This is a meditation to cultivate a sense of stability and groundedness in your body,
Mind,
And spirit.
Over the next few moments,
We'll be doing a guided visualization where we'll use all of our senses to paint a picture of a place where we feel safe and welcome and joyful.
A place that might be real or imagined,
A place you've been to recently or haven't been to in a long time,
Or even a place where you spend a lot of your current days.
You're free to choose any place that cultivates,
Again,
Those feelings of security and warmth,
A place where you can walk into the room or the general area and know that you are home.
To begin,
Find a comfortable seat.
You can sit on the ground,
In a chair,
On a couch,
Or even lie down on your back if that feels more supportive to you.
Use props like pillows or blankets so that you feel supported in all of your limbs.
No effort or straining in the legs or the feet or the hips.
If you're lying down,
You might even bend your knees and place your feet on the ground or rest a blanket over your abdomen to really nurture that grounding root area of the body in the pelvis and the legs.
Once you've found your position,
You could begin to watch your breath,
Letting that inward focus start to disappear some of the environment around you right now as we move into our visualization.
Starting by visualizing the breath is our very first way of cultivating stability.
The breath is a dynamic,
Fluid,
Moving force,
But it is constant.
It is rhythmic.
It is always with us,
A constant companion from the first moment of our lives to the last.
You might even stay with the breath as your stable place for this meditation if it feels comforting to you to just be with this natural function of your body.
Our bodies themselves are our most stable place.
Taking a few moments to be with the physicality of your shape.
This miraculous,
Autonomic,
Life-giving breath.
Feel the breath moving also within the structure of your body around your bones,
Through your muscles.
Visualize it penetrating every corner of your being,
Softening and hydrating.
The breath moving all through you.
Once you feel settled in your breath,
Without any tension in the face or the jaw,
A fluid movement of the breath all the way through the chest into the abdomen and the pelvis.
So there's no constriction anywhere along the path of breath,
Path of digestion.
We'll start to bring to mind our stable place for meditation today.
Choose a place that makes you feel at home,
Where you know there is room for you.
Perhaps literally a room with a door and walls where you can be in solitude or in company.
Or perhaps where there is energetic room for you,
Where you feel the elements vibrating at the same speed,
Same tenor,
The same quality as your vibrations,
Where your breath is not stuck,
But free and supple.
Once you've chosen your place,
We'll begin by calling to mind the sounds of that place.
Without having to visualize anything yet,
Can you hear the voices of the people in that space?
The sounds of nature if you're outside.
What's familiar?
What's unfamiliar?
What are the startling sounds and what are the background sounds that hum along while you spend time there?
Let your ears be easy as they gently receive these sounds,
Your vibrations and their vibrations emerging in the space of your body.
Notice the close sounds and the faraway sounds,
The sounds that move,
The sounds that are stuck,
The sounds that you contribute with your voice,
With your movement,
With your breath.
Begin now to notice the information you get through your skin in this place.
What is the temperature of the space?
Is there sunlight streaming through a window and resting on your arm,
Warming it gently?
Is it nighttime and the stars are twinkling up above in the sky?
Is it cool?
Do you need a blanket or a sweater?
Or is it warm and you're laying in the sun?
Do you feel the air moving?
Or is it still?
Perhaps there's another element or texture that you are experiencing,
The ground or sand or water,
Bark of a tree or the touch,
The embrace of a loved one.
What clothes are you wearing in this space?
What is the texture of the fabric?
Does the clothing breathe with you?
How do you move in this space?
Does your body feel limber and agile?
Are you doing an activity or being still?
Notice how your skin stretches and communicates with the space around you.
Next,
We'll begin to invite some color and shape,
Some visuals into this space.
Notice the objects around you or the lack of objects.
How are they arranged?
Is it a busy,
Full space or is it empty and neat?
Are there things moving around or are they stable?
Notice the quality of light in the space.
Is it bright?
Is it dark?
Where do the shadows fall?
What do you see around you?
Who do you see around you?
How are you seen by the other beings in your space?
Now take a few moments to gently swallow and bring to mind any of the tastes of this place.
Can you taste the air around you?
A salty ocean?
Lonely forest?
Foods being cooked in this space or eaten together?
What is the taste in your mouth as you encounter the people around you?
Is there a particular food or drink that you look forward to when you arrive in this space?
What does the entire experience taste like?
Is it succulent and delicious?
Is it juicy or is it dry?
Is there a bitterness or is it sweet?
How are you nourished by this space?
What are you digesting?
What are you craving?
You can swallow as many times as you like to keep the juices flowing in your mouth as you conjure the tastes of the space.
Lastly,
We'll think of the smells of this space.
Perhaps it's more of the smells of the food that you've been eating.
The smells of the people around you.
The smells of the air.
Of your own body.
Is there an aroma that can transport you to this place?
Even when you're not there.
An aroma that conjures the entire essence.
All the elements come alive through that simple smell.
Let the essence of this place be carried on your breath into your nose,
Digested by your body.
Continue to breathe evenly and softly.
Letting your breath be a form of transportation.
Even as it's stabilizing you here in this moment.
Take a few more breaths to soak in all the elements of your space.
The sounds,
The textures,
The light and colors.
The tastes and the smells.
The people and beings who gather with you in this space.
The feeling in your body.
As you begin to say farewell.
Remembering that you can come back anytime to this stable place.
Using the power of your senses.
For the next few breaths you can begin to transition back into your present space.
Using your senses again to place yourself in your room or wherever your physical body is right now.
Coming back to the periphery of your shape.
Your bones,
Your muscles,
Your skin.
You can bring your hands to your body to give yourself a tangible reminder of where you are.
Return to the internal movements of your breath.
The life force that is always with you.
Constant reminder of your presence here on the earth.
The stability of your body as it takes care of this most vital function.
If you haven't already,
You might place hands on your body.
Maybe one hand on your heart,
One hand on your belly.
Using your own hands to honor the stable place of your body.
The stability of you.
So let's take a quick go of your breath now and gently float your eyes open if they've been closed.
And carry the sensations of your stable place as you move out of the meditation and into the rest of your day.
Thank you for your peace.
