Welcome to this meditation on having faith.
Let's just settle for a few moments.
So gently bring your awareness to your breath as it is in your body right now,
Just noticing and accepting.
As you notice your breath you can find that it can calm somewhat.
You might just want to gently give a rhythm to your breath,
Articulating it with a count.
So you're not pushing your breath in any direction but you're just noticing it maybe as you count or maybe just saying in as you breathe in and out as you breathe out.
And as you settle into your breath,
Gently relax your eyelids,
Release any tension from your jaw,
Allow your shoulders to drop,
Your weight to settle in your chair.
This time is for you,
This time is a time when you can let go and explore what it means to have faith,
Have faith in something bigger than yourself where you don't have to hold it all together.
We all have faith in something,
Something bigger,
Something better,
Something stronger and that faith might be in all sorts of different things.
It might be in an idea,
In a philosophy or a way of life or maybe that faith is in our money,
Our possessions or ourselves or others or God.
And in this journey of faith we're all wanting to find an anchor,
To find solid ground,
To find a refuge.
So I'm going to lead us in a meditation to help us explore and experience faith in a deeper way,
Explore faith in something ultimate,
Something trustworthy.
Maybe that's God for you or maybe you haven't named it.
So I'd like you to imagine that you are on a beach and you're alone but you're safe and whilst you're on this beach,
Standing on this beach,
The sun is out but there's a wind and the sea is rough.
The waves are rising and crashing on the shore.
Maybe you find yourself backing off a little and you walk along this beach to one end of the beach where you notice there are some boulders framing the end of the beach and as you walk through the sand you hear the waves,
You hear them crashing,
You see the spray lifting up above the sea and maybe creating a kind of a mist around the fringes of this big ocean.
Perhaps you can even smell or taste the saltiness that's in the air from this rough sea and you continue to walk along the beach.
Maybe you notice the sea is to your left or your right,
Maybe that means something to you and the sand is beginning to fatigue,
The sand is beginning to fatigue you as you walk along and whilst there's something kind of wild and maybe refreshing in the sounds of the waves and the wind that is around you,
You can feel it on your skin,
Feel it in your hair,
You get to the end of the beach and you're glad because there before you are these wonderful big boulders,
Something that nature's created as a buffer for this sea,
A way of saying that's as far as you come,
This is where the land is and you're grateful for these boulders,
They appeal to you,
They offer you a refuge from these pounding waves and so you climb up the boulders with ease,
Noticing the different forms,
The different colours and then you see one particular boulder that has a lovely flattish surface to it,
Maybe it's gently gently sloping towards the sea and the sun but it invites you,
It invites you to take refuge and invites you to lie down and so you take refuge on this rock and you sit down to begin with and you feel the texture of this rock,
You notice the warmth that's emanating from this rock and you allow yourself to lie down on it and as you breathe you find yourself just relaxing,
Allowing your weight to lean into this strong supportive boulder,
You're able to hear the waves below you,
A little more distant and you now know that they're separate from you,
That there's something that's giving you ground,
Something that's stronger and bigger than those waves that might want to impinge upon you and you trust that you're safe,
You allow the full weight of your body to soften into this warm secure rock that holds you,
Feeling the warmth passing through to your body,
Feeling the sunlight and that warmth on your skin above and the wind,
The breeze but in a way that brings warmth and hope rather than anything else,
You're held by this rock and as you breathe and relax you allow this experience to speak to you of faith in something bigger,
This rock that can withstand the storms,
Can withstand pounding waves,
Holds you,
You can trust it,
Maybe there's something of the divine that's conveyed to you through this experience,
That there's something bigger,
Something that holds you,
Something that is enduring in the storms of life,
Something you can put your trust in.
God is often referred to as a rock so you may be comfortable exploring that and these sensations,
This experience of trust and rest,
Being,
Something like trusting in that bigger divine love that holds you so you can allow the imagery to fade and take with you whatever might be helpful,
What might have built your faith up in something bigger,
Maybe even a faith in the divine in God,
Knowing that you're held in the storms of life and when you're ready you can end the meditation.
