So this is the mountain meditation and it will last for about 15 minutes.
So,
Beginning by taking your seat.
So it can be helpful to bring the qualities of the mountain into our meditation practice and into our lives to help us support the present moment with a spacious dignity.
We can also help with our own emotions and those of others,
As we are more able to be still amidst the turbulence of the weather around us.
It's helpful to create a sense of stability and equanimity.
To feel more rooted and grounded.
So using the mountain as an image,
Building our resilience to face our more difficult experiences.
So now,
Really taking your seat and sitting with dignity.
And taking your awareness to the connection with your feet.
And the floor.
And sensing the points of contact of the feet.
So really noticing these points.
And then moving your awareness up through the legs to the pressure of the sit bones and the buttocks against the chair or whatever it is that you're sitting on and just noticing those pressure points.
And the sense of the weight of you going down.
Rooted to the ground.
And the earth beneath you.
And the height of you going up.
The spine strong,
Erect and dignified.
And having a sense of the space above your head.
Behind you.
In front of you.
And beside you.
So that you are sitting like a mountain and sitting with presence and dignity.
And now inviting you to bring to mind a mountain.
Maybe one that is familiar to you?
One that you have climbed.
Or one you've seen a picture of.
Or one that you are constructing now in your mind's eye.
So bring that mountain into your mind.
And noticing the overall shape.
The lofty peaks.
Or peaks reaching up.
Or perhaps the top of the mountain is flat.
And noticing how the base of the mountain connects with the ground.
And becomes rooted in the rock of the Earth's crust.
And the sloping sides.
And as you focus on the image in your mind.
Just noticing how massive your mountain is.
How still.
How beautiful.
And however it is to you.
However you see it in your mind's eye.
Just breathing with this image of the mountain.
And when you are ready,
Inviting you as best you can.
To bring the image of the mountain.
Directly into your body.
So that your body and the image of the mountain become one.
As if your head becomes the peak of the mountain high up in the sky.
And the base of you sitting here connected to the ground and to your seat.
Becomes like the base of the mountain.
Really in touch with and as one with the Earth.
Your shoulders and arms like the slopes of the mountain.
Just sitting and breathing.
Breathing in and out of your body,
Of your mountain body.
And allowing the breath to just move freely,
Sitting here as Breathing Mountain.
Rooted,
Reaching up into the space of the sky around you.
And noticing now how,
Moment by moment,
The light changes on the mountain.
The sun comes up.
And shines light on you as mountains.
Perhaps noticing clouds.
May be casting a shadow on the slopes of you.
Noticing perhaps how the shadows move across the surface.
Perhaps noticing gentle rain falling on you.
As the clouds release their moisture.
And as the sun moves up,
Perhaps it casts more heat on you.
And then as the day travels on through the afternoon and evening.
The sun goes down.
Sunset.
Colors in the sky around you.
Night comes and the moon casts its silver light all around you.
Maybe stars in the inky night sky.
And just sitting here as the mountain.
And seasons come and go.
The new green growth perhaps of springtime.
Warmth,
Colour and abundance of summer.
Maybe flowers on the lower slopes.
More people on the mountain.
People walking and hiking and climbing.
Children laughing.
And then the changing seasons as autumn comes and the colours change to rust and gold.
And then winter.
It's cold on the mountain.
Water freezing.
Maybe snow on the top,
On the peaks.
And noticing.
How changes in the season come and go.
And the mountain just sits.
And storms may come,
Turbulence,
Wind,
Rain,
Hail.
Enormous storms that stir up your plants and trees.
Crushing into you.
And throughout all.
Even through the strongest storm.
The mountain sits.
Unmoved by the weather.
By whatever is happening on the surface.
So as we sit.
Holding the image of mountain in the mind's eye.
We can take in.
The unwavering stillness.
The rootedness.
Of constant change.
And taking that into our lives.
Moment by moment we too experience periods of light and dark stillness and movement.
Happiness and sadness.
We too experience storms of various intensity and violence in our own lives and in the world outside around us.
We endure pain and darkness.
As well as light and joy.
Moment by moment.
Day by day.
Constant change in appearance and mood.
Just like the mountains.
So as we sit.
Light Mountain.
Rooted.
Dignified.
And calm.
Calmness abiding all change.
And knowing that storms may come and storms may go.
And we can just sit.
Just like the mountain does.
To inviting you now.
To continue to sit like the mountains.
And breathing with the mountain.
Until you are ready.
To conclude this meditation practice.
Thank you.
