Sleep: Cultivate Peace In The Here And Now

This meditation is about cultivating inner peace in the here and now. It is a peaceful meditation ideal before sleep, or during any time in your life where you feel you need to connect to the deep inner wellspring of peace that is available to you always.

Transcript

So today's meditation is about connecting to clarity,

Removing the obstacles of stress that keep us from a place of deep slumber,

Deep rest.

Connect to the scent of the tangerine that you've just rubbed on your palms and slowly inhale it and savor that scent.

Notice what it reminds you of.

Notice the different textures and the notes in the scent.

Does it bring a certain sensation in the body?

Does the tangerine move to a certain location?

What does the tangerine inform you of?

How does the smell of tangerine make you feel?

Is it light?

Is it uplifting?

Does it ground you?

Does it make you feel like you want to go to sleep?

What is it making you feel?

Just observe all of that,

All of that sensation that's happening on the physical through smell and the mental level.

Perhaps tangerine brings up a memory.

And also emotional.

Tangerines bring up certain emotions,

Whether they're mad,

Glad or sad.

And you're welcome to keep your hands by your nose or if you feel you'd like to release their hands onto your knees or your lap.

That's also fine.

Now allow the light from the Ajna lamp to amplify all of those things that were highlighted from the scent of tangerine.

So perhaps the smell brought something up.

What was that thing that it brought up?

And whatever that thing is,

Or perhaps it's a few things,

Connect that into the body.

Where do those things live in the body?

If it's a blockage,

Something that's keeping us from being at peace,

Keeping us from attaining a deep rest,

Where does that live in the body?

What kind of story is there?

Is it something that's been left by yourself or from someone else?

And if that thing is related to confusion,

Find the source of that confusion.

Connect to the why,

The how,

Whatever question it is,

Without using logic,

Connect with your heart,

Connect with the illogical feeling of what it means to be human.

And from that,

Something surprising might come out of it.

If you're looking for an answer,

Connect to the question without obsessing over the result.

And through that experience of staying with the question and living and embodying the question,

Perhaps something will arise.

If you're working with something that is related to stress,

Connect to the nature of that stress.

Is that a physical stress,

Pressure on the body somewhere?

Is it mental stress,

Expectations from self or expectations from others?

Or is it all of it?

Is it emotional as well?

What is the source of this stress?

If you're looking to be free,

You're looking to break out of the routine and the habit of whatever it is that is in your day to day,

Connect to the why.

Why do I feel stuck?

Wherever it is that you are,

Whatever source that you're connecting to,

Allow the light to amplify those kernels of information.

And with that information,

Breathe it in and breathe it out,

Inhaling it through the nose and exhaling it through the mouth.

Using the breath to guide,

Using the wisdom of the breath to lead us into a new experience,

Changing the experience of wherever it is that we are now,

Whatever experience that we came from before we came into this room,

Use the breath to change it completely.

This is a yoga sutra.

This yoga sutra talks about thinking the opposite in order to yield a different result.

Vidharkar badhane praripaksha bhavanam.

So connecting to that which you would like to experience.

So if it is an experience of freedom that you wish to have and connect to that experience as opposed to what is keeping you stuck,

If it is experience of deep,

Deep rest that you would like to have and connect to that experience,

What would it feel like if my entire body were to sink into a deep slumber without a care in the world,

No worries,

No doubts,

No fears?

What would that feel like?

Is that possible at this moment?

And imagine it,

Invite it in.

And if it is something that's bothering,

Holding us back,

Whatever that is,

It is stressing us.

Instead of connecting to the stress,

Connect to the what if all of those things that are holding me down were to suddenly disappear,

What would that feel like?

How would that feel like in my bones,

In my muscles,

My tissue,

My heart,

My mind,

My spirit?

Imagine that.

Imagine if all those stress factors could be deleted and they are being deleted right now by choice.

Delete them with the breath and delete them with your choice.

Same goes for confusion.

What if those confusions were no longer confusions?

What if clarity was always there and the clouds were just passing through and we decided to hold on to the still frame of the clouds passing through?

What if we can allow the movie to keep playing,

Allow the scene to keep shifting and then we will see the clouds start to part and then we will see a different scene of perhaps stars or the sun or even rain?

Whatever it is that you are working on,

Stay focused on the opposite result of whatever it is that is the obstacle.

Go to the opposite of the obstacle and that state,

That experience that you long for,

Your heart longs for,

It will arrive on its own.

What if we can allow the movie to keep playing,

Allow the scene to keep shifting and then we will see the clouds pass through?

What if we can allow the movie to keep changing,

Allow the scene to keep shifting and then we will see a different scene of perhaps stars or the sun or even rain?

What if we can allow the movie to keep changing,

Allow the scene to keep shifting and then we will see a different state of mind?

What if we can allow the movie to keep changing,

Allow the scene to keep shifting and then we will see a different state of mind?

To amplify this experience even further,

Picture yourself in the most peaceful place in the world,

Wherever that is,

And feel the environment around you,

Feel how the texture of the air changes.

Are you in a place that's wet or dry?

Is the sun shining or is it nighttime?

Are you seaside or mountainside?

Or perhaps riverside?

Use all of your senses to envision that you are in this place,

The most peaceful place.

Maybe this peaceful place is not even on this world.

Whatever it is,

Go there.

Go to the place of peace.

Notice who else is in this space?

Are there other creatures,

Other people or spirits perhaps moving about?

And spend some time to get to know your environment and the inhabitants in this new place.

Maybe it's a place that we've forgotten about and now remember.

You can gesture,

You can talk to them,

You can feel them.

Whatever it is that is around you,

Perhaps you're alone.

However you interact with your environment,

Do that.

Do what feels peaceful.

And then in this place of peace,

There's nothing to be done.

There are no agendas.

There's no deadline for anything.

And in this place of peace,

Memory is fuzzy.

Let go of all memories that keep us from being centered,

From being in the moment.

And this moment is beautiful.

Connect to the beauty of everything that is around you.

And forget everything else that is not that,

That is not now.

In this place of peace,

If there are any distractions coming from this present moment,

In the here and now,

In your conscious body,

In this room or outside this room,

It cannot disturb you because we are in this place of peace.

And this peace pervades the entire body,

Expands through the bones,

The muscles,

The tissue,

Through every single fiber of your being.

Into the person next to you and the person next to them,

Into the entire room.

And though we are all in different spaces and different places,

We are all experiencing the same thing.

So rest in the comfort of knowing that on our journey towards collective peace,

We are connected,

We are united and whole.

Wherever it is you are,

Connect to the element of air.

To wind,

And whatever type of wind you would like to summon,

Call on the wind to cleanse,

To wash away anything that is stuck on you.

Feel the wind blowing on your face,

Through your hair,

And feel how nice the wind is on your skin.

Let the wind blow away all impurities,

All stuckness,

Let it go.

Let it be recycled back into nature,

Sending it back into space.

Using the wind to recharge.

Using the wind as energy.

Using the wind to create more space.

Tap into the element of wind by magnifying the breath.

Increase the volume of breath.

Create more space in the lungs,

Across the ribs,

The breastplate.

Create more space in the heart center.

More space in the upper back,

The middle back,

The lower back.

The whole body is full of breath,

Full of lightness.

Now connect to the smoke.

The smoke of this Palo Santo that's being burnt in the room.

It's the energy of being reborn,

Of being fresh and coming to a new experience.

Connect to when fire burns wood and it makes smoke.

Using that energy of smoke to wash away all of the blockages that surround you physically,

Mentally and emotionally.

Don't loose the termwing source.

Yourself encircled by all your loved ones,

Present and not present,

Those who are here and those who have gone.

Ancestors,

Spirits,

Guardians,

Masterful beings,

Whatever circle you'd like to create,

Form that circle and sit at the center of that circle.

And now they're all blowing holy smoke,

Palo Santo,

All around you,

Clearing you.

Because they love you and you love them and that is what we do.

We clear each other.

So be in that clearing and be open to receive that clearing and accept this clearing with gratitude.

In the center of this circle,

Your loved ones are laying you down to rest.

They're holding you,

Embracing you.

They're caring for you in a very unconditional,

Supportive way.

And feel that support.

Feel that support in your body,

The bones,

The muscles,

The tissue.

The support is not a mental support,

It's not a validation.

The support is physical,

It's visceral,

It's felt.

Feel it,

Breathe it.

Allow that support to enter completely.

And now they're all blowing holy smoke,

Palo Santo,

All around you,

Clearing you.

Because they love you and you love them and that is what we do.

And in this place of deep rest,

Of deep support,

Connect to the essence of love.

Not family love,

Not romantic love,

Not friendly love.

Connect to the true essence of love.

Love that is expansive.

The love of difficulties and challenges and the love of the joyful,

Mirthful,

Lighter experiences.

Love is all embracing,

Is all encompassing.

Love all of it.

Loving the confused parts,

Loving the parts that know,

Loving the stuck parts and the free parts,

The stressed parts and the unstressed parts.

Loving the fatigue and also loving the energy,

The vitality,

Loving it all,

The light and the dark.

Sending love to all of those qualities within,

Without judgment.

Love is all embracing,

Is all encompassing.

Love all of it.

Loving the confused parts,

Loving the stuck parts and the free parts,

The unstressed parts and the light and the dark.

Love is all embracing,

Is all encompassing.

Love all of it.

Love is all embracing,

Is all encompassing.

Love is all embracing,

Is all encompassing.

Love is all embracing,

Is all encompassing.

Breathing all of that in.

Taking as much time as it is that you need to come back,

Spend the next few moments focusing on the breath,

On the feet,

The legs,

The hips,

How your ribs feel,

The shoulders,

The arms,

The head,

The neck.

In your own time,

In your own way,

The next few minutes,

Bring all of that peace,

All of that clarity,

All of that freedom,

All of that rest back into the conscious realm,

Back to this room,

Back to your body.

Take your time.

Reviews

Amazing ! Thank you for leading me there 😇

Lovely thank you