Connect With Your Soul - Introduction To Meditation

An introduction to meditation, ideal for beginners. Starts with a guided deep relaxation and leads into a short practice to establish or reinforce a soul connection for inner guidance. Includes an option at the end to either drift off to a peaceful, healing sleep or return to full waking consciousness, relaxed and energised. (Music and production by MaJiKer, who is also a teacher on Insight Timer. Check out his profile for his ‘Serenetudes’, beautiful soundscapes ideal for meditation.)

Transcript

My name is Heather Dean. I'm so happy to be your guide for this meditation today. Thank you for taking this precious time just for you, For your wellbeing. It's so important. Meditation is not about trying to stop our thoughts or about trying to clear our mind as many people believe. Rather it's about letting our thoughts be present, About observing them and thereby realizing that we are not these thoughts that never cease like a radio that we can't turn off. We are the consciousness behind the thoughts. We are not the radio, But the one who listens to the radio. We are the awareness. And just as we can tune a radio to access a station that we like, We also have the possibility and the power to choose our thoughts or at least to choose which thoughts we give energy to by paying attention to them. And as we give our energy more often to thoughts that feel good to us and begin to pay less attention to those that don't feel good to us, We start to have more mental clarity and more emotional liberation or moksha in Sanskrit. More emotional freedom, More joy, More peace of mind. You deserve that. So I invite you now to just find a comfortable position, Either seated or lying down. Any way that feels comfortable to you is fine. There is nothing else you need to do right now. Know where else you need to be. So just allow yourself to be here now and relax, Relax, Relax. Take a deep breath in through your nose and breathe out slowly. We're going to do this together another two times. So once again, A deep breath in and breathe out slowly. And one last time, Breathe in and a nice long slow breath out. That's perfect. And if you haven't already, Just let your eyes float closed, Drift closed and fill all the little muscles in and around your eyes. Just relax and let go as you drift deeper and deeper into this peaceful state of relaxation and connection with yourself. Let your jaw relax, Your shoulders, Your forehead, All the muscles in your body are becoming more and more relaxed, Completely at ease. That's perfect. Now just drop your chin slightly as if you were looking over a balcony or down a flight of stairs. I want you to imagine that there are 10 steps in front of you and these steps lead to a beautiful place where you feel very comfortable, Safe and completely relaxed. This could be a real place you visited or somewhere completely imagined. Maybe it's a beach or a garden or absolutely anywhere you would love to be. I'm going to guide you down the steps and you'll go deeper and deeper into this wonderful state of relaxation. You are completely safe and always in control. You are free and able to bring yourself easily back to full consciousness if you want or need to at any time. I want you to imagine you are moving on to step 10 as you begin to feel more and more relaxed. You can see your feet, Hear your feet and even feel your feet moving on to step 9 as you go even deeper into relaxation. You're moving on to step 8, Going deeper into this blissful awareness of yourself with every heartbeat. You're taking step 7, Feeling more and more relaxed as you just focus on the sound of my voice. You're taking step 6, Going deeper into this calm, Peaceful state of awareness. You're taking step 5, You're already halfway down and when you reach the bottom you'll be at least twice as relaxed as you are already. You're taking step 4 as every muscle, Every nerve lets loose and you go deeper. You're taking step 3, Feeling incredibly calm and peaceful and maybe your arms or legs are starting to feel just a little heavier now. You're taking step 2, Feeling more and more connected to your own inner peace. You're taking step 1, Just go deeper, Sink deeper, Drift deeper and deeper into this blissful connection with yourself. That's perfect, You're doing so well. And now that you're in this deep state of powerful relaxation, We're going to do a little practice, Just focusing on the heart space. So just bring your awareness to your heart, Maybe you can feel an energy present, A slight physical sensation perhaps, Or maybe you don't feel anything at all and that's fine too. Just notice anything that is present for you today and know that whatever you feel is the right thing for you. There are never any right or wrong answers in meditation, There are no shoulds, We're not practicing to judge ourselves, Only to observe with kindness and compassion and to accept whatever may be present in this moment. With our next in-breath, We're going to imagine that we're breathing in a white, Violet or golden light that enters by the top of our head by the crown chakra. So let's take a deep breath in to the count of 1, 2, 3, 4 and just hold it, 2, 3, 4 and breathe out, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. We're going to do that another two times and with each out-breath, I invite you to imagine a beautiful pink, Green or silver light projecting out of your heart space. Breathe in, 2, 3, 4, Hold, 2, 3, 4 and breathe out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. One last time, Breathe in, 2, 3, 4, Hold, 2, 3, 4 and breathe out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. That's perfect. And maybe you can imagine or even feel perhaps that your energetic body, Your aura is now just a little more expanded. And still with our attention on the heart, We're going to ask ourselves a few simple but important questions. First question, What do I need right now? What do I need right now? What do I need right now? And just listen without any expectations to see if any answers come to mind. Sometimes you may get an answer and sometimes you may not and that's fine too. If your heart has a message for you today, It can only be a kind one, Full of love and compassion for you. If ever you feel you receive a message that is not kind or helpful, Please know that that answer is coming from your ego or mind, Not from your heart, Not from your soul because your soul will only ever have messages that support, Comfort or empower you. We're going to ask our heart a second question. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? It's always the same, Try not to expect any answers. Often there will be no answer and that's normal, That's fine too but sometimes you may get an answer. And we're going to ask one final question now. Who or what in my life am I grateful for? Who or what in my life am I grateful for? Who or what in my life am I grateful for? And let the answers gently drift into your mind. Maybe you're grateful for someone important in your life who makes you feel special or for someone or even an animal you know you can always count on. Maybe it's the fact that you can walk or see or hear. Maybe it's for some of your possessions that make your life easier or more enjoyable. Maybe for having a roof over your head or simply for being able to breathe. We can all feel grateful for that. And now can you let yourself welcome just a little smile or maybe even a big smile. When we smile our brain releases stress fighting neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. The more we smile the more we feel like smiling. You can congratulate yourself for having taken this moment in your day just for you. You deserve it so much. I invite you to come back tomorrow and the next day and every day to listen to this meditation or another one that resonates with you. After just seven days you will start to notice small changes in your state of mind throughout the day. You will begin to feel calmer, More relaxed, More connected to your true self and to your intuition. As a result you'll see it becomes easier to make decisions, To remain in the present moment and to meet your needs and the needs of others with more compassion, More love, More joy. Little by little if you continue to meditate every day you may even start to see positive changes in the people around you thanks to your high vibrational energy without you having to try to do anything at all. Your presence alone will be enough to raise the vibration of others and have a positive effect on their wellbeing. Before I leave you for today I want to remind you that you are amazing, You are beautiful, You are perfect exactly as you are and you are always, Always enough. And if you're listening at night you will now drift off to the most healing, Peaceful, Restorative sleep. And if you're listening during the day when I count you back to full awareness in a moment you will come back to full consciousness feeling relaxed, Energized, So happy and ready to continue your day. So feeling wonderful, Feeling amazing, Feeling free as I count you back to full awareness with each number you are becoming more and more aware of your surroundings. On the count of one you're becoming more aware of your body, Feeling your fingers and toes. On the count of two you are aware of the room and sounds around you. On the count of three and four take a deep breath and on the count of five open your eyes, Just open your eyes, Fill up your lungs and take a deep breath and just come back to full awareness. Thank you for being here. See you soon. Namaste.

Reviews

Amazing! I felt safe , held and so relaxed . Your voice is so calming 🌸

Go Heather go Heather go!! 🙏🏻🤍😊

A very relaxing and reassuring meditation. Thank you