In this meditation we drop into our presence so that we can witness ourselves with real kindness.
So allowing yourself to have a comfortable position,
Position of ease for your body.
And we'll begin with three sounds of the bell.
You can visualize a smooth rounded pebble held in the palm of your hand.
Take a moment to witness it resting there.
You might notice its colors,
Its weight,
The temperature as it rests against your skin.
And we might allow the intention,
May I look at myself with eyes of love and understanding.
May I listen honestly to myself.
And then imagine holding the pebble over a river and allow it to drop into the water.
Just letting it drop.
It lands with a plop and begins to sink down into the waters.
There may be strong currents in this river so the pebble may zigzag a little as it falls.
Allowing the pebble to sink down into deeper waters,
Deeper and deeper,
Dropping away until you come to sense the riverbed.
And watch the pebble as it comes to rest on the sandy bottom of the riverbed.
There might be a little puff of sand or small debris as the weight of this pebble comes to rest gently and safely at the bottom of the river.
And simply witnessing the pebble resting in stillness.
You may sense the motion all around.
Flowing waters,
Maybe river plants swaying gently.
There might be small aquatic creatures moving through this space.
And bringing your awareness back to the pebble.
This place of stillness amongst so much motion.
Sensing its stillness.
This is a place where there's nothing to prove.
There is no one else to be.
There's nothing in particular to feel.
There's only awareness of your authentic experience.
We aim to be a kind witness to ourselves.
We can explore gently with a series of questions.
How does it feel to be you in this moment?
How does it feel to be you?
Is there anything that you can sense you're gripping?
Sometimes we have tightness or constriction in a muscle or in a thought that we just grip a belief,
A memory,
Maybe a sensation.
So is there anything you sense that is being clung to or being grasped a little too tightly?
Is there anything that you're pushing away?
Anything being resisted in this moment?
It might be something that is true about this moment that we disapprove of or don't want to be here.
We resist reality all the time.
Just noticing is there anything that we're kind of pushing against?
And sensing very gently,
Allowing yourself to explore freely and naturally.
So we try to avoid judging or getting into a story about what we discover.
Simply looking at ourselves with eyes of love and understanding.
So we allow ourselves to be held in unconditional kindness.
And for the final question we explore we can connect with our heart.
If it feels difficult to establish a connection it can be very skillful to rest your hand on your heart.
It can really intensify the feeling of drawing inward,
Listening.
And we can ask what our heart needs.
What does your heart need in this moment?
Your heart may like you to remember something,
To remind you of some element of care,
Of some truth in your life that can help offer you energy and meaning,
A sense of yourself,
A sense of a connection or joy.
So allowing the space to simply listen to what your heart needs.
And when you're ready to close we might express our gratitude towards your heart for their wisdom,
Their kindness,
Their presence.
Expressing your gratitude for your own authenticity,
Your own energy and care in creating the space of practice for your heart,
Your mind,
Your body,
Your whole being.
It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift to everyone else in your life.
It's a gift to your future self.
So it's a very precious energy that we generate.
So thank you for practicing together and we'll end with three sounds of the bell.
And when you're ready to move again you might enjoy a nice stretch,
Very gently move into the next part of your day.
You
