Welcome to this mounted meditation.
Come to a seated position,
A comfortable seat for you.
It can be on the floor,
On a pillow or maybe on a chair.
So start to feel how you are actually seated right now and see if it's possible to sit with an alert dignity.
The head is balanced over the shoulders.
The torso is firm but not tense.
The shoulders are relaxed and the arms are just hanging on the sides of the body.
You can rest your hands on your knees or into each other.
So now close your eyes if you're comfortable with that.
If not,
Find a point in front of you to gaze at.
Feel the contact with the ground under you or the chair that you're seated on.
The pelvis is like a stable base.
You are grounded down into the floor or the chair.
You are sitting here like a stable mountain,
Grounded and yet directed upwards.
See if you can feel the sensation of being whole,
Being stable and now become aware that you are breathing.
Feel the breath,
Each inhalation and each exhalation.
Pay attention on the air moving in and out,
The stomach and the chest moving.
Also feel the air in the nostrils where the air is coming into your body.
The whole wave of the breath,
Fully present,
Moment to moment,
Breath to breath.
Now take some time and explore where you can feel the breath most clear in your body.
Maybe it is in the nose where the air is moving in and out or maybe in the mouth where the air is coming in and out.
Or maybe in the mouth or throat or deeper down in the chest or stomach.
Let the breath just come and go as they want to,
Moving in and out,
Back and forth.
You don't need to change anything.
You don't need to do anything.
And as you are sitting here,
Now picture the most beautiful mountain in front of you.
The most beautiful mountain you have ever seen.
Hold the picture in front of you and see the shape of the mountain.
It has a broad base and it rises up against the sky.
Maybe there is a lake nearby that the mountain can reflect in.
Does the mountain have steep mountain sides or gently sloping?
See how massive and beautiful it is from a far distance and also close.
Maybe your mountain has snow on the top,
Trees in the valley,
Maybe a clear peak or several peaks.
Maybe there are some plateaus.
However the shape of the mountain is,
Just sit with it.
Breathe with the mountain.
Observe the mountain,
Observe the expressions and see if you can bring the mountain into your body.
The mountain and you are becoming one.
You are sharing the silence.
You are sharing the mass.
You become the mountain.
The head is the top,
The peak,
Supported by the mountain,
Your whole body.
Arms,
Shoulders are the sides of the mountain.
Feel how the body strives upwards.
With each breath,
The mountain becomes more upright.
You are sitting rooted,
Firmly down into the ground.
The sun slides across the sky.
The light,
The breeze,
The colors change moment by moment on the mountain.
Day becomes night and night becomes day.
The sky is filled with stars,
Moon and the sun.
The surrounding change,
The weather change,
But the mountain stays exactly still,
Even if surroundings change.
In the summer it's green on the mountain.
There are lots of flowers,
Green trees.
There's no snow on the mountain,
Except maybe a little bit on the top.
In spring the mountain has many colors.
In winter a blanket of snow and ice.
And autumn takes the mountain into warm,
Rusty colors.
All the seasons can be surrounded by sun,
Clouds,
Rain,
Storms.
The sun comes and goes.
The moon comes and goes.
People are coming to the mountain to explore it,
But the mountain is constant,
Constant,
Standing firm.
The mountain is not affected by the weather or by what happens on the surface.
In the same way in meditation,
We can discover the mountain and feel the stillness in our body.
All the changes that happen in our life,
Every second,
Every minute,
Every day,
Every week.
There's lots of changes going on.
We have periods of lightness,
Darkness,
Colors.
We can experience storm,
External violence in mind and body,
As well as we can experience moments of stillness,
Happiness,
Calmness.
The mind is changeable,
Just like the weather.
The mountain has a lot to teach us,
If we listen to it.
We're going to stay a bit longer in silence with the mountain.
So just picture your mountain in front of you and sit in silence together with the mountain for a while.
Now start to deepen three breaths here.
Inhales through your nose,
Exhale through your mouth.
If you want to sigh the breath out,
Slowly start to move your body again.
Move the mountain.
Maybe you want to circle your shoulders,
Maybe wiggle the fingers,
Move the neck,
Maybe do some neck circles,
And then just come to stillness.
Take a moment to thank yourself for this meditation.
Thank yourself for being the mountain for a while.
Thank you so much for joining me in this meditation.
