These next few minutes are for yourself,
Setting aside the to-do lists,
The must-haves,
The shoulds and coulds.
Bringing yourself to this present moment through the senses,
Drinking in light and color,
Sounds nearby and far away,
Smells and tastes,
Feeling the support of the surface beneath you,
Feeling air on your skin,
Cool or warm.
Close your eyes if that's available to you,
Or let your eyes just be soft.
During this practice,
Every experience is a messenger,
Inviting you to welcome and be with thoughts,
Emotions,
Physical sensations,
And also to welcome yourself as the one experiencing all of these sensations arising,
Unfolding,
Dissolving.
So welcome and be with whatever's present for you right now with openness and curiosity,
Non-judgment,
And fierce self-compassion.
Bring your attention to a heartfelt desire.
Whatever is calling to your heart right now.
It could be something simple like inviting in more moments of self-care,
More kindness and patience toward others.
Or maybe there's something you've been working toward for a long time.
Whatever it is,
For just a few moments,
Welcome and be with your heartfelt desire,
With your entire body and mind.
Bring your attention now to intention for this practice,
A three-part intention because we are all connected for yourself,
For someone or someones,
And for Mother Earth.
State these intentions in the present tense.
For example,
I am present,
They are compassionate,
Mother Earth is thriving.
Take just a few moments to welcome and affirm your intention.
And now bring your attention to your inner resource.
This is a felt sense of well-being that's always with you.
If it's helpful,
Feel free to recall a memory in which you felt seen and heard.
You felt a sense of connection or belonging,
A sense of presence,
Wonder,
Or awe.
Just a few moments now to welcome and nourish your inner resource.
This inner resource is always here for you whenever you need to take time out to rest,
Restore and feel at ease and present.
So at any point in time during this practice,
Or outside of this practice,
Feel free to weave in and welcome your inner resource.
And now allow my words to be your words as we rotate attention through the body experiencing sensation as we go.
You may feel a little bit of sensation,
You may feel a lot of sensation,
But whatever you feel is perfect just as it is.
Bring attention to the tip of the nose.
Giving up thinking,
Just feeling the tip of your nose.
Bring attention to the chin.
Giving up judgment,
Giving up thinking,
Just feeling the chin.
Giving up story,
Just sensing the outsides of the cheeks,
The insides of your cheeks,
The ceiling of the mouth,
Floor of the mouth,
The lips,
Teeth,
Gums,
The tongue,
The jaw.
Just sensing everything just as it is.
Bring attention to the left ear,
The right ear,
Both ears simultaneously as sensation.
The left nostril,
The right nostril,
The flow of sensation in and out of both nostrils simultaneously.
The left eyebrow,
Temple,
Cheekbone,
Bridge of the nose,
The entire left eye as sensation.
Right eye,
Eyebrow,
Temple,
Cheekbone,
Bridge of the nose,
The entire right eye as sensation.
Both eyes simultaneously as radiant or shimmering sensation.
And yourself as the one experiencing all of these sensations arising,
Unfolding,
Dissolving.
Bring your attention to the forehead,
The crown of the head,
The back of the head,
The neck,
The throat,
The touch of air in the throat.
Giving up thinking,
Just sensing,
And everything just as it is.
Bring attention to the shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
The left palm of the hand,
The right palm of the hand.
Both palms of the hands simultaneously as radiant or shimmering sensation.
Bring attention to the upper chest,
The middle chest,
The abdomen and belly,
Upper back,
Mid back,
Lower back,
The entire torso,
Front and back,
Left side and right side as radiant or shimmering sensation.
Bring attention to the pelvis,
The sacrum,
The hips,
Legs,
And feet,
The right sole of the foot,
The left sole of the foot.
Both soles of the feet simultaneously as radiant or shimmering sensation.
Feeling now the entire body,
Front of the body,
Back of your body,
Left side,
Right side,
Inside the body,
The surface of your body,
A field of radiant,
Shimmering sensation.
Set your attention free to roam about the body now,
Inviting it to land in the breath,
Noticing how bringing attention to the breath can energize a little bit.
Bring attention to the exhale,
Riding the exhale all the way out to that tiny pause before it dissolves into the inhale which takes care of itself.
Just moving along with the exhale and inviting the exhale to lengthen without pushing or forcing,
Just inviting space into the exhale.
The exhale stimulates the relaxation response in the body,
Welcoming this lengthened exhale.
Set your attention free again to roam about the body,
Welcoming any sensation calling your attention,
A physical sensation,
Or a thought sensation,
Or perhaps an emotion sensation.
Whatever sensation is present,
Feel it in the body.
Where do you feel it?
And what are its qualities,
Coolness or warmth,
Tension or ease?
Feel into the sensation fully,
Without judgment and letting go of story and labels,
Just welcoming sensation.
If this physical sensation,
Thought sensation,
Or emotion sensation had an opposite,
What would that feel like and where would you feel that in the body?
Feeling this opposite sensation fully,
Without judgment or story,
And now go back and forth between the original sensation and its opposite,
Feeling one fully and then the other,
Until when you're ready,
Feeling both opposites simultaneously.
And now welcome yourself as spacious awareness in which all of these sensations are arising,
Dissolving,
Just feeling yourself as spacious awareness,
Expansive,
Limitless.
Now welcome your attention back into the body.
Feeling the soles of the feet,
The palms of the hands,
The crown of the head,
Welcoming again your heartfelt desire and experience it as true right now and feel how that acts on your body.
Come back to your inner resource.
This deep ground of well-being is always here for you,
Reminding you that you always have within you the perfect response to whatever is arising,
Unfolding,
Dissolving in and around you.
Come back to your senses now.
Drinking in sounds far away and nearby,
Smells and tastes,
Feeling the support of the surface beneath you,
The support of mother earth beneath the surface holding you.
From behind the window shades of your eyes,
Light and color,
And as you slowly open them,
Shape and form,
Gently welcoming back the thinking mind as you return to this space.
Grateful for taking this time for yourself,
Your well-being,
And the well-being of this world we share.
I'm so grateful.
Thank you for letting me share this practice with you.
