To begin this session of the Stoic View from Above meditation,
Inhale deeply,
Easing your physical form into a comfortable position.
Your eyes can be softly sealed or open,
And focus on immersing yourself in the tranquility that is already present,
The silence that is already there,
The space from which everything else is arising,
The effortlessness of your awareness already being away.
Bring your attention to the ebb and flow of your breath.
Allow it to become the focal point of your attention.
Observe the sensations coming into existence and ceasing like a rhythmic melody in the silence.
You,
Right now,
Are an observer,
Watching your breath dance,
Deepening your contemplation.
But let's start to move out of the body and visualize your being in its entirety,
From the crown of your head cascading down to the tips of your fingers and toes.
Become one with every nerve,
Muscle and fiber.
Don't try to manipulate anything.
Allow the inevitable changes that are outside of your control to unfold,
And see how the mere act of paying attention,
Of observing,
Can transform your experience.
It's important as we go through this process we keep an open heart and mind,
Observing and accepting the sensations and emotions that arise,
Simply allowing things,
Accepting them,
Welcoming them.
Every time you breathe out you can relax a little bit more,
Going deeper and deeper into the body,
Allowing your consciousness to burrow within.
And as you do this you can envisage your current state from an external perspective.
What does your posture look like?
Your facial nuances?
The style and color of your clothes?
Imagine now that you are casting your gaze down upon your meditating self,
And space starts to open up between the observation point and your resting self.
You start to imagine now a lift off from the ground.
You ascend steadily and serenely,
And your gaze never strays from your body down below.
As you float higher your perspective broadens.
The building encasing your body fades into transparency,
So you can still see yourself even from up here,
And witness yourself immersed in tranquility,
Surrounded by the rooms,
The beings,
The people,
The animals,
The vehicles around you.
Your ascent continues,
Graceful and unhurried.
There is nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
And your perspective widens to encompass the surrounding environment.
It's almost as if you're looking down on a map.
The buildings and streets resemble an ant colony,
But of human interaction.
People going about their daily tasks,
And you start to see,
Clearer than ever before,
The interconnected web of humanity.
The world beneath you starts to show its curvature.
What were once rivers now become blue lines,
And large patches of fields become green squares.
As you ascend into the clouds,
The towns,
The countryside,
And the coastline form a magnificent,
Artistic tapestry beneath you.
And as you continue going up into the upper atmosphere,
The earth,
In its magnificent glory,
Sparkles beneath you.
The oceans,
Azure blue,
The land masses,
Verdant green,
The polar ice caps,
Pristine white,
And the ethereal grey of the clouds,
All compose a silent symphony of majestic colour.
In this cosmic perspective,
Your physical presence on earth may be minuscule,
But you recognize that your existence and your actions are deeply significant and important.
It's almost a paradoxical viewpoint.
On one hand,
You see that your situation is not as big and as catastrophically bad in and of itself,
But the way that it's connected to the world,
To the universe,
To humanity,
Is as important as anything could be.
As Marcus Aurelius suggested,
What we do now echoes in eternity.
You are a part of nature.
You are a player in history.
You are the universe experiencing itself.
Contemplate the billions and billions of human lives playing out on earth.
You see that your actions on a daily basis are part of this grand tapestry,
The intricate dance of human life.
In all of its diversity and experiences,
It's a beautiful portrait of existence.
Your actions and your thoughts and your intentions help paint the portrait of existence.
And yet in the vast cosmos,
The earth is a tiny speck,
A grain of stardust adrift in the cosmic sea,
Orbiting a star amongst billions of stars.
Reflect on the present moment within the grand narrative of your life.
Your existence is a fleeting instance in the enormous lifespan of humanity.
Generations have come and gone,
Civilizations have risen and fallen,
And the wheel of time continues to turn.
And consider the lifespan of earth itself,
A celestial body born from a star's debris,
Destined to one day be consumed by the sun's fiery embrace.
Then ponder upon the lifespan of the universe,
Its beginning marked by a cosmic explosion,
The Big Bang,
And its end a potential cosmic implosion.
In the grand scale of the universe,
The present moment is a blip,
Yet it stands as the center point of all human experience.
There is only now.
There is only this moment.
Despite your physical form being limited,
Your imagination encompasses the universe and beyond.
You'll be able to see your life within the larger cosmic picture,
Acknowledging your role in the universe's grand and mystical narrative.
Enjoy this taste of expanded consciousness,
And allow yourself to recategorize what is important and what is trivial,
Now that you have the space,
Figuratively and literally,
To reassess your life.
What is a trivial matter that you have been giving too much attention to?
What is your role in this mysterious narrative of existence?
Now you can start to initiate your gentle voyage back to terrestrial existence.
Armed with newfound fortitude and tranquility,
You can descend from the celestial realms gradually,
Steadily,
Drawn towards the familiarity of your local surroundings.
You plunge deeper,
Bypassing layers of sky until the architectural confines of this building that your body is in welcome you.
Go further still until you are reunited with your physical form,
Feeling the grounding contact of your feet against the floor,
Your hands and arms connected to your body,
The weight of your being being held by gravity.
Allow your mind to wander around your immediate environment.
Ponder the potential you have for action,
For movement.
Allow your head to rise slightly,
Embracing the readiness to take in your surroundings.
Heighten the rhythm of your breath,
Fueling your body with invigorating life force.
Feel every cell of your body.
Wake up with vitality.
Connect to your breath again,
Each inhalation a ripple of liveliness coursing through you.
And when you sense readiness,
Draw a deep nourishing breath,
Gently coaxing your eyes open,
Coming out of this meditative realm.
And as you return,
Bring along the gifts of this view from above meditation,
Including self-awareness and a deeper understanding of the true value of things.
And commit to applying these insights to your everyday life.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes,
Step into the present moment,
And play your role,
Whatever it is today,
With calmness,
Tranquility,
And wisdom.
