Mountain Meditation For this meditation,
It's useful to sit on the ground with crossed legs,
And if that's not comfortable for you,
Then taking a chair and feeling comfortable in your seat,
Connecting with your body and your posture,
Feeling grounded with the ground beneath you,
Your hands on your legs,
Eyes closed.
And in this guided visualization,
I'm inviting you to picture a mountain ahead of you.
It could be a mountain that you yourself have climbed,
Or a mountain you know from a picture.
Perhaps you have a mountain in your view from where you're sitting,
And you notice the groundedness of the mountain as it meets the earth,
Resting firmly,
Solidly,
Steadfastly.
And the lofty peaks may be visible to you,
Perhaps they're in the clouds,
Hidden in the clouds.
And you see the shape of this mountain,
With all the peaks and valleys,
The trees,
The grasses,
The mountain streams,
And vast with the animals,
The insects,
And all the little creatures.
And no matter whether the wind blows or a howling storm bashes the mountain,
Still it stands steadfast,
Or as the sun beats down on the pathways,
Aching shade,
Still the mountain is steadfast.
Now,
If you can,
Bringing this mountain into you,
Into your body,
As you're sitting with your legs crossed on the ground,
Coming the mountain to the base of your legs and your buttocks.
Come the base of the mountain,
Deeply grounded into the earth,
Held steady and firm,
Your shoulders dignified.
And these are the nooks and crannies and peaks and valleys,
The shape of your body and the shape of the mountain,
And your head,
The lofty peaks,
Reaching high into the sky.
And just like the mountain,
You experience your life through all the seasons,
Through spring,
With new growth and fresh green shoots,
Bedding new life and possibility,
And into summer,
With the sun and the rain and the growth,
Beautiful flowers and green grasses,
And the mountain stream,
Bringing vitality.
And summer becomes autumn,
And the grasses turn to yellows and browns and gold.
And the leaves on the trees,
They begin to drop.
And as you walk on the pathways of the mountain,
You feel the crispness of the leaves beneath your feet,
And the crisp air that blows over your skin.
And then winter,
The animals hibernate or fly off to other parts of the world,
And the snow forms on the peaks,
Ponds,
Ice over,
And the air is icy.
And this mountain experiences day and night,
As the sun rises in the early morning,
And as we turn towards spring,
Once again melting the snow,
The water begins to flow.
And at nighttime,
As the sun sets,
The moon rises,
And the stars sparkle in the sky.
And so no matter what happens in your life,
Just like the mountain,
You can remain steadfast,
Steady and firm,
And you and the mountain are one,
Continuing in extended silence for the rest of this practice,
Just experiencing you as the mountain.
