Welcome.
Close your eyes.
Begin to feel the ebb and flow of the breath.
Focus on the breath as you release all thoughts,
All worries.
Let your body relax completely.
Let it feel heavy with every exhalation.
And as you exhale,
Soften the parts of the body that feel tense,
The forehead.
Open the eyes,
The cheekbones.
Relax the jaw.
Soften the neck and the shoulders.
Let your arms feel heavy and relaxed.
Fingering all your fingers and all of your thumbs.
Let your back,
Your chest and your abdomen soften.
Release the tension in the hips,
The legs and the feet.
If relaxing deeply causes the body to shift,
Maybe your feet splay out,
You adjust your hands for comfort,
Then just let it happen.
Allow any thoughts to float out of your mind like soft white fluffy clouds floating across a bright blue sky.
In your mind's eye,
Picture a meadow,
A vast meadow with flowers and grass and maybe some trees.
Allow the colours in this meadow to come to life,
Bright colours contrasting against the bright blue sky.
The sun shines brightly above and a gentle breeze blows.
Begin to focus more closely on all that is present here in the meadow,
The birds,
The bees,
Butterflies,
Tiny little insects.
Be aware of the sounds and colours and all that is happening in the meadow.
The wind blows gently.
You notice a beautiful flower swaying in the breeze.
Look closely at the flower.
What colour is it?
What does it look like?
Is it a flower you recognize?
You look at the petals,
The leaves and on one leaf you see a drop of water,
A dew drop.
You look up at the sun shining brightly,
Wondering where this little drop of water came from.
Then you remember that it rained lightly the night before and you're grateful for without rain this beautiful flower would not survive.
You look around the meadow and you appreciate all living things,
Seen and unseen.
The sun warms your skin.
You lift your chin to soak up the sun's rays and you give thanks for without the sun this flower in the meadow would not grow.
Sit here for a moment and bask in the sun.
Listen to the sounds in the meadow.
There is so much life here in this spot,
In this meadow.
You give thanks for the bees for without them this plant in the meadow may cease to exist.
You give thanks to the birds for without this flower the birds would not have food.
The wind blows and you realize that without the wind the seeds of the plant in the meadow would not be carried along to find a home to start a new life.
Look around,
Look at all the things in this meadow.
Can you see the relationships between them?
Can you see all the pieces of the puzzle that came together to make this plant,
This flower in the meadow?
Can you see how all these things come into existence and grow and survive?
Watch the plant in the meadow.
Watch it sway in the breeze.
Drink up the dew drop,
Soak up the sun.
Watch how this one little plant interacts with all things in the meadow.
Whatever happens to this one little plant affects everything in the meadow just as whatever happens in the meadow affects this plant.
This one thing is part of a larger whole.
It's all connected.
It's all one.
We are one.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
Release it out through the mouth.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Slowly bringing your awareness back to the room,
Begin to move your body,
Wiggling your fingers,
Wiggling your toes,
Perhaps moving your head from side to side and slowly blinking your eyes open.
The flower in the meadow teaches us that we are part of everything around us.
Everything we do,
Everything we think affects everything around us.
Thank you for joining me.
Namaste.
