A warm welcome to you.
I'm curious,
Are you like most of us,
Spending your days caught inside your mind?
Do you have certain types of thoughts that play on repeat,
Day after day?
Do these habits of thinking relate to replaying the past?
Or to planning or worrying about your future?
Do they feel like worries,
Regrets,
Hopes or wants?
In today's meditation we shall hold one of these thinking habits in our mind's eye,
And through the act of meditation we shall see if we can understand it in a new way,
In a way that ultimately allows us to feel less stuck and more free.
Together let's come down from our habitual thinking minds into the wisdom of our bodies and our hearts,
Into the place of knowing that lives deep within.
So let us begin by settling into a comfortable position.
This may be seated or lying down,
Whatever feels best for you today,
And offering yourself a moment to make any final readjustments,
Because it's important to be comfortable when you meditate.
And as you close down your eyes,
Can you smile at all the parts of you who have been present in your life lately?
Perhaps your tired self,
Your impatient self,
Your self who has felt a little too busy.
Maybe you will welcome yourself who desires more peace and connection.
And just offering all these parts of you a warm smile.
They are all welcome here.
Seeing this smile to soften the area across your eyes,
Your jaw,
Your cheeks.
This sense of smile softening your shoulders,
Your chest,
Softening deep into your stomach.
And now from this place of warmth and openness,
Turning your awareness to the soft rhythm of your breath.
Noticing the way your chest naturally rises and falls with the flow of breath.
Seeing also how your belly naturally expands and contracts as you breathe.
Being aware of how your body breathes on its own.
Inviting you now to bring your awareness to your thoughts as they have been today or over the past few days.
Where have your thoughts been taking you?
Perhaps to the past?
Maybe to the future?
No need to grab onto these thoughts,
Just remaining open and curious.
And is there one type of thought that has been playing over in your mind?
For example,
A regret from the past?
Or a worry or a want for your future?
Bringing these thoughts and reflections a few deep intentional breaths now.
With these breaths a sense of space and perspective is growing within you.
Perhaps you are able to see these thoughts as neither true nor false,
But simply as a familiar pattern of thinking.
Our minds love habits,
They conserve energy and help us to understand our lives,
So it's natural that we get caught in thinking habits.
I'm curious,
What words would you use to describe this pattern of thinking you have identified?
Rumination,
Regret,
Hoping,
Wanting,
Planning,
Daydreaming or something else.
And now,
Can you offer these thoughts and this thinking pattern a gentle smile?
And with one deep intentional breath,
Let's send these thoughts into the background of our awareness.
Here,
In this meditation space you have created,
It's safe to let these thoughts go.
Drawing your awareness once more into your breath.
The steady flow of air moving in and out of your body.
Just as the tide washes over the sand,
Your breath washes over you.
Now directing your breath into your heart,
Water the space in the middle of your chest.
Imagining that each in-breath is landing here.
With each in-breath,
We are waking our heart from its slumber.
With each breath,
We are connecting to the wisdom of our hearts.
Your heart that loves,
Connects and feels,
Your heart that breaks and heals.
Testing here in the warmth and peace of your heart.
Noticing any physical sensations or feelings that are present as you connect with your heart.
Any sense of warmth,
Of relaxation,
Of softening.
No right or wrong here,
Simply resting in whatever your experience may be.
And now directing your breath further down your body,
To your gut,
To the place just below the centre of your chest.
Directing each in-breath to arrive deep into your gut.
Directing each in-breath to this wisdom centre within you.
Your gut,
The place we feel our nerves,
Our worries,
Our excitement and our joy.
With each in-breath,
Can you allow your gut to soften,
To relax?
With each out-breath,
A letting go.
Testing here in the wisdom of your gut for a few more breaths.
And now directing your breath deep into your belly.
Really allowing your belly to expand with each in-breath.
Allowing your belly to soften with each out-breath.
Relaxing,
Relaxing.
Letting go of tension in your belly.
Taking one final deep breath into your belly.
Resting in any felt sense of softening,
Of relaxation.
Being here in this felt sense of having woken our hearts,
Our gut and our bellies.
Being connected to these parts of us and the deep wisdom that they hold.
And if you like,
Just noticing if that thinking habit or those thoughts we rested upon at the beginning of our practice feel any different.
Perhaps they feel less real or less powerful.
Maybe you can understand them with a broader perspective or a new level of insight.
Perhaps you have learnt something about yourself.
Resting here for a few final moments,
Allowing yourself to absorb the wisdom of your reflections.
When you are ready,
Beginning to draw your awareness back to your fingers and toes.
Offering them some gentle movement and opening your eyes to the space you are in.
May you move through your days with a greater awareness of your habitual thoughts and the ability to see them with fresh eyes and an open heart.
