Welcome to this so-called Mountain Meditation.
We start just by bringing our awareness inward.
Just tuning in to how we are right now.
How are our thoughts?
What is our emotion right now?
How does the body feel?
As best we can,
Just getting a nice posture.
Sitting straight up in the chair with the bike.
Straight as possible.
Supported by the chair if need be.
Just having a nice respectful posture.
Connecting in with the body.
Feeling our feet on the floor.
Perhaps feeling into our hands.
Just connecting in with the body and being present.
Bringing your awareness to the sensations of the breath.
Noticing the gentle rhythm it's creating within you.
Letting it be just as it is.
Each inhale and each exhale.
Expanding your awareness to the whole body sitting here.
The sensations in the body.
Feeling the support of the floor and the chair beneath you.
Rooting your body into good strength.
Becoming aware of its connection.
Like the roots of the tree.
Complete and whole.
And in this moment,
Just grounded.
As you sit here,
Visualize a mountain whose peaks you are familiar with.
Visualize its shape.
Its sides stretching upward.
Its peak.
Perhaps its slopes are both jagged and gentle.
Supported by its vast foundation.
Rooted deeply into the earth.
This mountain represents all that is solid,
Firm,
Unmoving and beautiful.
Are there trees or ferns on your mountain?
Are animals grazing on its slopes?
Does snow blanket its heights?
Perhaps there's waterfalls cascading as mist into the open sky or lakes nearby.
However it is,
Let it be just as it is.
And allow yourself to become this mountain.
Be this mountain and share in its stillness.
You have this awe-inspiring perspective of the landscape before you.
Behind you.
To your left and to your right.
All about you.
Which flows from your center into the distant horizon.
Be this mountain.
Take on its stability as your own.
From the top of your crown down your neck and into the balance of your shoulders.
Descending into your arms and forearms.
And resting in the valley of your hands.
Be this mountain.
Your feet and legs and hips,
Its base,
Solid and rooted firmly beneath you.
A foundation extending up your spine and abdomen.
A core of stability.
Be this mountain.
The rhythm of your breath is all that moves you.
A living mountain.
Alive and aware.
Yet unwavering in its inner stillness.
Completely what you are beyond words and thought.
A centered,
Grounded,
Unmovable presence.
Be this mountain.
The mountain witnesses all the seasons,
All the weather patterns.
In winter,
The cold and the storms.
Yet it remains steady,
Its solidity giving composure and presence.
Be this mountain.
In spring,
It witnesses new growth,
Supports new life.
April showers revive its landscape.
The mountain nurtures those around it and provides shelter.
Be this mountain.
In summer,
It takes warmth of the sun,
Enjoys its visitors.
Perhaps spoiled with rubbish or fires,
But remains steadfast.
Be this mountain.
In autumn,
The cycle of the year changes.
The leaves turn on its trees.
The birds depart.
But the mountain remains steady,
Still and calm.
Be this mountain.
Through it all,
The mountain sits.
Aware of the changes that each moment brings around it and to it.
Yet it remains itself.
Still,
As the seasons flow one into the other.
The air swirls from hot and cold.
And the weather turns from tame to turbulent.
Some so treacherous as to tear at its surface.
Still,
None of this concerns the mountain,
Whose serenity is housed within and cannot be disturbed by fleeting changes.
In the same way,
As you sit in meditation,
You can learn to experience the mountain as a means to embody the same centred,
Unwavering stillness and groundedness in the face of all the changes in your life.
Over days and months and years.
Like the mountain,
You will experience the changing nature of your mind and body and of the world around you.
You will have periods varying in intensity of darkness and light,
Of activity and inactivity,
And moments that fill your life with colour.
Through it all,
Be the mountain.
And call on its patient strength and stability within you.
Let it empower you to encounter each moment with mindful composure and compassionate clarity.
In the same way,
As you sit in meditation,
You can learn to experience the mountain as a means to embody the same centred,
Unwavering stillness and groundedness in the face of all the changes in your life.
Over days and months and years.
Like the mountain,
You will experience the changing nature of your mind and body and of the world around you.
You will have periods varying in intensity of darkness and light,
Of activity and inactivity,
And moments that fill your life with colour.
Through it all,
Be the mountain.
And call on its patient strength and stability within you.
Let it empower you to encounter each moment with mindful composure and compassionate clarity.
As we absorb the qualities of the mountain and reflect on its qualities,
Just sitting in stillness and awareness.
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