This practice is an opportunity to experience yourself as more than the solid flesh and bones of your physical body.
And to reconnect with the vast,
Expansive being that you are.
Part of you that extends beyond the physical.
Beyond the edges of your body.
Beyond your name,
Your roles,
Your responsibilities.
And to remember yourself as something much larger.
Something connected to the world around you.
So go ahead and make yourself comfortable.
You might like to lie down or sit with your body supported.
And allow yourself to settle into the space.
Taking a moment to let go of anything that came before this moment.
In anything that is yet to come.
You don't need to solve anything right now.
You don't need to get anywhere.
Just allowing yourself to land here.
Become aware of this moment.
And the experience of being here.
Perhaps imagining that for these next few minutes.
This moment is all that exists.
Nothing before it.
Nothing after it.
Just here.
Just now.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And slowly letting it go.
Again,
Breathing in.
And slowly exhaling.
And beginning to notice your physical body.
Noticing the weight of your body.
Points where you are supported.
The sensations moving through you.
Perhaps noticing the edges of your physical body.
A place where your skin meets the air around you.
And then begin to bring your awareness just beyond those edges.
Into the space immediately surrounding you.
Notice the space in front of you.
The space behind you.
To either side.
Above you and below you.
You don't have to imagine anything in particular.
Just begin to sense the space around you.
Perhaps notice that your awareness isn't confined to the physical edges of your body.
Your awareness can move beyond you.
Your attention can reach into the space around you.
Perhaps you can sense something extending beyond your physical form.
Your presence.
Your energy.
Your awareness.
Just noticing what that feels like for you.
And sitting with that for a few breaths.
Your physical body and the space surrounding your body.
Allowing the distinction between the two to become a little softer.
And now very gently begin to expand your awareness a little further.
Imagine that,
This sense of you.
This sense of your energetic body.
Can extend beyond the immediate space around your physical body.
Maybe it reaches the edges of the room.
And then fills the whole room.
Imagine yourself taking up the space of this entire room.
Your body is still resting here.
Or your energy expands.
Noticing what it feels like to experience yourself this way.
Not contained by the edges of your physical body.
But spacious.
Open.
Expansive.
Yet still deeply grounded through your physical body.
And from here,
Allowing your awareness to stretch a little further.
Beyond the room.
Beyond the walls.
And into the space around you.
Perhaps you can imagine your awareness extending across the whole building.
And then further still out into your neighbourhood,
Your suburb.
Allowing yourself to become aware of the wider space around you.
And perhaps for a moment imagining that you can hold all of this within your awareness.
Your body,
Your home,
Your neighborhood.
The spaces and people and life moving around you.
Now allow your awareness to expand further still.
Beyond your neighborhood.
Across your city or town.
And out across the landscape around you.
Across the whole country.
And then beyond the country.
Across the continent.
Allowing your sense of self to become increasingly spacious.
Until you can imagine holding the whole world within your awareness.
The oceans,
The land,
The atmosphere.
Millions of people moving through their own lives.
Animals,
The trees and plants.
Countless forms of life existing all around you.
All of it happening at once.
And you're a part of it.
Take a breath here and notice what it feels like to experience yourself in this way.
So much space,
So much life.
So much happening beyond the small,
Immediate concerns that can sometimes feel our attention.
And if it feels right for you,
Allow your awareness to expand even further.
Beyond the earth.
Out into the vastness of space.
Beyond our planet.
Beyond our solar system.
And out into the galaxy.
Perhaps beyond even that.
Allowing yourself to imagine your awareness expanding into the vastness of the universe.
There's no need to picture this perfectly,
You don't need to understand it.
Just allowing yourself to experience the feeling of expansion.
Of spaciousness.
Of being part of something unimaginably vast.
Perhaps notice what happens to the things that were occupying your mind at the beginning of this practice.
The little worries,
The unfinished tasks.
The things you were thinking about tomorrow or replaying from yesterday.
Notice how they might feel from this much larger perspective.
Not necessarily insignificant,
But.
.
.
Simply one small part of a much bigger experience.
And perhaps you can feel yourself within this vastness.
Rather than separate from it.
The same elements that make up your body are part of this earth.
The same Earth that exists within this vast universe.
You're not outside of life looking in.
You're part of it.
Small unique expression of something much larger.
For a few moments,
Just allow yourself to rest in that feeling.
Experiencing the vastness of your being.
The spaciousness of your awareness.
Sense that there is more to you than your thoughts.
More than your roles,
Your responsibilities.
More than the physical form you inhabit.
You're here.
You're part of this vast living world.
You belong to it.
Take a few slow breaths here.
And when you're ready begin to gently bring your awareness back toward your physical body.
Back into the room.
Back towards the space around you.
And slowly back towards the edges of your body.
Notice the weight of your body again.
Places where you are supported.
Feel the movement of your breath.
Your hands,
Your feet,
Your face.
Allowing yourself to reconnect with the physical experience of being here.
And perhaps notice that you can hold both experiences at once.
Physical body.
And the vastness beyond it.
Small everyday experience of being you.
And the much larger experience of being part of something more.
Take one final deep breath in.
And slowly let it go.
Thank you for joining me today.
