Excited,
Flanked,
And ecstatic.
Preparing for this meditation called the mountain.
And as you sit comfortably in your posture,
Making sure to be relaxed and open to this experience.
Paying attention to the points of contact,
The way your body is connecting with the chair or couch that supports you,
The way your feet are making contact with the ground,
Actually sensing into your body,
Feeling your feet,
Legs,
Hips,
Lower and upper arms,
Shoulders,
Neck and head.
And now bringing awareness to the breath,
The actual physical sensations of breathing,
Feeling each breath as it comes in and goes out.
Letting the breath be just as it is without trying to change it or regulate it in any way.
Allowing it to flow easily and naturally with its own rhythm and pace.
Feeling you're breathing perfectly well right now,
Nothing for you to do.
Allowing the body to be still and sitting with a sense of dignity,
A sense of resolve,
A sense of being complete,
Whole in this very moment with your posture reflecting this sense of wholeness.
And now picturing a mountain.
And this can be the most beautiful mountain you've ever seen with a snow-covered peak and trees reaching down to the base.
There may be streams and waterfalls cascading down the slopes with meadows and high lakes.
Letting it gradually come into greater focus.
And even if it doesn't come as a visual image,
Allowing the sense of this mountain and feeling its overall shape.
Its tall peak or peaks high in the sky,
The large base rooted in the earth,
Its steep or gently sloping sides.
Feeling how massive it is,
How solid,
How unmoving,
How beautiful,
Whether from afar or up close.
Noting it,
Noting its qualities.
And when you feel ready,
Seeing if you can bring the mountain into your own body sitting here so that your body and the mountain in your mind's eye become one.
Sharing the massiveness and the stillness and majesty of the mountain.
You become the mountain.
The mountain,
A structure grounded in nature,
Just as you are,
Part of the universe,
Continually exposed to the changing weather around it.
And as the weather changes moment by moment and day by day,
Just as you experience the weather of your life.
In spring,
The snow begins to melt on the lower slopes at first until by summer only the peak has snow on it.
The melting snow replenishes gentle streams that flow all over the mountainside.
Grass begins to grow,
Flowers bloom,
Trees bud,
Birds sing in the trees.
Life begins its new process of courting and mating and nurturing,
Preparing to thrive and bring forth their young.
The mountain sits still as nature moves all around it,
Accepting of the changes,
Allowing life to unfold as it does.
Summer comes and the mountainside is covered in beautiful shades of color.
The sun beats down on the flowers.
The trees rock and sway in the summer breeze.
Insects buzz,
Pollinating and propagating.
The heat of the sun dries the earth.
And the mountain still sits,
Unmoved by the changing scene on its surface,
Accepting of the cycle of life.
As autumn approaches,
The days shorten.
Cool air replaces the warm summer breeze and the animals prepare for the colder temperatures.
The mountainside explodes with color as the leaves begin their transformation from greens and browns to oranges and reds.
The first snowflakes fall,
Coating the earth lightly at first,
A subtle reminder of the more drastic impacts that the mountain will endure in the months ahead.
And through it all,
The mountain sits,
Grounded,
Steady,
And open to the changes on its surface.
Winter marches on and with it come strong winds,
Dark skies,
And heavy snowfall.
With time,
Winter strengthens its icy grip on the earth,
Freezing it solid.
The naked branches of the trees rock and sway in the fierce winds,
And animals take whatever refuge they can.
They wait patiently,
Trying to survive through the season,
Sheltering themselves until warmer months arrive once again.
At times,
The mountain is visited by violent storms,
Buffeted by snow and winds of unthinkable magnitude.
The mountain is still grounded,
Accepting of the needs of nature around it.
Through it all,
The mountain continues to sit,
Unmoved by the weather,
By what happens on its surface,
By the world of appearances,
Remaining its essential self through the seasons,
The changing weather,
The activity ebbing and flowing on its surface,
Just as we experience the weather of our life.
In our lives and in our meditation practice,
We experience constantly the changing nature of mind and body and of the outer world.
We have our own periods of light and darkness,
Activity and inactivity,
Our moments of color,
And our moments of drabness.
It's true that we experience storms of varying intensity and violence in our outer world and in our own minds and bodies.
We endure periods of physical and emotional pain,
As well as the moments of joy and bliss.
The weather of our lives is constantly changing,
Every minute,
Hour,
And day.
We can respect the force of the intense weather,
Learn from it,
Accept that it will have an impact,
But know that it can be somewhat less if we learn to adapt and set boundaries.
The weather of our own lives is not to be ignored or denied,
It is to be accepted,
Honored,
Felt,
Known for what it is,
And held in awareness.
And in holding it in this way,
We come to know a deeper strength and stillness and wisdom.
Humans have this to teach us and so much more if we can let it in.
Coming to the breath now,
Being present,
Renewed,
Aware,
Peaceful,
And in the moment.
