Hi there,
My name is Martin Blank.
I'd like to lead you through a short guided meditation.
To start,
I'll ask you to close the eyes if you're comfortable with that,
And find a position where you're not too rigid,
But you're also not too relaxed.
Maybe in between slouching and sitting up really tight.
Taking your breath in,
And exhaling.
For the next few moments,
I'll ask you to bring your attention to your breath.
Notice if your breathing is shallow or deep.
Notice if you're breathing in your chest or your belly.
Notice the temperature of your breath.
If you pay really close attention,
You might even be able to notice a difference in how you feel when you breathe in versus when you breathe out.
Now I'll invite you to count your breathing.
So with every inhale,
You'll say silently one,
And as you exhale,
You can say two.
Exhale three,
Exhale four.
Keep going like this.
See how far you can get before your mind starts to wander.
Your mind may have already started to wander,
And that's okay.
Whenever you notice it,
Just gently bring it back to the sound or feeling of your breath,
And to wherever you last remember counting.
Keep counting.
Good.
Now I'd like you to gently rest your attention on your thoughts.
So now we're no longer counting.
Just noticing thoughts.
Usually when we have a thought,
We like to really hold on to it and follow it and see where it goes and watch it like a movie.
Now I'd like to invite you to watch your thoughts as if they were clouds in the sky.
Thoughts going from one side of your visual field to the other.
You feel no need to focus really hard on one thought.
You're just allowing it to go by and making space for the next one.
Beautiful clouds,
Different thoughts,
Or different shapes.
Some clouds are really,
Really light,
Barely visible.
Other clouds are really,
Really dark and full of rain.
Maybe those are the thoughts that are most difficult to let go of.
Either way,
You're just noticing.
Watching the clouds.
When you feel ready,
Taking a deep breath in through the nose.
Feeling the breath and exhaling all the way.
Just being present here for a moment.
When you're ready,
Gently opening the eyes.
Feeling gratitude for this practice.
And having a beautiful day.
Thank you.
