Hey friend,
Thanks for being here.
Make your way into a comfortable seated or lying down position.
If you're seated,
Do your best to sit tall with a long straight spine.
If it helps to prop your hips up onto a pillow or a cushion,
Please do so.
Or feel free to scoot up against a wall so that your spine can be nice and supported.
If you are lying down,
Do your best to wiggle your shoulders away from your ears and tuck your chin a little toward your chest so that you can feel this lengthening in the back of the neck,
Encouraging your spine to be nice and long,
Even here.
Take your time getting into position,
Maybe bringing a little intention to your breath as you do so.
Just starting to settle into your practice,
Whatever that looks like for you,
Taking any gentle movements or easy stretches here,
Preparing your body for stillness.
Maybe you close your eyes if that feels good.
Maybe you set an intention.
As you breathe in and out,
Invite your body to soften,
To grow heavier and heavier with each passing breath.
Notice any noise around you in your space.
Notice any noise within you,
Any sensations in the body,
Any tension,
Tightness,
Or pain.
Notice the chatter of the mind.
Without judgment,
Without attachment,
Just listen,
Just notice,
Observe.
As your breath flows in and out,
Allow your inhales and your exhales to anchor you in this present moment.
So no matter what is going on in the body,
What's going on in the mind,
You always have this solid,
Steady force pulling you back to presence.
Begin to tap into your creative mind now,
Your imagination,
And imagine that you are sitting on a bench,
And this bench sits alongside a busy road with lots of traffic,
Lots of movement,
And across this road,
Directly in front of you,
Directly across from the bench you are seated on is a beautiful tree.
Maybe this tree is blossoming,
Full of colorful flowers,
But something about this tree really draws you in,
Really brings you a sense of peace,
A sense of ease.
Now imagine that you,
Sitting on this bench,
Are an observer in your mind,
And this beautiful tree is stillness,
Is peace,
Is a calm,
Quiet,
Thoughtless mind.
But in between you and this tree is a busy road with lots of traffic,
Lots of noise,
And these cars passing by are the thoughts racing through your mind.
So as we sit here together,
We practice looking past the thoughts.
Looking through traffic,
Catching glimpses of this beautiful tree,
Catching glimpses of calm,
Moments of stillness.
You are aware of the cars passing through.
Maybe you notice the color,
The make,
The model,
But try not to get too carried away with any individual car,
And encourage your awareness to return to the tree,
To the beautiful flowers of the tree,
To this grounding,
Peaceful feeling it gives you.
We allow the thoughts to race past,
The cars to drive in front of us.
We are aware of them,
We notice them,
We acknowledge them,
But we choose to rest our awareness on the tree,
On the stillness.
Allow this scenario to fade from your mind's eye,
Coming back into your body,
Back into the here and now.
Bring your palms to your heart center,
Palms touching each other,
Or palms touching your chest,
Taking a moment to notice the warmth,
Taking a moment to feel some gratitude.
Thank yourself for showing up,
For committing to this practice.
I am so honored to be still with you,
And to guide you a little closer to longer glimpses of the beautiful tree that is right in front of us.
Let's take one final deep breath in together,
And exhale,
Let it go.
Until next time,
Take care.
