Welcome to our May meditation,
Our letting go meditation.
If we observe nature in autumn,
We shall see the trees freely releasing their leaves to the ground.
This is how they preserve and direct their energy deep into the roots and into the earth.
This is so they can rest and nourish through the challenging weather of winter and in preparation for new growth in spring.
The shedding of her leaves is a letting go of what is worn or no longer nourishing and supportive.
As humans we too are constantly shedding and growing.
We can experience letting go as breathtakingly scary or sad but it can also be freeing and fiercely beautiful and life changing.
The gifts of wisely letting go are growth and evolution.
In our practice today we are practicing letting go.
We shall observe and recognise,
Soften and release our need to hold or to clutch or to control.
In meditation every breath is an invitation to practice letting go.
Let's find our position of comfort for meditation.
Whether you're seated in a chair or on the floor,
Check that you feel well supported and grounded.
Make any adjustments that you feel might allow you to feel just a little more comfortable.
Feel your body as it touches the chair or the floor knowing that you are being held,
That you are grounded.
Invite a softness to your shoulders,
A sense of melting at the shoulders.
Softening your belly.
Getting into a soft and open belly.
Sit in a way that you feel upright,
That the back is relatively straight but not stiff.
A softness to the spine and the back while sitting upright.
Tuck your chin in just a little,
Letting go of any clenching or hardness at the jaw or the mouth.
Aware of your hands resting comfortably in your lap or on your knees.
I would invite you to close your eyes or soften your gaze to the floor in front of you.
See we are practicing a letting go of the outside world.
Acknowledge to yourself that there is nothing that you need to do or think about in this moment.
Letting go of the need to move or fidget or be entertained.
Choosing to remain in stillness throughout our practice and to be kind and gentle with ourselves.
Your letting go is indeed a practice.
We'll begin with a couple of cleansing breaths.
Taking a slightly longer,
Deeper and fuller inhalation through the nostrils and a slightly longer,
Deeper and fuller exhalation through the mouth with an audible sigh.
As you release your breath you might also let go of anything that has been on your mind today.
Any sensation or thought or flavour or experience from your day,
Let it go.
Just for the moment,
Just for today.
Breathing in fresh life giving air,
Breathing out and letting go.
And then allowing your breath to settle back into its own natural rhythm.
Letting go of the need to control or change or modify your breath.
Allow your breath to be effortless.
As we shift our attention inward,
Letting go of the day around us.
As we start to settle and the body releases and lets go of the need to move or to fidget.
This is when you might become more aware of the sounds around you.
Sounds that draw our attention outward.
So allow a moment to listen and to welcome all of the sounds in the world around you in this moment.
Open your ears and allow all sounds to arise and pass.
Letting go of the need to analyse or be drawn away with a sound.
Letting sounds to be just sounds.
And then inviting your awareness now back to your breath,
Your very natural and effortless breath,
Your life breath.
Notice where you feel your breath most deeply in this moment.
With an awareness that every inhalation brings energy and life into the body and into the mind and every exhalation is an invitation to soften,
To release and to let go.
In our practice,
In our meditation practice,
Every exhalation is an opportunity to let go.
To let go of all of your breath.
And to notice the feeling of emptiness at the very end of your breath.
Letting go of the outside world.
Letting go of the body.
Letting go of the breath.
Just as we observed our body and breath and invited this sense of letting go.
So too we can observe as a witness our thoughts,
Our emotions,
Our beliefs,
Our uncomfortable stories allow them to arise and also allow them to pass.
Observing without trying to control or analyze or discuss.
Just a witness to the flow of thoughts for a moment.
Letting go of the need to respond or react to a thought.
And for a moment you might sense a silence and a stillness that exists beneath the thought.
And you might like to include a simple silent mantra.
Let go.
The silent noting on the inhalation.
Let.
The silent noting on the exhalation.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
Let.
Go.
And I would invite you to bring a gentle half smile to your lips.
Gently holding this half smile for the next few breaths.
A smile of gratitude for taking the time to pause and rest and to let go.
Letting go of carrying the weight of your body,
Releasing into the hold of the earth.
Letting go of sounds and distractions in the world around you.
Allowing all sounds to arise and pass.
Letting go of the desire to control your breath.
Trusting that the next inhalation will shortly follow.
Letting go of the need for a busy or thinking mind.
Having chosen not to engage or converse with momentary thoughts.
To seek the silence around and beneath the thoughts.
And we finish our letting go meditation for today,
An awareness that letting go is an ongoing journey in meditation and in life.
And the gifts of this practice of letting go is to allow space for new beginnings and new growth.
Taking a couple of slightly deeper and fuller inhalations to bring fresh life giving energy into the body and into the mind.
You might invite some movement to fingers and toes.
A broader awareness of your place in this room,
In this moment.
The touch of the air on your body,
The sounds and the light of the world around you.
Please bring your gentle half smile with you as you come back into the space that you occupy.
And open your eyes.
