Nature has designed the most beautiful and perfect surroundings for you to practice in.
Nature is all around us,
Yet it is something we often take for granted,
Or we are too busy to stop and appreciate.
For this exercise,
The preference would be to go outside in your garden,
Or into a park.
However,
If this is not possible,
You may have a plant in the house,
Or try to go for a quick walk and collect some leaves,
Branches,
Flowers,
Seed pods,
Or anything else from nature.
Let's begin by closing your eyes,
And focusing your attention on your feet.
Think of those like roots of a tree,
Sending tendrils into the ground.
Now open your eyes,
And connect with your surroundings,
A tree,
A flower,
The grass,
Your plant,
Or the leaves you've collected.
In this meditation,
I will take you through focusing and sensing a leaf,
But you can adapt it to whatever else you have in front of you.
Be creative through this guidance,
And adapt accordingly.
Taking hold of the leaf,
Observe it,
Every detail.
The shape of the leaf,
Is it symmetrical?
Is it a thin leaf,
Or is it round?
Observe the shape,
What shade of green is it,
Or is it another colour?
Do the colours change and fade,
From lighter to darker?
Can you see the veins,
Do they stand out,
Or are they faint?
Bringing your attention to the stem,
Where does it start?
Can you follow it into the leaf,
And how far is that?
Exploring the detail of the leaf,
Gently closing your eyes now,
And imagining you have a magnifying glass,
And observing the detail of the leaf again,
From a different angle.
See how much of the leaf that you can remember.
With your eyes still closed,
Let's engage with one of our other senses.
Touch,
Take a moment to feel the leaf between your fingers,
Holding it between your right thumb and your index finger.
And with the left hand,
Rubbing it between your left thumb and left index,
Moving it slowly between each finger.
Noticing how different it feels,
Between different fingers.
Are some fingers more sensitive than others?
Now bring your attention to the texture of the leaf.
Does it feel the same on both sides?
Is it smooth,
Furry,
Bumpy?
Feeling the texture of the leaf.
Now bringing your attention to another sense,
Smell.
Bring it close to your nose,
Nearly touching.
Is the smell strong?
Is it mixed with any other smells?
Move it slowly away from your nose until you can't smell it any longer.
Then gradually move it in closer,
Until you can smell it ever so slightly.
Keep it there for a while,
And notice if your sense of smell is getting stronger.
Play with this for a while,
Exploring the smell of the leaf.
Gently,
Place the leaf in your palm,
And your hand rested on your lap.
Can you feel the weight of the leaf?
If you can't feel its weight,
Imagine looking at it with a zoom lens on your palm.
Are you still with the leaf?
Observing the interaction in this moment,
Noticing every detail of it.
The texture,
The smell,
The weight.
What else can you notice about it?
Slightly opening your eyes,
And gently holding your gaze on the leaf again.
Observe it gently sitting in your palm.
When you are ready,
Gently close your hand around the leaf,
And place it on the ground.
Take a moment to reflect on that experience.
Take a few deep breaths,
And bring this meditation to a close.
