The ocean is often a place people flock to feel the awe that seeing it brings.
The feeling of peace,
The sense of something more powerful than you and I and we.
We came from the ocean and if we're lucky we return to it.
Bury me as a viking and call it a day.
With this practice we will use the image of ocean waves as a means of calming the body and mind.
I will drop in a few reflections as well.
Let's practice.
Come to your senses.
Notice any sights in front of your eyes before you close them.
Shapes and shadows.
Seeing.
And then as you close them notice that you're still seeing.
They're probably mostly just shadows unless you're perhaps on a psychedelic journey while you're doing this,
In which case enjoy.
Notice thinking is happening.
Notice any sounds.
You might start with sounds farther away and come to the closer ones.
Notice any smells,
Any tastes,
Any sensations that are obvious in your body.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
What's it like to be breathing right now?
To connect with your breath,
Bring an image of yourself at the beach,
But more specifically just the ocean.
Notice as you inhale the waves come towards you and as you exhale the waves move away.
Hear the waves as well,
Immersing yourself in the experience while keeping most of your attention on the breath itself.
As my therapist always says to me,
Keep one eye in and keep one eye out.
See if you can be present for just one breath.
Let go of any future breaths,
Just see if you can be present for this one.
Inhale and exhale.
You might think that one breath isn't a big deal or can't make a difference,
However much as a drop in a bucket seems not to,
Yet what is the ocean but a multitude of drops?
When your mind wanders,
Celebrate the moment of mindfulness and then come on back to the ocean in your breath.
How's the breath now that you've been at the beach for a few minutes?
Hanging out in front of a body of water much bigger than your own because of course we know that our bodies are made mostly of water and the water that is in you now once was in the body of water you're imagining,
The vast ocean.
If you've wandered away from the beach,
Take a look around to see where you ended up before coming back.
When you consider the waves that you're watching,
Is it possible that any one of them exists as separate from the whole of the ocean?
And if it's not too on the nose,
Perhaps you can recognize yourself as a wave moving about the ocean of creation.
As it comes time to leave the beach,
Notice how you are now.
Do you have any sense of being part of something greater than yourself?
Was this the next best thing to being on an actual beach?
Or maybe you're in a panic attack because you have a fear of shark attacks.
And if so,
And you got this far,
You are courage,
Friend.
And whatever the case may be,
Thanks for your practice.
May you be happy,
Joyous,
And free.
