A warm welcome to this meditation where we will rest in the power of the present.
Inviting you to settle into a comfortable position and just noticing if you could be 10% more comfortable.
Making any final adjustments you need.
And as you close down your eyes and begin to arrive into this moment,
Can you just welcome all the parts of you who are here today?
Perhaps you may like to welcome your tired self,
Yourself who has felt distracted or impatient lately,
Or yourself who desires more calm or peace.
And can you offer each of these parts of you a smile?
This universal gesture of warmth and friendliness.
Taking a deep breath into this sense of smile.
And as you continue to breathe,
Imagining this sense of smile softening the area across your eyes.
Softening your cheeks.
Softening your jaw.
This sense of warmth settling over your entire face now.
Moving down towards your shoulders.
Encouraging a softening there.
Almost as if from the inside out.
This sense of smile landing on your chest.
Perhaps even touching your heart.
Taking a deep breath into your stomach.
And as you exhale,
Noticing a sense of softening and warmth here.
This sense of smile moving down your legs.
All the way to your feet and toes.
This sense of smile and relaxation moving down your arms.
All the way to your hands and fingers.
Allowing your whole body to rest in this felt sense of warmth and relaxation.
And now just allowing your awareness to remain open and curious towards your sensate world.
Noticing the touch of clothes on your skin.
The touch of your body as it rests on the ground below.
Can you let go of any sense of holding on,
No matter how subtle?
Letting go a little more into the ground below.
And as you let go,
Noticing how the ground rises up to meet you.
The ground is holding you.
Resting here in this sense of being held.
Noticing the touch of your breath as it moves in and out of your body.
The touch of air flowing in.
The touch of air flowing out.
Resting here in the gentle ebb and flow of your breath.
Just as the tide washes over the sand,
Your breath washes over you.
Perhaps you are being touched by a sense of relaxation or of calm.
Resting here in the awareness of presence.
If your mind is wandering,
That's okay,
Gently coming back.
And with your gentle attention,
Can you wake your senses a little more?
Noticing taste or sensations within the mouth.
Subtle scents as they cross your nose.
Colors,
Shades or shapes behind your closed eyes.
Noticing the sounds in your environment.
Sounds far away.
Sounds closer by.
The beginning of sounds.
The end of sounds.
Noticing also the moments of silence in between.
Noticing how you are still amidst this sense of sound and movement.
Noticing how with the power of awareness the present moment is so full and rich.
Noticing how you can feel peaceful within these gentle acts of noticing.
Offering you a few minutes now to rest in the present moment.
Getting more relaxed.
How do you feel?
What do you notice?
What gift has this moment of presence given you today?
Perhaps a sense of peace,
Of calm,
Of perspective.
Maybe a sense of creativity,
Freedom or inspiration.
Just taking a nice deep breath into whatever has emerged for you.
And finishing as we began with a gentle smile.
Offering your body any gentle movements it desires.
And when you are ready,
Bringing your awareness back into the room you are in.
Perhaps as you re-enter your world of sight you are able to see things in your environment with fresh eyes.
May you move through your days with a sense of awareness for the richness of the present.
