This is a guided meditation designed for beginners and it lasts around 10 minutes.
Regular practice of this will help you to feel less troubled by life and much more peaceful.
Most of our stress comes from worrying that things will go wrong,
When in fact most of the things that happen to us turn out to be fine or even great.
If we can come to our breathing and focus just on that,
Slowly we gain enough distance from our thoughts to be able to find peace.
Go to a quiet room,
Where you won't be disturbed.
Find a comfortable seat,
A chair,
Or you can sit on the floor with your legs crossed.
Rest your hands in your lap,
Palms facing up,
One on top of the other,
Or just rest them any way that feels comfortable.
Straighten your back just enough to stop you slouching,
To keep you bright and wakeful,
And gently close your eyes.
Now imagine that it is a warm sunny day,
And you are sitting by a peaceful,
Slow moving river.
Breathe in the fresh,
Clean air and relax.
Relax your face,
Relax your shoulders,
And then feel your whole body relax.
Now bring your attention to your body and feel where you can feel the breath happening.
It might be your belly moving in and out,
Or it might be the air coming in and out of your nostrils.
Find where the sensation of the process of breathing is strongest for you.
Now keep your attention at this point,
And try to feel a whole in breath,
And then a whole out breath.
Feel the sensations that happen at your chosen point.
If it's your belly,
You will feel it move slowly in and out.
If it's your nose,
You will feel the air coming in and out.
Try to link the breaths together,
So that the only thing you are concentrating on is the feelings of the in and out breath.
This is a very simple task,
But it's also very difficult.
The mind is used to wandering all day and even during sleep.
So naturally,
The mind will wander away,
Away from the breath,
And it will start thinking.
When this happens,
Just look to see what the thought is.
It's usually just thinking,
Worrying,
Planning,
Or remembering.
When you recognise what kind of thought it is,
Imagine the word and say it twice in your mind.
Worrying,
Worrying,
Or planning,
Planning.
Whatever the thought is,
And now put that thought on a leaf that's coming down the river you're sitting by.
Just place it on there,
And watch it float away,
And then come back to the sensations of breathing in your body,
Feeling the breath all the way in,
And all the way out.
And keep doing this for as many breaths as you can,
Feeling how peaceful the breath can make us feel,
Just watching the simple in and out breath,
Nothing more.
When you catch yourself thinking,
Name the thought twice in your mind,
Place it on a leaf in the river,
And let it float away.
As it floats away,
We see clearly that we are not the thought,
And we don't have to engage with it.
And again,
Come back to the peaceful in and out breath,
Over and over,
And now we bring the meditation to an end,
But just for a moment,
Keep the eyes closed,
Reflect and feel,
How does the mind feel now,
You may think that the mind is more busy than ever,
But that's probably not the case,
It's just that you've stopped to watch the mind,
And you're now aware how wild it can be,
How does the body feel,
Has there been a release of any tension,
Is there any calmness,
No judgement,
Either way,
Just experience and feel what's here now,
Practice this meditation everyday,
And you will find great happiness in your life.
Open your eyes,
And have a lovely day.
