This meditation is called the mountain and it's best received in a sitting position.
So take a moment to choose a seat that is comfortable and that you can sustain for a while.
You're welcome to sit on a chair or on a padding on the floor.
Whatever seat serves you in your particular body.
Take a moment to shift the weight of your torso back and forward a few times.
And find this central point where the torso stacks naturally over your seat.
For most of us this requires sitting slightly further forward on our seat bones.
But for others the weight is more equally distributed between the front and the back.
So discover where this seated center of gravity is for you.
Feel the lower back long and supported by the steady seat.
Allow the shoulders to drop down and the palms of the hands to rest on your thighs.
Feel the crown of the head rise towards the sky like the majestic peak of a mountain,
Supported by its solid base,
Your seat.
Take a moment to notice the ebb and flow of your breath.
Effortless and uncontrolled breathing.
No need to change it in any way.
Simply observe it as it happens to be right now.
It's exactly right.
If you're someone visual,
I invite you to imagine a beautiful majestic mountain.
Maybe it's a mountain that you know.
Maybe it's an imaginary one.
It doesn't matter.
And if you're not so visual,
That's okay too.
We're all very different.
You can just think of a mountain for a second.
Take a moment to notice its peak,
Its slopes,
Gradual or steep,
Covered in green or exposed granite rocks.
Take a moment to notice the forests and rivers,
The waterfalls and lakes,
The birds and animals,
The whole of the mountain,
The mountains and the mountains.
Take a moment to notice the forests and rivers,
The waterfalls and lakes,
The birds and animals,
The whole of the mountain.
Notice it breathes like a magical organism.
And I wonder now what it would be like to truly embody this mountain.
You see it as the solid base,
Firmly grounded into the Earth's crust.
You might even notice that there is no clear separation between the feet of the mountain and the rest of the Earth.
There's no place where the mountain ends and the rest of the world begins.
It is one seamless whole.
The distinction between the mountain and the other forms on the Earth only exists in our mind.
So you can let it drop.
In fact you can let all pre-learned notions dissolve and see if you can really embody this mountain from within.
Become aware of the area around your groin,
Your lower belly.
You might even notice the watery quality of this part of our body.
It's juiciness.
All little springs and mountain rivers are joining in this area and forming a place where new life can flourish and bathe.
Let your awareness flow higher towards your heart and your chest.
Invite a feeling of lightness in your chest,
A spaciousness in your lungs.
And breathe a fresh mountain air allowing all forms of life to breathe and grow.
Become aware of your long arms and shoulders,
Like the beautiful mountain slopes softening down into the Earth.
Let them surrender to gravity.
Let them feel so heavy and restful,
Allowing everything that doesn't serve the mountain to simply roll down its slopes.
Become aware of your neck and head.
And invite a feeling of lightness,
Let the head be fully supported by your shoulders and your torso.
Let it rise effortlessly towards the sky like the majestic peak of a mountain.
Embody the whole mountain completely,
Solid and steady,
Quiet,
Immovable.
If any thoughts are appearing in you right now,
See if you can welcome them from that place of steadiness within you.
Take a moment to notice if there is any particular topic or theme to the thoughts.
Notice how you think,
Is it words in your head or perhaps visuals?
Are you speaking to yourself with your voice or someone else's voice?
Notice the thoughts arising and dissolving,
Just like the gentle breeze arises and quietens from time to time.
Take a moment to acknowledge any feelings that are appearing in you right now.
And once more see if you can welcome them completely from that place of steadiness within you.
Notice them arise and gently dissolve like gushes of fresh sun rain.
Perhaps some feelings are more prevalent,
More stubborn,
They feel more real.
Perhaps we even judge them as unwanted,
Unpleasant.
So just as an experiment,
See if you can welcome them too.
Remove the labels,
Bring your attention to them.
Become aware of the physical sensations that accompany them.
Take a moment to acknowledge them just like that,
As physical experience.
Let all emotions come up and be seen in the steady light of your awareness.
Let them belong here.
Sometimes the gentle breeze may escalate into a frightening hurricane.
Sometimes our emotions feel so overwhelming,
Out of control,
That they no longer resemble a summer rain,
But it's more like a full blown storm.
At these times it may seem to us that the storm will never pass.
But fear not,
Every storm runs out of rain and wind.
You,
As the mountain,
Always remain.
And you,
As the mountain,
Have the capacity to meet it completely.
At the heart of every storm there is a precious gift,
A precious lesson to be discovered.
As long as we have the steadiness to meet it and the eyes to see it.
