Welcome to your meditation practice.
Today,
We are going to come to a seated position.
Sit up nice and tall.
Close down your eyes and come to connect with your breath.
Feel as the breath gently expands your body and feel it as it contracts the body.
Becoming one with your inhale and your exhale,
Living in this cycle of your breath and becoming aware of the cycle of your breath.
Feel your face relax.
Feel the ears relax.
Feel your neck and shoulders relax.
Feel just enough engagement to keep your spine upright.
Let the front of your belly be softer than the back,
Allowing ample space for diaphragm to relax.
Allowing ample space for diaphragm to expand and contract,
Pushing the belly out and in.
If you haven't already,
Just turn your palms to face up.
You are welcome to increase your concentration by adding in a mudra,
Connecting your thumb and index fingertips to touch and allowing your third,
Fourth,
And fifth fingers to just extend long,
Away from the palm of the hand.
Connecting the mind and the body with the subtle forces within you.
As humans,
We live with the cycles and the rhythms of nature.
Nature is always there to teach and inspire us,
To deepen our belonging within the world.
And if for just a moment we look within to recognize our own patterns,
You will see this reflected back to us through the patterns from the natural world.
We live our lives in unison with the plants,
The animals,
The trees,
The mountains,
The clouds,
The birds,
And the planets.
As above,
So below.
As within,
So without.
Can you feel nature being reflected back within yourself,
Within your being?
When we come into this world living in the womb,
We are folded up into ourselves,
Like the bud of a flower,
Or this tiny seed in the earth cocooned in oneself.
When we emerge from this womb space,
We allow our unfolding to begin,
Opening up our limbs like the petals of a flower,
Continuing to bloom and blossom throughout our life.
And just as the flower attracts many insects,
We also attract the eyes of humans,
All striving to just have a little bit of our beautiful nectar that we are here to share and spread throughout the world.
Our energy attracts those to us,
Just as the nectar attracts the insect to the flower.
Just like a flower,
When the flower petals,
Begin to fade,
Lose their color,
And eventually,
The flower will be gone.
And when the flower is gone,
It will be gone.
And when the flower is gone,
It will be gone.
And when the flower petals,
Begin to fade,
Lose their color,
And eventually,
Drop to the earth,
Its life cycle comes to an end and ceases to exist and hold itself upright as it once did,
Returning to the earth.
This too can be true for humans.
As we reach the end of our life cycles,
We are now unable to hold ourselves upright.
Once we return to the earth,
Just like all the plants and animals do,
We leave behind seeds in the form of our offspring and other humans and lives that we've touched.
And they're gifts that only we would have offered to the world.
Rebirth is in our lives,
And death is just part of the cycle.
When we take a moment to look around,
To look up,
We will feel and find this connection and insight,
Recognizing just how connected we really are to nature.
A few ways that we currently live aligned with nature is when we notice our thoughts and how they appear like clouds in the sky,
Changing shape,
Passing by,
And then disappearing without a trace.
Just as the rain cleanses the sky,
Our tears cleanse our body,
Creating such a ripple effect and emotional release that we too cleanse our mind.
Our moods change like the colors in the sky.
The sky itself becomes an eternal awareness.
Unchanging under all of these fluctuations.
Because at the core,
What resides is its blueprint.
Bright blue skies,
Passing clouds,
Changing of seasons,
All of this reflected back to the human,
Reminding us of our own fluctuations,
Imperfections,
And beauty.
Allow yourself to sit with this interconnected feeling,
That we are not an individual human meandering the world,
Walking about this planet,
But we are a human being,
A human being,
A human being,
Wondering the world,
Walking about this planet,
But we are part of the world.
We are an extension of nature.
We are an animate object full of feelings,
Emotions,
And thoughts.
Take a few moments now to feel into your interconnectedness with nature,
Reminding yourself that you too are a cyclical being,
Aware of the impermanence,
Aware that change is the only constant,
Aware that humans too will one day cease to exist,
Just like a beautiful flower who began its life in fertile soil,
Deep,
Rich,
And nourishing,
And then one day returned back to the earth.
Feel a wave of awareness wash over and through your entire being.
Gently break the mudra,
The hands,
And then take one hand followed by the other over your heart.
This action is the equivalent of giving yourself or another person a hug,
Connecting into our charging station,
Our vital life force,
Feeling the subtle beat of your own intuitive nature within you,
Feeling grateful,
Feeling compassion,
Being love.
With your next few breaths,
Feel your inhales and exhales lift and lower the hands,
Feeling the gentle expansion on the inhale,
The rib cage pushes into the palms,
And feeling the exhales,
Everything comes back home to the heart,
Lungs massaging your heart in and out with every breath,
Just as the air massages trees,
The flowers,
And the grass of its beautiful blowing wind.
Take an inhale,
Biggest fullest breath of your day,
Pause at the top,
Retain this breath reminding yourself of your potential,
Of your capabilities on this planet to lay your seeds,
To spread your energy,
And to impact those who are grateful to walk the path of your presence.
Gently release,
Letting go,
Let your hands fall down towards the lap,
And together we'll take one final breath and inhale as you reach the arms up,
Gathering energy,
And an exhale as you pull it into your heart.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you through your practice.
Be well,
Go in peace.
Namaste.
