Not fully guided,
Not fully alone.
You'll practice somewhere in between with just enough voice to accompany you in the stillness.
I've created this meditation because silence can be quite intimidating.
It's what's left when there is nothing calling your attention.
Just you and the density of silence.
And interestingly enough,
Even if silence could be the equivalent of nothingness,
It can take a lot of shapes and can lead to a lot of sensations.
It can be reassuring,
Like when you've been in an overwhelming environment and suddenly you can drop everything and sit in silence and be received.
At times it can be unsettling,
Letting deep-rooted fears emerge and leaving no room to conceal them.
How is it that such a simple thing can lead to so many different sensations and experiences?
I invite you to take a seat.
You can have your eyes open,
Looking down a meter away from you,
Or eyes closed.
And you'll first listen to the silence as is and as you are now.
How does it feel to you today,
The space in between the sounds?
Is it comforting?
Is it dense and heavy?
Is there even any real silence where you are?
Or can you hear the ripples of nature or of any ambient noise?
Ask,
Without trying to get an answer,
How is silence shaping me right now?
What is it doing to my thoughts,
My breath,
My belly?
Can you notice how porous you are to your environment?
Perhaps inside yourself and outside yourself are just concepts.
The noise or lack thereof shapes your perception.
Conversely,
Your words or your choice to remain silent ripples all over your environment.
And as you sit here,
You might begin to notice the different textures of silence.
Sometimes it feels heavier than sound,
Thicker than noise or speech or movement,
A kind of density that holds you rather than fills you.
There is a poise to it,
A presence,
A quiet that doesn't push or pull but gently surrounds.
And in that surrounding,
Something opens.
Silence can feel almost loving in the way it makes space for you.
Space for your thoughts to unfurl,
For your emotions to move without needing to be fixed,
For your body to be exactly as it is.
And more than that,
Even in the midst of everything happening within you,
There is still room just to be here.
Not figuring anything out,
Not aiming for clarity,
Just resting in the soft space that holds your past,
Your future and this one breath.
Let yourself be held by the quiet dignity of silence.
Let it remind you,
You don't have to speak to belong,
You don't have to understand to trust.
This space,
Like a blank page,
Invites you to be exactly as you are.
No edits needed.
It's an unspoken permission to take up space,
To bring your quirks,
Your edges,
A quiet guarantee that you are dignified and held simply because you're human.
Lastly,
Notice the contrast between silence and the life that moves within it.
Life in the form of breath,
The soft brustle of movement,
The pulse of blood beneath your skin,
Silence isn't empty,
It's the backdrop that lets life come alive,
Like a white canvas that makes color possible.
If everything were color,
Nothing would stand out,
But with space around it,
Even a single stroke carries depth.
Texture,
Presence.
See if you can be that single stroke of color now,
Not in theory,
But in your direct experience.
A lived moment of being,
Held within the vast,
Quiet canvas of silence.
And now,
As this meditation comes to a close,
Perhaps take with you the intimate knowing that silence is loyal,
Always available,
Sometimes hard to decipher,
Sometimes uncomfortable to sit with,
But deeply trustworthy.
The more you meet it,
The more it can become a source of strength,
Of steadiness,
Of quiet inner trust.
So take that with you,
And thank you,
Truly,
For practicing with me today.
