Quiet Reflections – Day 1 | A Different Kind of Meditation

Most guided meditations tell you exactly what to think and feel.

This one doesn’t.

In Quiet Reflections, we sit together in stillness… and allow insight to arise naturally.

Each day includes a short meditation, a slow reflection on life, and a moment of quiet wisdom you can carry into the rest of your day.

No forcing.
No complicated techniques.
Just awareness, presence, and the kind of understanding that appears when the mind finally slows down.

Today is Day 1 of the series.

If you enjoy reflective meditation, mindful living, and gentle spiritual insight, you’re very welcome here.

Come back tomorrow for the next reflection.

— Christopher

Transcript

Take a seat. Rest for a moment. Allow the eyes to gently close. I'd like to introduce what we're about to do. It's something a little. Different to a guided meditation or a talk. It's a fusion of both Quiet reflections. So I'll go to meditation. But I'll talk. In parts And what I say, Not pre-planned. It's just what arrives in the moment. If nothing comes. I won't speak. And at times you'll be with the breath. At times with the words and at times with the silence. Other times you'll be lost in thought. Just let be. What will be? And I'll teach you how to deal. With thoughts when they arise. So take your attention to the top of your head. And relax it and allow that to sweep down into the forehead. The eyes. The jaw. The neck and the shoulders. So feel a touch of awareness. As it slowly scans down your body. When you find tension. Just hover your attention over it for a short while. This gives it an exit route out of the body. We're not forcing it. Or simply. Giving it space listening to it so it's heard. And then it leaves in its own time It's only there because. . . Who've been ignoring his message. Relaxing as you go down the body You can do this a couple of times starting from the top of your head awareness. And softening around that. And then come to stillness. Physical stillness. Being as still as you can. For this next 10 minutes or so. And you'll notice as you come to stillness. That there are parts of the body that we simply cannot steal. The one that leaps out the most is the breath. So meet the breath. This way. Not clinging to it for dear life. But instead. . . Resting your attention on it. From the perspective of a still body. You can feel that ripple through the body. Maybe it starts in the abdomen. Moves up to the chest Maybe you can feel it in your shoulders. Or your arms even. If you get really sensitive you'll even feel it in your toes but that will take time. Wherever it shows up. We just meet it with awareness. We keep our attention in the body this way. But then thinking happens. And it's as if all of the energy gets swept up into the head. Mental energy. When you notice that, Allow it to drop Just drop it like dropping the weight of a stone. Deep into the body. Like dropping it into an ocean. And feel that ocean of the body swell. With the in-breath and contract with the out breath. Just like waves. Every time that happens the energy gets swept up. Into mental thinking. Recognize it. The energy like a stone. Deep into the body. Over and over. One of my favourite phrases is by Jakushi Kwangroshi. And its breath sweeps mine. Breath sweeps mine. How does that land for you? That's a pass. And it's covered in leaves but we can take a brew. We can sweep away those leaves. Bringing clarity. Able to see the way ahead. And we get to the end of the path feeling relieved. Only to turn around And say that. Already. Handfuls of leaves are scattered back on the path. This seems no point. Breath sweeps mine. So we have the mind. Sweat. Lucid. The path the way to go is clear. But only for a while. Just like meditation. These leaves for me resemble thoughts. They will come. That's what the mind does. Don't make it a problem. Don't wrestle with reality. Simply pick up your broom. The breath. And sweep the path clear again. And let your sweeping be gentle. And effortless. Let it be. A gliding. . . The way things are. No flapping of the wings. No trying to get away. Just moving in harmony with the way things are. What's alive in you now? Maybe it's sound. Maybe you are in the body. Feeling it. This is the breath. Ripples through the body Maybe you're. . . In the mind, Mental energy. It's fine. Some days are more stormy than others. Some seasons. Many more leaves fall. Just sweep. The broom of the breath. Easy. Being as at rest. In the sweeping as in resting being at home. In the body. Wherever you are. Can now move the body Stretch. Open the eyes. Let me know how that landed for you. How did it feel different? Did you go deeper as a result of not trying so hard? We have to apply right effort. And that means. . . Not fighting with what is. It also means not nodding off and being lazy about meditation. The best I've heard it described is by Lee Brasington. It's relaxed diligence.