Welcome,
And thank you for joining me,
Jean Vetrano,
For this guided meditation.
Throughout the day,
We have moments where we feel more open and less open,
Depending on many conditions.
This meditation is intended to help us to practice opening.
We experience more joy when we are open-hearted,
Not contracted by fear.
When we are open,
We are able to live more,
To see more,
Receive more,
And give more.
Sometimes we need to encourage ourselves to live in this open-hearted space.
It is a more pleasant place to be.
This practice is an act of kindness toward ourselves and toward others.
Please get comfortable right where you are and allow yourself to ease into stillness.
Your eyes can close if that's helpful.
Begin by letting go of effort or tension that you recognize that you don't really need right now.
You may have needed it before,
But in this very moment,
You can choose to let it go.
See what you can let fall away.
You might bring your awareness to the ground underneath you that's supporting you,
And let it receive your weight.
Find a simple presence through your back,
Just enough effort to be awake,
Aware.
You might notice anywhere you may be collapsing or contracting in the front of your torso,
And invite some lightness and space there.
Letting go of any holding in your abdomen or any tightening through your chest.
Letting go of any gripping at the front of your hips.
And let your shoulders rest.
In this very moment,
There's nothing you need to lift,
To carry,
To hold,
To move.
Allowing your arms and your hands to be heavy on your lap,
Your fingers at ease.
And the muscles in your face can soften,
A relaxed jaw,
A soft mouth,
Soft eyes,
And now more connected to your body.
Let your attention find its way to your breathing,
Gradually finding its rhythm,
Its pace.
Let yourself drop into its movement.
It may feel subtle at first,
And that's okay.
And there's no need to control it.
Just feel the breath as it comes in,
And as it goes out.
Let the breath breathe you.
And continue to follow your breathing as I guide you with my words.
Can allow the words to wash over you.
You don't need to work hard or analyze what I say.
Just let the words land and digest on their own.
During this meditation,
When you notice your mind has gotten pulled away,
Enjoy that moment of waking up.
It's a good moment.
And enjoy returning to your breath and to my words.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Let the breath's natural rhythm be a comfort to you.
It's there for you.
Allow yourself to slow down and rest right here in the present moment.
Breathing in the present moment,
You don't need to be anything other than what you are.
You don't need to be more or less of anything.
Knowing this,
Invite yourself to let go of any obvious guarding that might be going on inside of you.
Any need to protect or defend.
Realizing that in this very moment,
You don't need it.
Not a future moment or a past one,
But in this one,
You can put down any armor,
Any guarding,
Any need to protect.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Letting go of any need to inflate yourself or deflate yourself.
Let yourself be just as you are.
You can let the body assist in this process by gradually releasing physical tension.
So again,
Even if it is just for this moment,
Can you let fall away the contraction in your muscles that comes from the effort of defending or fighting,
Bracing,
Or needing to prove anything.
And instead,
Feel your whole body softening,
Relaxing,
Opening,
Softening,
Relaxing,
Opening.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
You can be at ease right here,
Right now.
And as you continue to let go of layers of holding and effort,
You may start to feel each breath more fully.
The gentle,
Easy rise and fall.
The flow of the breath's movement in your body.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
What if you allowed yourself to trust in that?
That in opening,
You will be safe because you trust in your ability to care for yourself.
You trust in your ability to bring compassion and kindness to anything that arises.
You can be there for yourself always with your own love.
You can trust in opening.
You might sense the area around your chest opening,
Softening around your heart.
Being there for ourselves,
We realize that no one can really harm what is inside of us.
Because no person,
No situation can take love from us.
What we value most.
Words can be said and things can be taken.
But what is inside of us is everlasting love.
We can always bring kindness toward ourselves,
Toward others,
Toward a situation with no need to clench or grasp or hold on.
Let go of any effort in your arms,
Your hands.
Let yourself relax here.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Kindness is infallible.
This understanding is such a powerful place to live from.
It makes us effortlessly indestructible.
Even in our vulnerability,
We can choose to relax with our imperfections.
And of course,
At times we forget and we do get reactive,
But we can always begin again.
And more and more,
We can practice staying for greater lengths of time in a place of open heartedness,
Kindness.
To live here feels so much better.
Right now,
Your face can be open,
Soft,
Gentle.
Even with your eyes closed,
There can be a softening in the corners of your eyes and an opening with a reminder that in this moment,
There's nothing to brace against.
In this moment,
There's nothing to look out for.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
We can relax with our presence,
Our kindness,
Our ability to forgive,
Accept,
And to be generous,
Able to be awed and full of gratitude.
There is nothing to guard our heart against.
If we live here,
Joy is abundant and there is nothing to lose,
But only more to give and receive a beautiful cycle.
We can be as open as the sun,
Spreading light in all directions,
Effortlessly.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
We can choose to relax right now,
Moment by moment.
We can take this into the day or the night.
We can live from this place.
As you wind this meditation down,
I invite you to take a moment to thank yourself for your practice today.
I thank you as well,
And I invite you to go gently into your next moment.
