A Moment Of Peace

We all can use moments of peace to reset, refuel, and recharge — whether facing what might seem like insurmountable challenges or simply trying to navigate our day-to-day lives with grace and self-compassion. This restorative mindfulness practice offers a mini respite that can help to re-center and also re-commit to the kind of self-care that we not only need but deserve.

Transcript

My name is Greg McBride,

And I'm honored that you joined me for a moment of peace.

No matter where you are in your day,

You definitely deserve a moment of peace.

If you take just even a few minutes,

That can help us re-approach life with a renewed sense of vitality,

A renewed sense of wonder,

And hopefully a renewed sense of peace of mind.

So whether you're beginning your day in the midst of it,

Or wrapping things up,

Let's take a moment of peace together.

Take a comfortable seat,

Maybe on a chair,

On a couch.

Try and let your spine be erect.

That helps our breathing.

If you prefer to lay down,

You can.

You can cross your legs if you're sitting on the floor,

Or on a carpet,

Or some kind of soft surface.

But otherwise,

Just feel your feet on the floor.

Feel the ground.

Feel the energy that's coming up from it,

From the earth,

From nature,

From something that is bigger than you and whatever you happen to be going through today.

And now let's just turn to our breathing.

Just become aware of it.

The in-breaths,

The out-breaths.

Just be with your breathing for a minute.

Your miraculous body,

Your beautiful self.

You can close your eyes if you'd like,

Maybe take a soft gaze.

But as you do that,

Become even more aware of your surroundings.

What does the surface feel like that you're either sitting or laying on?

What kind of ambient sounds might be coming into your ears right now that you might be picking up?

Do you hear people in another room?

Do you hear traffic outside?

Perhaps you're lucky enough to hear nature.

Just be aware of it.

Whatever sound you're hearing now,

In addition to my voice,

Is perfect,

Even if there's none.

Again,

We're just becoming aware of our breath,

And aware of our surroundings,

And aware of ourselves.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

And if thoughts come into your mind,

Let them be clouds that are just passing by.

You can notice them for a second,

But then just let them pass.

If it helps,

You can acknowledge them.

Oh,

There's this thought,

But don't try and solve it.

Don't try and reason with it.

You don't even have to try and shoo it away.

Just recognize it,

Identify it,

And then return to your breath.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Where are your hands right now?

Are they resting on your thighs?

Are they folded?

Are they on the surface next to your body?

Whatever you happen to be sitting or laying on.

Maybe wiggle your fingers,

Just gently.

Just be aware of them.

Be aware of your fingertips.

Be aware of your thumb.

Can you feel your wrist?

How about your toes?

What are they doing right now?

Perhaps you can give them a little wiggle.

Just be aware of them,

Whether they're on the floor,

Whether you're sitting cross-legged.

Whatever you're doing with your body,

Just be aware of it.

And whenever you start to drift away,

Come back to your breath,

In and out.

You deserve this break.

You deserve this peace.

You deserve to know that you do not have to react in a situation.

You are allowed to take a beat.

You are allowed to count to three.

You are allowed to grab for your favorite meditation.

And you're even allowed to say,

I do not have an answer for you right now.

I'm going to take some time with this,

And I hope to get back to you.

Stay in this moment.

Thoughts are going to come.

That's good.

That's okay.

We love our minds,

But right now we're going to keep directing our attention back to our breath.

I want to share one of my favorite analogies from one of my favorite teachers,

Viren Katie.

And she uses the analogy of being on an airplane.

And during the safety speech before the flight,

The flight attendants let us know if the oxygen mass dropped down,

Put yours on first before you help someone else.

They point out that this is true even if you're traveling with somebody elderly or somebody very young or even somebody that's incapacitated somehow.

You need to put your oxygen mask on first.

Otherwise you're not going to be helpful to anyone you're traveling with or anyone who needs you.

And I really love this because it speaks to where we are in life right now.

There's so much going on in the world.

There's so much going on in your life.

There's so much going on in our day to day.

We've got to remind ourselves that it's okay to reach for that proverbial oxygen mask.

For many of you listening right now,

That's meditation.

But it can also be informal.

Just taking three deep breaths in through your nose,

Out through your mouth,

Letting that be a little break that reconnects you with your senses,

That reconnects you with yourself.

And that's what this moment is all about,

Is reconnecting.

So continue to breathe and recognize how beautiful and incredible you are for knowing to take this time for yourself.

And now let's turn our attention to our heart space.

If you'd like you can bring your hands up,

One hand,

Two hands,

Just cover your heart and feel that space.

Maybe you feel the beat.

Maybe you feel some warmth.

Maybe you're more aware of your breathing by holding your hands over your heart.

But just envision a light source there.

It's glowing and it's very strong and it is always there.

It's your core.

And your core operates best when you take moments to remind it to take moments of peace,

Of pause,

Of just doing nothing,

Which is actually doing something.

Reminding yourself that you matter and that your decisions matter.

And that no matter how harried you might become during the day or in a certain situation,

That it's okay to pause.

It's okay to take a beat.

It's okay to take a breath.

So you can leave your hands near your heart space if you'd like or you can rest them on your thighs.

Can hold them at your center,

Whatever you want to do.

Let's just reconnect with our breath for a minute.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

And as we do this,

Let's envision that heart light of ours glowing even brighter now because we've recharged it and so it's reaching into all parts of our bodies.

Maybe it's helping our spine be a little straighter.

Maybe it's helping us breathe with a little more ease.

Maybe we feel that bright light like sunshine in our head and we're realizing that what we thought was a huge problem is something that we can face with courage no matter what decisions we make about it.

And sometimes that goes double for the small problems because those can be the things that set us off the most.

So just be here now and remember that these moments of peace are deserved and earned and should be celebrated.

You are worth being celebrated.

Now let's take another breath and then slowly open your eyes.

Just be easy with it.

Take in the room around you or the space around you if you happen to be outside.

Become more aware of the sounds.

Surely there's going to be more thoughts coming in now that we know we are leaving our moment of peace and that's okay.

But just remember this feeling.

Remember the warm light from your heart space.

Remember the quiet space that your breath inhabits and come back here whenever you need to.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I wish you many moments of peace especially as you face the various challenges,

To-do's and different tasks of your day.

Remember you matter.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for that, Greg. That was beautiful. I really needed something to get my reboot underway. Even after several meaningful years of practice I’m still fumbling with that oxygen mask. Peace and Blessings. 🙏

So needed that moment of peace. Love the music, words and analogy. Adding this to my meditation practice. Blessings

This is exactly what I needed and gave me so much peace. Your voice and words are so comforting, and even the music is so nice. Thank you.

Very empowering, thank you Gregg! I especially like your gentle reminder that we can allow ourselves to answer/respond when we are ready, hitting that pause button is healthy.🙏🏻

Gregg, thank you for this moment of peace. I feel lighter and more relaxed!🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾

This was Exactly what I needed to center myself!

Great meditation to connect with the present moment. Helped me to calm my monkey mind this morning. Thank you, Gregg.

A simple and wonderful practice to remind you of some important perspective. You matter, put your proverbial airplane oxygen mask on first, be present. Great narration and soothing background music too.

Thank you! Very peaceful.