Hello,
Welcome to Happy House Massam.
This is a contemplation meditation on a pencil.
We're going to find ourselves a comfortable place to sit upright,
Somewhere safe,
Quiet and warm,
Sharing a few minutes of quiet contemplation together,
Just being in this moment.
You may feel more comfortable in this meditation if you can take glasses or rings off.
You'll need to place a pencil within very easy reach where you can see it.
You can stretch or wriggle a little before we settle down.
Then,
Making sure the sitting bones are connected with whatever surface you're sitting on.
Our spines are straight but not stiff,
Like pebbles stacked on top of one another.
Feel your feet connected to the floor or ground beneath you.
Relax your head on top of your spine.
Imagine a thread is keeping it upright and centred.
Now relaxing our jaws,
We'll rest the tip of our tongues behind the top of our front teeth.
Our eyes can be closed if you're comfortable with that or relaxed and soften gently,
Looking towards the pencil placed in front of you.
Now,
At our own pace,
We're going to take three deep,
Long and full breaths in and out,
Breathing right down into our bellies,
In and out at your own speed.
With every out breath,
We relax a little bit more,
Letting go of the thoughts and concerns of the day or any worries for the future.
In and out.
When you're ready,
The breath returns to its normal pace.
I invite you to hold the pencil gently in your hands.
We are here now,
Centred,
Relaxed,
Open,
Aware and importantly,
Curious.
We're focusing our awareness and all of our attention on the pencil in our hands.
There may be sounds outside the room or inside the room.
Gently let them be.
Observe them,
Let them pass without judgement and focus our attention back on the pencil in our hands.
We're going to use our hands to notice as much as we can about the pencil,
Observing how it feels.
Is it warm or cold?
Is it smooth or rough?
Shiny or matte?
And now thinking about what we can see.
It's okay to keep your eyes closed or in soft focus.
You can notice what your pencil looks like in your mind's eye,
In imagination or reality.
Consider if it's been well used or is it brand new?
Maybe it's painted wood,
Raw bark wrapped with paper or even plastic.
Notice if it's got a rubber on the end of it.
Maybe it's chipped or perfect.
And now take your attention to your ears and the pencil.
Listen to the sound the pencil makes when you roll it between your hands.
Consider the sounds you think it will make when you make marks with it.
Now we'll use our nose.
Think about the smell.
Maybe it smells of wood or graphite or of something else.
And now we think about the pencil itself,
Contemplating where the materials of the pencil came from.
The trees,
The softwoods like cedar,
Pine or spruce.
We'll just take a moment to have gratitude for it,
To the graphite makers and the pencil makers.
Then let's take all of our awareness now to our hands.
If you want to close your eyes for this you can do or maintain this soft unfocused gaze.
All of our attention now is on the sensations that our hands can feel.
Not what the pencil feels like,
But what our hands themselves feel like when we play with a pencil.
Think about how our hands feel when we roll the pencil between our palms.
What sensations can we feel?
Let these sensations fill you up.
Notice if you like the sensation or dislike it.
Perhaps it's just neutral.
If you take the tip of the pencil,
Feel that on your hand.
How does that feel?
Is it sharp or soft?
Notice if you enjoy this sensation.
Maybe you dislike it.
Maybe it's just neutral for you.
Just notice.
On the opposite end of the pencil,
Again feel this on your hands.
If you feel uncomfortable,
Maybe stroke your hands with the pencil.
Poke them.
Move the pencil up and down super slowly or fast.
Notice how this makes your hands feel.
Maybe your hands are feeling awake right now.
Think about if your hands enjoy these sensations or not.
Is the experience pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral?
Play and explore the pencil in your hands.
Allow every part of your hands to feel the sensation of your pencil.
And when you find your mind wandering,
As minds do,
Just bring it gently back to the sensations in your hands.
Now,
With your hands still,
Eyes softly focused or closed,
Slowly bring awareness back into your whole body.
Be aware of our sitting bones connected to the surface we're sat on,
Our feet connected to the ground beneath us.
Our breath in and out of the whole body and the gentle movement it brings to within us.
Gently stretch out the muscles in our hands.
We'll move our arms and shoulders now.
Rub our palms together for a few seconds and we'll bring them to rest tenderly over our eyes.
If you've had your eyes closed,
Open them gently into the darkness of your palms.
Gently bring your awareness to the place you're in,
To the present moment,
The world around you,
And sit for a few minutes adjusting your focus.
Thank you.
