Hello again,
And welcome back.
In today's relaxing meditation,
You will be taking on the essence of a calm and peaceful lake as you free yourself from stress and tension,
No matter what is going on around you.
To begin,
You may wish to lie down on your bed or on the floor,
Or wherever you can be comfortable,
Maybe putting a pillow under your knees.
Allow your eyes to close and your body to just melt into the floor or the bed.
Take a few moments to scan your awareness through the sensations of your body,
And wherever possible,
Soften and release obvious areas of physical tension.
It can be very beneficial to do this practice at the end of a long day,
Although it can be done at any other time.
Now,
Allow your attention to gently come into the body,
To the flowing of your breath.
Sense the sense of your body as a whole,
Simply lying here,
Extended and breathing.
When you feel ready,
Picture in your mind's eye the image of a lake.
Perhaps a lake that you know well and that you go to from time to time,
Or it could be a lake that you've seen in a photograph.
Just see if you can bring that image into vivid focus in your mind's eye.
Notice how the lake is an extended body of water,
Held within the earth's surface,
And perhaps fed by a spring or a stream.
If you watch and observe the lake carefully,
You will notice that it's always changing,
And yet,
It's also always itself.
It changes as the sun moves across the sky,
The light is reflected off of the water in different ways.
It changes depending on the weather.
Sometimes on very calm days,
The surface might be like glass and reflect virtually everything that comes by with great precision.
As you look into this lake,
You can see it reflecting all sorts of things,
Clouds,
Birds,
The trees that might be surrounding the lake,
The sun as it makes its journey across the sky,
And for that matter,
The moon and the stars at night.
So there are times when the lake is extremely reflective and seems to contain everything that comes over it or beside it.
At other times,
The surface might be choppy,
With big waves crashing into the shoreline.
During these more turbulent times,
You might see the light sparkling off of the waves in very different ways.
Of course,
The lake changes through the various seasons.
In the winter,
Depending on its location,
It might be frozen over.
Through daytime and nighttime,
And through the seasons and through the years,
The lake is constantly changing,
But it always stays as its own essential nature.
And now,
See if you can invite the lake to exist within your own body as you are lying here,
So that your body becomes the lake.
You can imagine feeling held and embraced by the earth as you lie here.
You become aware of the many ways in which your own mind is like the surface of the lake.
Sometimes,
Your mind is highly reflective,
And sometimes it's choppy and turbulent.
Feel yourself as the entire lake,
The full body of water,
Not only the surface,
But also down below.
As you lie here,
Experience the fullness of your own being,
So that even at times when your mind is choppy and upset,
Or reactive,
Or dealing with difficult things,
You can drop your awareness down beneath the surface of your own mind's waves,
And you can find a stillness and a calmness that's always here and always available to you,
With each moment,
With each breath,
And certainly in this moment as you are listening to this meditation.
Being aware of yourself as you lie here,
Experiencing the moment-to-moment changes in your body and mind,
Noticing any sensations,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Impulses,
Sounds,
And all the while being as a lake,
Just simply lying here,
Feeling so relaxed,
Allowing your awareness to hold it all,
Without judgment,
Moment by moment,
Breath by breath,
In your own fullness,
In your own completeness,
Moment by moment.
Now,
Before we leave,
Remember that this special lake is always here for you,
And you can come back to it and become the essence of it whenever you wish.
The relaxation that you feel right now,
At this moment in your body and mind,
Is yours to call upon anytime you wish.
And now,
You can choose to return to your usual level of wakefulness and alertness,
Or drift into sleep.
If you choose to awaken,
Feel your body and mind becoming more aware of your surroundings.
If you decide to sleep,
Let the relaxation deepen.
I will count to five.
Five.
When I reach five,
You will be at your desired level of relaxation or alertness.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
