Centering Prayer With Stream Imagery

This guided Centering Prayer is a non-religious meditation based on the Franciscan tradition that incorporates stream and water imagery. It includes breathing, visualization, and music, and instruction on how to do centering prayer / meditation.

Transcript

Welcome, Dear ones. This is Paula Jenkins, The host of Jump Start Your Joy. Today we will be doing a Centering Meditation, Which comes from the Franciscan tradition and is something that I learned from Sister Michelle Dahlia. I invite you to try this practice as a way of clearing your mind, Returning to center, And bestowing yourself with an immense amount of inner peace. As we begin, I invite you to find a comfortable space, One where you can be quiet for about five minutes and one where you can dim the lights. As you take a seat, I invite you to take a deep inhale and exhale. Visualize the worries of the day just washing off your shoulders, Washing, Washing. Inhale and exhale. Notice that which supports you below. Notice how it holds you. Notice how you are connected to the seat, To the floor, And therefore down, Down, Down into the earth and connected to everything here on this planet. Breathe in, Connection, Breathe out, Connection. Feel your centeredness here and now. As we move into the Centering Meditation, I will give you a bit of instruction and then a time to practice it yourself. As we begin, I invite you to imagine that you are lying on the bottom of a stream. Safe, Sound, Warm. You can breathe here. You are lying and you are looking up, Up, Up towards the sky. You're looking up through the water from the bottom of the stream bed. And along the top of the water, You can see leaves floating on the stream, Floating past. You can see trees beyond that through the water. Their limbs bendy in the light. Look up, You can see clouds even through the water, Up through the top of the stream. Breathe in the peace of this place. Notice how peace covers your body. And notice how beautiful it feels to be still in this place and in this moment. You are safe. You are loved. You are here. As we move into the Meditation, This practice involves keeping a still mind. Stillness is unusual in this day and age and I invite you to let the thoughts go. Let go of the to-do list. Let go of the things that need to be done. Let go of the pressures. Let go and just be. Mind still. Blank slate. Notice the water of the stream bed above you. And just be for a moment. Thoughts arise as they will. And when a thought arises, Imagine that it is like a leaf floating above you, Floating down the stream. Imagine your hand reaching up as this thought is floating in front of you and your hand gently pushes the thought along down the stream. Clearing the water, Clearing the space, You return to still mind, To blank space, To quiet. And you rest. You are loved. You are here. Resting, Quiet mind. Another thought arises and the practice again. Notice the thought. Thank it for its presence. Imagine your hand gently moving it along down the stream, Back to quiet mind, Back to still space, Back to center. And this is the practice. Return to center. Notice a thought. Move it along. Return to center. There is no right and wrong here. There is no better or worse. There just is. As you sit and practice quieting the mind. I will now, You will now hear music and it will play for about two minutes. You can practice still mind, Thought arising, Back to stillness and center. Music playing— You You You On this last thought I want you to imagine Your hand gently Moving this last thought along down the stream and you return back to quiet mind to stillness to Center As you return to stillness for this time Put one hand on your heart Send gratitude towards yourself send love towards yourself Notice the centered place and how it makes you feel Breathe in Stillness Breathe out stillness You are here and you are centered You are here and you are loved You are here You can take this centered feeling with you hand on heart into your day Share it with yourself when you find that you need it Share it with others Share your stillness And now flutter your eyes open Aware of the room and the surroundings and the space that you are in take a deep breath And exhale Notice your hands and your feet Give them a wiggle Back into the room and now you may sit or stand and return to your day Knowing that this practice is available to you anytime anytime And that you may return to the stillness that you have felt Just by putting your hand on your heart Peace be with you

Reviews

Thank you! I've often imagined being beside a stream, watching thoughts go by, but never been in the stream. That provided a new, useful perspective.
I'll continue to practice this newfound image of stillness.

Fabulous !

As if I was in a float tank , while in the stream I was floating but not moving along the stream
I could see the trees, and shadows, blue sky, birds flying past , leaves floating in the stream . So good !! Thank you 🙏🏻

This was not what I was looking for
but it was just what I needed. Thank you 🙏🙏💜

Centering

That was really lovely - a very nice centering prayer practice. Thomas Keating, the real master of modern centering prayer, used a similar imagery of water with boats. I like the leaves here.