Chewing into the seasons.
Just taking a few deep breaths,
Allowing the body to settle.
Chewing into the sound of the bell.
Allowing the breath to settle into whatever rhythm it chooses.
Being curious about the rhythm of the breath.
Noticing how deep or shallow the breath is.
How long or short the breath is.
Whether it's smooth or jaggy.
Or maybe has a fluttery quality.
So really being with that rhythm,
Whatever that rhythm is.
Following the in breath.
Following the out breath.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go.
Simply resting,
Following the breath.
And as you tune into the breathing,
Starting to imagine yourself in a favourite place in nature.
This might be somewhere you know in real life,
Or somewhere that you concoct in your imagination.
And starting to build up that visual picture of that place.
What do you see around you?
Water,
Trees,
The sea.
Whatever it is,
Wherever you are.
Building up that visual place,
That visual picture of this place in nature.
And then tuning into what you can hear in this place in nature.
Maybe there's a sound of birds singing,
Or water flowing.
Noticing if you can smell anything.
If you can taste anything,
Maybe the freshness of the air.
And then picturing yourself sitting down in this place of nature.
And feeling the texture of the floor beneath you.
The solidity or firmness of the earth.
Leaning into the different senses that have been awoken by being in this place.
So simply building up this picture in whatever way makes sense to you.
We can sometimes have a strong visual sense,
A visual picture.
Or maybe there's more of a felt sense of being somewhere.
Just making this as real for yourself as you possibly can.
And allowing yourself to rest there.
And then starting to notice that it's summertime.
And tuning into the feeling of the sun on the face,
On the body,
On your feet.
Luxuriate here in the warmth of the sun.
And then noticing all of the signs of summer in this place of nature.
Maybe there's green grass,
Maybe the flowers are blooming.
Or there's fruit on plants,
Blue sky.
What animals or birds might be present here?
And really building up this picture,
This sensation of a summer's day.
In this beautiful place in nature that you've chosen to rest with.
And then tuning into how you respond to being here.
The emotions that might be present,
Associated with summer.
The physical sensations,
The thoughts.
Allowing those to be present.
But coming back to this sense of resting in this place in nature,
In the mist of summer.
And then starting to notice that summer is leaving and autumn is coming.
How does it feel to witness this change?
You might notice the leaves on the trees turn in colour.
Maybe it's a little bit chillier than it was before.
And then the fall season of autumn is upon us.
How does your place in nature look,
Feel,
Smell and sound now?
Allowing yourself to rest here in this season of autumn.
Tuning into the sensation of this autumnal day.
Are there any emotions or physical sensations or thoughts linked with autumn?
Just recognising if they're present.
Allowing them to be there.
And coming back to the felt sense of this autumnal day.
And then starting to see the signs that autumn is leaving.
And that winter is starting to come through.
Noticing any feelings that might be present with the change of seasons.
And allowing them to be there.
And if there's sadness,
Let it be.
Maybe there's anticipation.
Or your mood has lightened or darkened.
So simply noticing without dwelling on the feelings or judging them.
And how winter is really present.
How does your place in nature look in the mist of winter?
Are there changes to the plant life,
The wildlife?
You'll have a sense of wrapping yourself up as warm as you need to be as you rest in this place of winter.
And tuning in to the different sights and smells and sounds.
And then noticing your response to winter.
Allowing yourself to rest here for a moment in the season of winter.
And then starting to notice the first signs of spring.
Maybe there are some snowdrops or croci poking up.
Maybe the air has less of a chill.
How do you feel knowing that spring is on the way?
And now there's no doubting that spring has sprung.
What do you see in your chosen place in nature?
What flowers are present?
What changes to the plant life and animal life can you witness?
Maybe the feel of the air is slightly warmer.
Maybe there's a visualisation of you taking off your winter coat.
And as you lean into spring,
Where does this season land?
How does it affect you?
And allowing yourself to rest here in the midst of spring for a moment or two.
And now letting go of any visualisations,
Any sense of the seasons,
And coming back to this moment here in this room.
Tuning into your senses.
Tuning into the breath.
Having a sense of letting go and letting be.
