This Too Shall Pass

With these uncertain times the only thing we can be certain of is that everything is temporary. Experience this in the breath, in thoughts, in sensations. Find comfort and ease knowing with the state of the world, This Too Shall Pass.

Transcript

Welcome everyone,

Welcome back to Pocket Meditations.

Meditations inspired by humans,

Inspired by real events,

The nature around us.

Today's meditation is one that reminds us that there is a cycle in life,

In nature,

And in us.

This Too Shall Pass is a meditation that will offer you an observation view of how things will show up in the mind,

Whether it be fears,

Worries,

Plans,

And how we can invite those things to enter and exit freely so we can have a little more space for ourselves.

And so if you're having any challenges with what is going on in the world right now,

Know that this too shall pass.

Take a moment here to find a comfortable place.

You can be seated finding a shape that works for you.

And invite a grounding place for you to land wherever you have found yourself today,

Whatever point of the day can you land here through your body,

Especially if you've been pulled by thoughts of trying to understand what our future may look like.

And then sense that through your sit bones,

Any part of your body grounded into the earth.

Travel up the center axis of your body,

The spine.

See if it can be long and tall.

Invite your shoulders to glide down your back,

Creating softness through the chest,

Through the neck,

And the jaw,

And the face.

Find a soft and easy place with your palms just on your lap.

And then invite your eyes to find a soft gaze or closing your eyes if that feels comfortable to you.

Now be here for a couple moments as we honor our teachers,

Our teacher's teachers,

And honor the teacher within.

Begin to connect to this internal landscape,

This inner landscape where we can find quiet,

Where we can find comfort,

Where we can find peace within ourselves.

And we do that by observing the breath.

Paying attention to the breath as it enters,

Maybe noticing how it flows through the nose,

Through the nasal passage,

In through the lungs to fill the belly,

And as that flows and ebbs back out,

Retracing its steps back out into the open air.

And see if you could do that a few more times,

Taking a gentle breath in,

Filling up,

Feeling full.

And then let that breath pour out of you ever so slowly.

Gentle breath in,

Gentle breath out.

One more just like that.

Full breath in,

Full breath out.

Now I want you to flow with the breath in its most natural place in your body.

So see if you can notice the breath enter and exit without any of your effort,

Almost as if the breath was breathing you.

Observe our breath,

But also observe what shows up in the mind.

And what you'll notice if you begin to observe the thoughts that show up,

If you really observe when it shows up and try to stay with it,

Follow that thought.

Notice how that thought will eventually fade away or turn into another thought.

And so the thought also passes by.

I always like to visualize this as walking down the street,

Being with your breath,

Enjoying the sun,

Enjoying the fresh air.

And then can you imagine your thought perhaps as a distraction or something that pulls your attention in the store windows,

Whether it be words or whether it be what's inside the store.

And as you continue walking,

Notice how you pass it by and you go on with your day.

And so see if you can have that approach with what shows up to notice everything that arises,

Whether it be a thought,

Whether it be a story,

A sound,

That too shall pass.

And see if you could come back to your breath.

You may have a few thoughts that run from one thought to the other,

But when you have that little space,

Arrive with the breath and then you focus in observing the breath in all its parts to notice the parts of the breath also shall pass.

Noticing the inhale arrive,

Noticing it end into this tiny void and space before it turns into an exhale.

And see if you could flow and cycle with the breath to know that that is really what allows you to access the present moment,

To be not pulled by what shows up in those storefront windows,

To continue to enjoy what's in front of you,

The sun,

The fresh air.

Be here for a moment to sustain yourself with the beauty around you.

Letting the breath invite you to this comfort,

This ease,

This steadiness,

This grounding place.

Notice when tension or stress creeps up in your body that is as natural as thoughts,

Wandering,

Entering.

Just notice and invite the breath there to soften,

Soften the body parts,

Soften the tension,

Just as the breath softens the activity in the mind.

And know that any part of this meditation or even in through this whole meditation,

Some days the breath isn't grounding enough for us.

And so choose something that you can seek and learn can ground you in this moment.

It can be the sound of your own breath or the feeling of your palms gently resting on your lap,

But a focal point,

A focal point that works for you today.

Let this meditation,

Let this time be what it needs to be for you.

A couple more moments to yourself.

To observe in this broader perspective that most things,

All things follow this universal law of being temporary.

Whatever we're experiencing in this moment,

This too shall pass.

Release any visualizations,

Connect back to a deeper space,

Feeling the breath fill up the body and the body expand back into the open space.

And as a collective,

As an exchange of gratitude for you being here and for me being here for you,

Three breaths together,

Full breath in,

Deep exhale out,

Vibrant inhale,

Grounding exhale.

Last one in deep gratitude.

Thank you for your practice.

Full breath in,

Deep exhale out.

I hope this practice lingers with you for the rest of the day until we meet again.

Thanks for revisiting and please take a moment to honor again just as we started our teachers,

Our teachers,

Teachers and the teachers within.

Thank you so much.

Reviews

Thank you so much Natalie :)
I’m going through something a little scary and this really helped me ground myself and affirm that this will pass, and everything will be okay.
Thank you, thank you.
Sending so much gratitude and compassion!

what a beautiful experience, thank you!

Thank you so much, I was having a bad moment after I let something negative affect me, along with some other current difficulties, but this helped a lot, it kept my focus and stopped mind from wondering aroung in the negativity.

Lovely reminder. Thank you. Love and blessings 💙 x

I will be revisiting this meditation many times Very helpful. Thank you 🙏

This meditation is great if you struggle with racing thoughts or have a hard time drifting in and out of presence, a helpful message of allowing yourself to just be. Refreshing, thank you.