Welcome.
Please find a comfortable seated posture for this meditation where you can sit upright and awake,
Firmly grounded either on a cushion,
A chair,
Or your bed couch.
Getting ready to settle in and turn towards stillness whenever you're ready and comfortable.
Making any last-minute adjustments,
Putting away distractions,
Really inviting presence into this meditation.
And once you're there,
Go ahead and close your eyes or lower your gaze with a soft focus,
Allowing your awareness to go inward,
Arriving into your body,
Noticing your breath.
Just as we land here and begin this practice,
I invite you to notice where you are anchored,
Connected to the earth,
Through your tailbone,
Through your feet,
Letting your body rest on the earth,
Connecting you to something greater,
Connecting you to your home,
Mother Earth,
Connecting you to Mother Earth.
And with this awareness of grounding your body down and connecting to Mother Earth,
I invite you to bring your attention into your breath,
Perhaps for the first time today,
And without feeling the need to change it,
Just noticing the rise and fall of your belly,
Your chest,
This natural rhythm of life that flows through you,
Day in and day out.
Feeling the expansion,
The openness on each inhale,
Naturally happening,
And the release,
The letting go,
The sinking in on every exhale.
And start to notice for yourself what that feels like in your body,
Breathing in fresh air,
Bringing in life force energy,
And breathing out,
Letting the pull of gravity relax you a little deeper,
Anchoring your attention on the breath to begin to come home.
To become present each moment in your body.
And if your attention is distracted or caught by thought or noise,
Gently acknowledge this and return to your breath,
Return to your body,
Feeling the weight of your feet on the earth,
The weight of your tailbone rooting down,
And breath continuing to flow through you like waves gently lapping on a beach,
Coming and going like your breath,
Flowing in and out,
Wave after wave.
And as you continue to breathe and flow with breath,
Notice the water elements all throughout your body,
All throughout your body,
The fluidity of your own mental landscape,
Thoughts coming and going,
Water making up 70% of your physical body.
Just like water,
Just like your breath,
You let life flow through you and you flow with life,
Like waves on the ocean.
Noticing a sense of calm seas in your own body,
In your own mind,
Or perhaps the seas a little agitated,
A little rougher,
Just holding yourself with compassion wherever you're at today,
Without judgment,
With equanimity,
Resting in the goodness of your being in the flow of life.
And maybe with every breath,
Inviting the exhale to be a little longer,
A little slower,
Bringing a sense of stillness and calm into your entire being,
Coming back to your breath at any given moment if you need to.
Acknowledging the flow of thoughts,
Of feelings,
Of sensations,
And letting them go with equanimity,
Just like waves coming and going,
Lapping on shore,
You too flow with every aspect of your life.
And maybe you're just letting go of everything that's going on in your life,
You too flow with every aspect of your life as best as you can,
Just like the ocean,
Just like earth below you.
And now we'll seal this practice,
Offering words of gratitude,
Of appreciation,
Of respect towards the earth,
Towards the ocean,
Towards any water body or earth body that you feel particularly attracted to,
Particularly grateful for,
Particularly grateful for.
And you can express this any way you like,
Any way that feels right for you,
I'll offer you words of gratitude,
You can say out loud or in your mind's eye.
Thanking Mother Earth for the stability,
The rootedness,
The rootedness and the constant presence and gift that she is to your life and the life of everyone around you.
May we strive to honor you,
To serve you as best as we can,
Better than we have been.
Thank you,
Gaia.
And to Mother Ocean,
Our deepest gratitude and respect for the life force that you give and that is within us always.
May all your beings too,
Just like us,
Be protected and be served with higher grace,
With respect,
So that we may all flourish in equanimity and equilibrium and in love.
Thank you,
Mother Ocean.
And feel free to adapt these words of gratitude,
Of love,
Of respect,
In any way that feels right to you.
Knowing that you can do this at any time when you need to feel more connected,
That you are always one with the earth,
With nature and the ocean.
Your body is 60 to 70% water.
Your breath flows like waves lapping on the beach,
Sometimes stormy,
Sometimes calm.
And gently bring your awareness back into your physical body,
Your fingers,
Your toes.
Notice any sounds around you,
Inviting movement back into your body.
You can stretch,
Yawn,
And gently,
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Coming back to the space around you.
