Joy is a sense of well-being in ourselves.
It is limitless,
Life-defining,
And can be transforming.
It requires surrender.
Take this 15 minutes in meditation to think about joy.
All our waking hours we have a choice.
Let's try to find moments of awareness,
To find joy.
Establish a posture which can create awareness,
To be in the present moment.
Feel the weight of gravity as a hammock to rest the lower half of the body,
Rooted down.
Find the most comfortable position,
Sitting cross-legged on a cushion,
Or in a chair,
Feet flat on the floor,
Or even lying down.
This is your 15 minutes.
You don't have to do anything,
Or create anything.
You are here.
Create this space to cultivate joy.
Gratitude is a doorway to a sense of calm from anxiety,
Or pain,
Or anguish.
Just count some of the things you are grateful for,
And that will open your mind to kindness within.
Thankful for what is,
What you have,
What you accept,
What you acknowledge,
And what will be.
So take this time to sit still,
Very still.
Meditation is also about being comfortable with discomfort.
So sit in this space,
Ready,
Eyes closed,
The body is loose.
Go,
If you have any tightness anywhere,
And try to release it.
If you have a pain or something,
Just stay with that place.
Try not to wiggle,
And if you stay with it long enough,
It will dissipate.
Scan the body from the head to the feet,
With steps of greater relaxation.
Counting silently,
From the crown of the head,
To the eyes,
To the mouth,
To the throat,
The chest,
And the belly.
Relaxing and relaxing,
As you move down the body.
The legs,
The knees,
The ankles,
The feet,
And right to the toes.
Go to your heart center,
And just be grateful that you're able to sit in this space.
It's powerful,
Can release the negative emotions,
And improve your health.
Build relationship with the present moment.
So you're dropping in to the feeling of calm.
You're feeling the breath in the body.
You're feeling,
But not grasping.
Breath is a metaphor to calm.
It's unconscious,
Just be with it.
Just feel it,
And feel the sense of peace as you breathe slowly,
And allow the space for silence.
Space allows grace,
As you take this time in meditation.
This is where we can understand the gap.
The gap between our thoughts,
Where we can arrive with ourselves.
Not hiding in thoughts,
Not running,
Not pushing,
Just be still with yourself.
Thoughts will come and go.
They will try to distract you,
Bring discomfort.
Just stay with the breath as much as you can,
Coming back to it again and again.
As you do,
The thoughts will dissipate.
You will start to feel little threads of joy,
Because we shape our minds with this silence.
It is important to notice the tone of this meditation.
The tone of our sitting.
Be gentle,
Be kind,
Have an inner smile to this time.
In our world,
Silence doesn't always mean quiet and no talking.
You may hear things in the distance.
You may hear voices.
You may hear your voice,
Trying to stop you.
Silence really means that we're not disturbed in our heart.
And by cultivating practice and staying with the breath,
We arrive in the body as we are right now.
And we feel grateful we had this time.
Some joy as we feel the cycle of releasing things,
Letting go of attachments.
By being aware of the beautiful day,
Of the sky,
Of the sun,
Of your child,
And just being aware of this present moment,
Just sitting in this peace,
It will truly help to let go of your suffering.
Often we find the same fears,
Struggles,
Year after year,
In our mind,
Beyond the self.
But joy and peace are waiting.
They're always waiting.
This may sound elusive,
But it's not.
If you look back at your life,
You know you have a reservoir of great memories and great happiness.
You can also create them in your day-to-day life.
You can stop and actually really hold your happy moments.
Hold your happy thoughts.
Take your life in your own hands,
With your own choices.
No judgment.
Repeat these mantras silently to yourself.
I am whole.
I am healthy.
I believe.
I am forgiven and forgiving.
I am free.
I am.
Let this sit with you.
Let it find its truth with you.
Stay with the breath.
I am whole.
I am healthy.
I believe.
I am truth.
I am joy.
I am choice.
I am.
Be with yourself.
This is your time.
You have less than four minutes until this meditation is over,
And I will mind the time.
So stay in the posture,
A posture of dignity for the self,
With an intention of gratefulness.
I am here.
I am whole.
I am closer.
I believe.
This awareness is a gateway for you.
This silence,
And it can bring you freedom.
I am whole.
I believe.
I am truth.
I am joy.
I am choice.
I am.
Thankful for what is,
What we have,
What we acknowledge,
Our insecurities,
Our worries,
What we accept,
And what will be.
To stay with the feeling of the breath in the body.
Stay with the sense of calm that you have created in this sit.
And I say again,
We shape our minds with silence.
And there is grace.
When we take the time for that,
That willingness to breathe,
To stay in the spaciousness of that breath,
Gives us the courage to go on.
We pace ourselves,
We believe in ourselves.
We find ourselves.
An opportunity for us to be with ourselves.
In the awareness of this present moment.
Holding space,
A doorway.
You can see a little light.
You can see a little joy.
When you get up from this practice,
Open your eyes to what's around you.
Look and listen with a deeper sense of gratitude and joy.
Thank you for practicing with me.
