Take a moment to close your eyes and just tune into your breath,
Coming in through the nostrils and out through the mouth.
This breath is your anchor.
It keeps you centered all throughout the day and now as we really tune into the present moment.
There's no need to let the attention drift off and latch on to other things.
Just let it be here,
Soft and gentle,
In the moment.
Notice the sensations within you without attaching any sense of particular meaning to them and instead just observing them.
Maybe noticing temperature,
Feeling within different limbs,
Whether you feel heavy or light,
Energetic or perhaps tired.
Just becoming aware of those sentiments and letting them be exactly as they are.
Maybe there's noises in the background,
Just let them pass.
Maybe there's feelings of discomfort and those too.
We really don't need to assign meaning or get swept away by them.
But instead just let them come and go as if you're releasing a leaf into the flow of a river.
And thoughts might pop up here and there.
That's natural.
When we meditate,
What we try to do is to accept those thoughts and not struggle against them,
Just to be aware of them instead.
We're like a person sitting behind the waterfall,
Watching that water rushing down,
But not getting swept up,
Not falling with the thoughts.
Just observing,
Accepting and letting them pass.
And take a moment to scan through each part of your body,
Just noticing whatever feelings or sensations are there,
Still not attaching any meaning to them,
But letting them be.
Starting from wherever you might feel sensations and then looking toward other parts of your body,
Just noticing what's there.
And then draw your attention back to that breath and notice if it slowed down or sped up.
You should just breathe at a normal,
Comfortable pace,
In through the nose,
Out through the mouth.
Seeing that breath anchor your attention here in the present moment.
The world might rush on around us,
But at any point we can come back to this breath and just slow down.
Let those thoughts pass without getting swept up in them.
Very often in our days we rush around doing so many things,
But in reality we're less effective when we're in that state of mind,
So it can be incredibly valuable to stop moving and just stay still.
Bear with the breath,
Coming back to your personal center and this state of peace.
When we tap into that sense of inner peace,
We're better able to understand and interpret the things that happen to us and not to assign any sort of particular meaning to them,
But instead to accept them as they come and to react in a way that serves us and that creates goodness from whatever circumstances arrive.
We can't control what will happen to us.
There's so many factors in life that could change at any given moment,
But we can decide how we react to them.
We can choose whether to get wrapped up in our emotions or to instead take time and pause and regain that sense of stillness and control.
Not control in a way that tries to force things,
But just a control of ourselves.
Being able to stop getting swept up with emotion and becoming the emotions themselves,
But instead just remaining in stillness,
Observing our surroundings and our experiences with calmness.
And that is when we are best equipped to cope with what happens to us.
Still breathing in through the nostrils,
Out through the mouth.
Deep breaths.
Just feeling a sense of stillness rippling through the body.
Out through the center to the arms and legs,
All the way to the tips of the toes as if a light is filling up every inch of our bodies.
So that we are really carrying this sense of stillness all day long.
And as we come to the end of this meditation,
Take another moment to notice how you feel.
To see if anything might have changed since the beginning of this meditation.
If things might have changed physically,
Maybe releasing tension,
Feeling lighter and emotionally,
Letting go of baggage and any strong emotions that prevent us from being our best selves.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
I wish you the best as you continue through your day carrying this sense of calm with you.
Namaste.
Namaste.
Namaste.
