Let's begin by bringing our attention and awareness to our body and breath,
Allowing your body to relax a little,
And then focusing on your breath to settle any movement or busyness.
Now that you're feeling a bit more settled and relaxed,
I'd like you to take yourself back to a recent situation or event where you felt caught up in the storm of your life.
This needn't be something too critical,
Difficult or serious.
Just a recent time where you began to feel a bit overloaded by what was going on for you.
Maybe you felt a bit frazzled and fragmented,
A bit stressed,
Tired or frustrated.
Simply taking yourself back to this recent event and imagining that you could freeze frame that unique moment so you're able to view your state of mind,
Feelings and emotions,
Physical sensations,
What you can see and hear,
Aware of the other people around,
Recalling that situation in as much detail as you can,
And noticing in that moment,
Did you feel caught in the movement and noise?
A bit like being blown off your feet by a powerful wind?
Did you feel centred and grounded,
Or a bit off centre and lifted away from a stable place?
Aware of the thoughts that were going through your mind,
How you were feeling,
How relaxed or tight your body was,
And see what insights emerge about that moment.
Then letting go of exploring what it's like to be in a storm for now,
Bringing all your attention back to your body,
Really connecting with all of the points of contact of your body,
Noticing the sensations of your feet in contact with the floor,
The weight of your body on the chair,
The touch of clothes against your skin,
Aware of tingling and sensations of energy moving around your body,
Also the movement and sensations of your breath,
Aware of the warmth and density of your body,
As you allow whatever you find with openness and kindness,
Allowing any movement in your mind to settle,
Acknowledging and letting go of any held emotions,
As you allow them to dissolve and release in their own time,
Then bringing your attention and awareness to a sense of hearing,
Noticing sounds that are near and off in the distance,
And seeing if it's possible to connect with the silence beneath the sounds,
The silence that all sounds arise from and return to,
In the same way that all activity arises from and returns to a point of rest,
Reaching out to the most distant sounds,
And letting go of movement and activity,
As you enter a calm space at the centre of your being,
Free from noise and movement,
And for these precious moments,
Appreciating the sense of stillness,
Silence and spaciousness that contains everything,
Feeling calm and complete,
Open and aware,
And as we come to the end of this practice,
Maybe taking any insights that emerged into your week and seeing what difference that makes,
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
