In the mountain,
Stillness surges up to explore its own height.
In the lake,
Movement stands still to contemplate its own depth.
This meditation is normally done in a sitting position,
Either on the floor or a chair,
And begins by sensing into the support you have from the chair or the cushion,
Paying attention to the actual sensations of contact.
Finding a position of stability and poise,
Upper body balanced over your hips and shoulders in a comfortable but alert posture.
Hands on your lap or your knees,
Arms hanging by their own weight like heavy curtains,
Stable and relaxed.
Sensing into your body,
Feeling your feet,
Legs,
Hips,
Lower and upper body.
Arms,
Shoulders,
And when you are ready,
Allowing your eyes to close,
Bringing awareness to breath,
The actual physical sensations,
Feeling each breath as it comes in and goes out,
Letting the breath be just as it is,
Without trying to change or regulate it in any way,
Allowing it to flow easily and naturally,
With its own rhythm and pace,
Nowhere to be,
Nothing to do,
Allowing the body to be still and sitting with a sense of dignity,
A sense of resolve,
A sense of being complete,
Whole,
In this very moment,
With your posture reflecting this sense of wholeness.
As you sit here,
Letting an image form in your mind's eye of the most magnificent and beautiful mountain you know or have seen or can imagine,
Letting it gradually come into greater focus,
And even if it doesn't come as a visual image,
Allowing the sense of this mountain and feeling its overall shape,
Its lofty peak high in the sky,
The large base rooted in the bedrock of the Earth's crust,
Its steep or gently sloping sides,
Noticing how massive it is,
How solid,
How unmoving,
How beautiful,
Whether from afar or up close.
Perhaps your mountain has snow blanketing its top and trees reaching down to the base or rugged granite sides.
There may be streams and waterfalls cascading down the slopes.
There may be one peak or a series of peaks or with meadows and high lakes.
Observing it,
Noting its qualities,
And when you feel ready,
Seeing if you can bring the into your own body,
Sitting here so that your body and the mountain in your mind's eye become one,
So that as you sit here,
You share in the massiveness and the stillness and majesty of the mountain,
You become the mountain.
Grounded in the sitting posture,
Your head becomes the lofty peak,
Supported by the rest of the body and affording a panoramic view,
Your shoulders and arms the sides of the mountain,
Your hips and legs the solid base rooted to your cushion or your chair.
Experiencing in your body a sense of uplift from deep within your pelvis and spine.
With each breath as you continue sitting,
Becoming a little more a breathing mountain,
Alive and vital,
Yet unwavering in your inner stillness,
Completely what you are,
Beyond words and thoughts,
A centered,
Grounded,
Unmoving presence.
As you sit here,
Becoming aware of the fact that as the sun travels across the sky,
The light and shadows and colors are changing virtually,
Moment by moment,
In the mountain's stillness and the surface,
Themes with life and activity,
Streams,
Melting snow,
Waterfalls,
Plants and wildlife.
As the mountain sits,
Seeing and feeling how night follows day and day follows night,
The bright warming sun followed by the cool night sky studded with stars and the gradual dawning of a new day.
Through it all,
The mountain just sits,
Experiencing change in each moment,
Constantly changing,
Yet always just being itself.
It remains still as the seasons flow into one another and as the weather changes,
Moment by moment and day by day,
Calmness abiding all change.
In summer,
There's no snow on the mountain,
Except perhaps for the very peaks.
In the fall,
The mountain may wear a coat of brilliant fire colors.
In winter,
A blanket of snow and ice.
In any season,
It may find itself at times enshrouded in clouds or fog or pelted by freezing rain.
People may come to see the mountain and comment on how beautiful it is or how it's not a good day to see the mountain,
That it's too cloudy or rainy or foggy or dark.
None of this matters to the mountain,
Which remains at all times its essential self,
Clouds may come and clouds may go.
Tourists may like it or not.
The mountain's magnificence and beauty are not changed one bit.
By weather people see it or not,
Seen or unseen,
In sun or clouds,
Broiling or frigid,
Day or night.
It just sits,
Being itself.
At times,
Visited by violent storms,
Through it all,
The mountain sits.
Spring comes.
Trees leaf out.
Flowers bloom in the high meadows and slopes.
Birds sing in the trees once again.
Streams overflow with the waters of melting snow.
Through it all,
The mountain continues to sit,
Remaining its essential self.
Through the seasons,
The activity ebbing and flowing on its surface.
In the same way,
As we sit in meditation,
We can learn to experience the mountain.
We can embody the same central,
Unwavering stillness and groundedness.
In the face of everything that changes in our lives.
Over seconds,
Over hours,
Over years.
In our lives and in our meditation practice,
We experience constantly the changing nature of mind and body and of the outer world.
We have our own periods of light and darkness.
It's true that we experience storms of varying intensity and violence in the outer world.
We endure periods of darkness and pain,
As well as the moments of joy and uplift.
By becoming the mountain in our meditation practice,
We can link with its strength and stability.
We can use its energies to support our energy.
To encounter each moment with mindfulness and equanimity.
Mountains have this to teach us,
If we can let it in.
Now when you are ready,
You can open your eyes.
Namaste
