Breath.

Welcome to this gentle meditation. Here, we explore the creative feel of the breath and the polarities of expansion and contraction. This meditation will give you a new perspective of yourself and the cosmos. Yet, there is space in this guided meditation to rest and relax unguided too, while rain gently falls on my window in the background.

Transcript

Welcome, Is it possible that the natural mind, Peace, Openness, Relaxation and clarity you may seek, Are present in your mind, Just as it is now? Taking a little time to settle here, Listening to the rain against my window, Which may signal a calmer pace of nature, That falls upon you too. My name is David, Let's practice a while together, And whichever way you choose to practice, Sitting or lying, Eyes open or closed, Can you decide to be here, Can I ask, Why are you here, Listening carefully to any answer. What comes to mind may form your intention to practice, And then this practice can become your practice. Perhaps it is to bring stillness, Peace, Or something personal, When inevitably you may move into thinking patterns, As we all do. Recall your intention in those moments, As your guide home to practice. Rain falling, Body settling, Becoming familiar with your body, And your humanness, Aches and pains, Tingling and vibration, Calmness or anxiety, Accept, Soften and allow whatever is here, As best you can, With the following words, Right now, It is like this, When you are ready, Take several deeper breaths, There is no need to rush them, Feel the movements of your lungs reflected within your body, See how the space you are in, Much like the space in your lungs, Changes as you breathe. Breathing in, Here, Breathing out, Now, Here, Now, Here, Now, Surrendering your breath now, To a natural flow, Be gentle, No effort is required here, Allowing your body to breathe, As it is known from the moment you were born, Rest, For a while now on your own, Just be here, With nothing to do, Fix, Or be, Breathing in, Rain falling, Breathing out, Rain falling. 14 billion years ago, Matter, Energy, Time and space came to be, As the cosmos expanded outward from a place without a centre. In a mere blink of 300, 000 years that followed, Matter and energy swirled to contract and coalesce into complexity. This contraction became the story of atoms and molecules, And eventually the intricacies of organisms, Which eventually became the story of all life and people. Continents grew and shrunk back, People shaped stories of societies and cultures, But also expanded and contracted. All the while, Mountains ebbed and flowed. All that exists in the cosmos is formed from the creative polarity of expansion and contraction. All that was and will be is born in creative expression of this fundamental. Ancient echoes of this can be felt in your body, Animating you in your breath right now. Expansion, Contraction, Letting time flow a little, Letting go of the idea of meditating and resting for a while. In more ancient times, The breath of life metaphor was also recognised as an expression of fundamental nature and the cosmos. Breath of life, Expansion and contraction. All that you are, Here, Now, Held by this, Your life curated by this. In Latin language this is spiritus or anima, It is psyche or pneuma in Greek. The word ruga in Hebrew, Sanskrit, An ancient language, Speaks of Atman. All speak of breath, Soul, Or spirit even, If you wish. Being aware of your own breath is meditation. But can I ask a question? Can you feel how this expansion and contraction moving through you is the ultimate force and source of all life and matter? Of all it expresses? Part of the creative movement reverberating through you formed the cosmos too. We may no longer see ourselves as something that breathes, But as something breathed into being by spiritus, Anima and pneuma. Feel the unifying rhythm that connects you with the cosmos. You are not mere matter in motion, You never were, Nothing actually is. You are an echo sounding across time and space that signals a rhythm woven from the unfolding creativity that brings everything into being. How magical is that? Resting back once more, In breath, Out breath, Creativity unfurling to life, Releasing yourself free from the thought that you are meditating, Simply feeling if you can, Expansion and contraction reflected in you and around you. If you accept, Please dedicate this meditation to the world, I wish, I hope, Possibly to be a point in the world that brings into being a natural mind, Peace, Openness, Relaxation and clarity. Breathing, Resting and falling into your body like clear water pouring into a deeper ocean. There is a paradox that at its boundary, The greater our sphere of knowledge, The more contact we have with the mystery of what cannot be known. Is it possible to sense that no one is really born into the world, Rather all are born from the world, Our commonality is an echo expressed and shaped by the same eternal forces that brought the cosmos into being, Expansion and contraction. How humbling, What wonderment, This meditation will never end, It never really does because the person who arrives for practice differs from the person who leaves the practice, Allowing yourself to be here as long as you wish, Allowing yourself to be breathed, Animated by anima, All that you need not carry, Falling away from you like rain to earth. Listen more deeply than ever, Listen for when spiritus swirls to whisper from somewhere embodied in the oceanic depths of you, To say that you are ready to be carried by this practice into the rest of your day. Listen deeply, You will hear its whispers.

Reviews

Thank you, David, for the simplicity of your guidance. Your attention to the importance of “keeping it simple”, results in an experience that is undeniably authentic.