In this meditation,
We'll be connecting with each of the three burning spaces from traditional Chinese medicine.
So,
First of all,
Find yourself a comfortable seat,
Or you might prefer to do this standing.
Close your eyes and bring your attention inwards.
Place your hands on your upper chest,
On your rib cage,
And let's send the awareness,
Or the mind's eye,
Moving your consciousness down through the inside of your head,
Down all the way through the neck,
Until you reach the shoulders.
Then moving out across the shoulders,
Through the upper arms,
The elbows,
Your forearms,
Through your wrists,
And into the palms of your hands.
Take a moment now just to experience that physical connection.
What's it like to be here now?
With your hands on your chest,
Just notice.
And then,
When you're ready to,
I'd like you to move your awareness gently within the space behind your rib cage,
Into the chest cavity.
And just notice what's here.
No need to do anything.
Try not to look for anything.
Allow your body to bring forward whatever it wants you to notice,
If anything.
Whatever wants to come forward will,
And that's just perfect.
Just allowing this upper burning space to speak to you in whatever language it chooses.
It might be an image,
A sensation,
It could be an emotion,
Or maybe a sense of movement,
Colour or texture,
Or it might be an idea or a memory.
If you're not used to doing this,
It might be quite quiet,
Or it could be very,
Very powerful.
There's no right or wrong.
And just staying here a moment longer,
Noticing what's here,
What's present,
Allowing it to be,
With compassion and care.
So now it's time to move your hands down to the next burning space.
This is the solar plexus area,
And it's the bottom of the rib cage and the upper abdomen,
And the line of the navel up.
And as you place your hands on this burning space,
Take a moment to connect with the physical sensation,
With the change between the upper burner that you've just moved from.
What's different about this from the outside?
And when you're ready,
Again,
Sending your awareness through,
Into the space behind the palms of your hands,
Within the middle burner,
And allowing whatever wishes to come forward,
To come forward.
Just sitting here,
Just being the witness to your body,
To your felt sense.
And you might find that what comes forward in one burning space or another,
Whilst you're resting here,
Might change,
Might resolve,
Might evolve.
You may feel a resonance to a different part of your body.
That's quite normal.
There's no need to figure out why,
Or judge it good or bad.
There's no story to tell around this,
Just notice for now.
Allow it to be exactly as it is.
And if at any point this becomes too intense,
And you feel uncomfortable,
You can always send your awareness back to the outside,
To the palms of your hands,
And shift your attention to that physical connection,
For as long as you feel is right.
Noticing any changes in what you're receiving.
And then when you're ready,
Moving your hands to the lower abdomen,
And the line of the navel down to the hips,
And maybe taking a moment before travelling within,
Just to experience what it's like to soften this area,
To allow your hands to provide support,
And to just hold this very important lower burner,
Which houses your kidneys and bladder,
Within traditional Chinese medicine.
It's the seat of your yin and yang,
The place which stores your precious Jing,
Your essence.
That precious form of Qi,
Or energy,
Which has been passed down through every generation of your lineage,
Your parents,
Their parents,
Their parents before them,
All the way back to your very,
Very first ancestors.
This life force,
This gift of life that you have,
Goes all the way back there.
So just taking a moment to connect in whatever your relationship is or is not like with your family.
They have given you this life,
And it connects you all the way back to the dawn of time,
Stored in your kidneys,
The seat of your potential,
Your creation,
Your power,
And it remains with you for your whole,
Whole life.
So with kindness and appreciation,
Let's now bring our attention within,
Into that lower burning space.
Quieten the mind and allow your body to speak in the language of its choosing.
No need to do anything.
Simply being here,
Open,
Conscious,
Welcoming is enough.
Simply the act of bringing mindful awareness and presence to within your body,
Allowing it to be as a symbol of your presence,
To within your body,
Allowing it to be as it is,
Is deeply nourishing and brings energy and healing to your body,
On all levels.
So there's nothing to do but be here now.
And if nothing comes forward right now,
That's perfectly fine.
There are no rules around this.
So now,
Before we move our awareness back fully into the outside world,
Let's just take a moment to expand our view and perspective,
To encompass the whole field of existence,
The whole body,
Maybe the auric field as well,
As wide as you can,
Everything that is you,
Just holding it in your awareness.
See whether there are any prominent areas,
Whether there are any tinglings,
Any heat or warmth,
Any emotions attached to certain areas of the body or the being.
Maybe some places like the hands might feel larger proportionally than they are physically in your awareness.
Just noticing your whole existence.
And then when you're ready to,
Let's start to become aware of the room in which we are sitting or standing,
Bringing your focus and awareness to the chair beneath you,
If you're sitting,
And to your feet,
Making good,
Firm contact with the ground beneath,
Feeling that connection to the support and the solidity of the earth beneath you,
Noticing the temperature of the air in the room,
Any sounds that might be happening around you,
Any smells that might be wafting past your nose,
Noticing your environment with all your senses other than sight,
And then maybe wiggling your fingers,
Wiggling your toes to bring some movement back into the body.
You might wish to have a nice stretch.
And then when you're ready to,
Very gently,
Open your eyes.
