those at war and those at peace,
Those resting and those in motion on the land,
On the sea,
And in the air overhead,
Everyone breathing in and breathing out together.
This is the breath of the seven billion,
Everyone on earth breathing in and breathing out together.
We share this profound activity,
This activity without which there would not be any life at all.
We are all doing it at exactly the same time,
In precisely the same way,
Breathing in and breathing out together.
Take just a few more moments.
Imagine everyone breathing in and breathing out and feel their breath.
All of us breathing in and breathing out together.
This is the breath of the seven billion.
When you're ready,
Gently let your eyes open,
Remaining in the awareness of what you share with everyone else on the earth.
