Welcome to your Leaves on a Stream meditation.
Let's start off by finding a comfortable position.
You may lie on your back or be seated.
If you're seated,
You can either sit cross-legged in easy pose or on your feet in kneeling pose.
You can sit on a cushion or have one behind you if that helps you feel comfortable.
Keep your back nice and straight.
Place your hands facing upwards,
Ready to receive all the energy around you.
Gently close down your eyes as you start to settle into your meditation.
Let's relax all of your body,
One part at a time,
Starting with your face.
Scrunch up your face really tight and then let it go.
Hunch your shoulders up to your ears and let it go.
Tighten your hands into tight tight balls,
Feel all the muscles in your arms switch on and then let it go.
Curl your toes up really tight,
Feel all the muscles in your legs switch on and then let it go.
Feel your belly relax,
Your back relax,
Your whole body is still and relaxed.
Keeping your eyes closed,
I'd like you to imagine a garden path with flowers and trees either side.
As you walk along the path,
You come to five steps.
Going down these steps lead you into feeling calm,
Safe and peaceful.
Going down the first step,
You feel your whole body relax and feel heavy.
As you walk down the second step,
You notice your thoughts start to drift away and you feel more relaxed.
The third step sees all your feelings float away and you start to feel light.
The fourth step opens your heart to everything that brings you joy.
And as you step on the fifth and final step,
Your whole body is soft and warm and deeply relaxed.
Imagine yourself walking through a beautiful forest.
Picture the tall trees around you,
Trees that have stood there tall for years and years.
Notice all the different shades of green from all the different leaves as you look up.
If you're really quiet,
You might hear the sound of birds singing or the gentle rustle of the leaves in the wind.
On the forest floor,
You see lush plants and bushes.
Some of them have got little flowers on them.
Bend down and smell the lovely scent of one of the flowers.
The sun is shining.
It's nice and warm.
And you can see little rays of light coming down through the canopy of the trees.
It feels so calm and peaceful in the forest.
You can hear water flowing and walk towards it.
You come to a little stream.
Walk over to the stream and sit on the grassy bank.
You look at the gently flowing stream and see leaves floating on the surface of the water.
For the next few moments,
I'd like you to take each thought that enters your mind and place it on one of the leaves,
Then let it float by.
Do this with each thought,
Whether it's a pleasurable thought,
A painful thought or a neutral one.
Even if you have joyful and enthusiastic thoughts,
Place them on the leaf and let them float by.
If your thoughts momentarily stop,
Continue to watch the stream.
Sooner or later,
Your thoughts will start up again.
Allow the stream to flow at its own pace.
Don't try to speed it up and rush your thoughts along.
You're not trying to rush the leaves along or get rid of your thoughts.
You're allowing them to come and go at their own pace.
If your mind says to you things like,
I'm bored or I'm not sure I'm doing this right,
Place those thoughts on the leaves too and let them pass by.
All of our thoughts are valid.
You can place them all on the leaves.
If a leaf gets stuck,
Allow it to hang around until it's ready to float by.
If the thought comes up again,
Watch it float by another time.
If a difficult or painful feeling arises,
Simply acknowledge it and say to yourself,
I notice myself have the feeling of and then say what the feeling is that you're having.
Place those thoughts on the leaves and allow them to float along.
From time to time,
Your thoughts may hook you and distract you from being fully present in this meditation.
If that happens,
It's okay.
It's perfectly normal.
As soon as you realise that you've become distracted,
Smile to yourself and gently bring your attention back to the stream,
Watching the leaves going past and placing your thoughts on them.
It's now time for you to leave the stream,
But know that you can come back and visit it whenever you like to.
All you have to do is close your eyes,
Imagine the stream gently flowing with the leaves on it and come and place your thoughts on the leaves.
You start to make your way back towards the five steps and you start to walk up them.
5,
4,
3,
2 and 1.
And as you reach the top of the stairs,
You notice how calm and peaceful you feel.
This lovely feeling fills your whole body and a wave of joy washes over you.
Slowly now start to wiggle your fingers.
Slowly start to wiggle your toes.
Have a big,
Big stretch.
Put your arms around yourself.
Give yourself a big hug and thank yourself for making the time for your meditation today.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Congratulations on completing your Leaves on a Stream meditation.
Namaste.
