The following practice has been brought to you by the School of Kamma,
Empowering students through mindfulness meditation.
Before you begin,
Find a safe and comfortable space where you won't be disturbed.
For safety,
Do not listen to this recording whilst driving or operating machinery.
Hi,
I'm Matt and I'll be your guide for this following period of meditation.
Take a moment to make yourself comfortable.
You may want to sit upright with the back straight,
Or you may want to lie down.
Whenever you're ready,
Bring the eyes to a gentle close.
We're going to start by noticing the quality of the breath.
Noticing whether it feels long or short,
Heavy or light,
And making no attempt to control or restrain it.
Just observe and just check in with how you're feeling.
In your own time,
Gently bring your awareness to the soles of the feet.
Noticing any sensations here,
Noticing the temperature,
Any tingling,
Or even just contact with the surface upon which they rest.
Slowly guide the awareness over the tops of the feet and around the ankles,
Relaxing into the legs,
The calves,
Shins,
Through the knees,
And into the thighs as we express an inner kindness toward the body,
Allowing everything to unfold naturally.
As we feel the weight of the body on the glutes and check in with the base of the spine,
Stable and grounded,
And just feeling a sense of gratitude as we begin to move up through the lower back into the middle of the back and the upper back,
An area where we may feel a little tension,
And also an area which tirelessly operates to preserve our stability as we move through life's inevitable challenges.
And it can be helpful just to give the back a little stretch,
Gently pushing the chest out and bringing the shoulder blades back before releasing on the exhale,
And just giving ourselves a little nudge in the direction of a deeper calm,
Coming in to the abdomen and moving through the cavity of the torso,
Acknowledging the organs as we feel into the heart center and emerge into the chest,
Allowing any sensations to just dance and change completely on their own,
Remembering that any tightness that we may feel in the chest will dissolve naturally,
Feeling into the shoulders,
Again where we can hold a bit of tightness,
And just gently sweeping the mind's eye down over the arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
And into the hands,
Maybe feeling some heat in the palms or tingling in the fingers,
A sign that we are becoming more aware of the subtle aspects of our subjective experience,
Moving our inner gaze to the neck and throat,
We can gently crawl around the chin,
Over the lips,
Cheeks,
Nose,
Eyes,
And forehead,
Positioning the mind's eye at the crown of the head,
And just observing how we feel in this moment,
Observing how a simple act can bring calmness and ease to our inner unfolding.
At some point in our academic journey,
We all experience loneliness,
Feelings of isolation in some form,
Which can arise as a result of varying conditions,
Difficulty making friends perhaps,
Challenges associated with our living situations,
Or even feeling left out of social gatherings,
Or being misunderstood by those around us.
Symptoms of loneliness can manifest in a number of ways,
We may find ourselves spending more time on our devices,
Checking our phones a little more than usual,
Maybe even drinking,
Smoking,
Or craving for unhealthier foods.
When we are going through this,
It's really important to understand that these responses are natural and normal,
In fact,
This is the mind's way of trying its best to stimulate feelings of connection that we feel have been lost.
Whenever we are aware of these impulses and notice them arising in our daily lives,
It is essential that we extend kindness to ourselves,
As hard as that can be.
It's important that we remember that it will inevitably pass,
After all,
To be aware of the experience in the now is to be aware that it wasn't always there,
There is nothing wrong with us,
And yes,
We are worthy of being loved,
We are always worthy in every moment of every day.
Knowing this,
We can do our best to bring a kind curiosity to these periods of imbalance,
We can accept them without judging ourselves and surrender to whatever is unfolding.
Instead of seeing this as a negative thing,
We can view it as an opportunity to know ourselves a little deeper,
Deriving an experiential wisdom that will inevitably make us stronger and help us to be kinder and more compassionate toward ourselves and others.
These are obstacles that we all have to face,
Obstacles which arise only to pass away.
Always remember you are enough and that you are never,
Ever truly alone.
Gently returning our attention to the top of the head once more,
We can begin to scan the body part by part,
Relaxing each area a little deeper and refining this sense of stability and balance.
Scanning down over the top of the head,
Over the forehead and brow,
We can observe the nose,
Pass over the eyes,
Cheeks,
Lips and around the jaw,
Any subtle discomfort in the face softening,
Smoothing,
Evaporating.
Scanning briefly the back of the head and the ears,
We can feel once more into the neck and throat as we sweep down into the shoulders,
Maybe feeling a little heavier now,
Tightness and tension,
Falling away with every passing moment,
Dropping down into the arms,
Over the elbows,
Forearms and into the wrists and hands,
Again noticing any increase in sensitivity in the palms and the tips of the fingers,
An indicator of presence and a sharpening mind,
Returning again to the chest and just feeling any warmth in this area,
Any tension softening,
The chest loosening and as we continue to move down,
We can arrive at the destination of the breath,
The area of the abdomen and maybe feeling a greater expansion in this area as the breath returns to its natural rhythm automatically,
As the body increases in calm,
Filling the body with a freshness,
Vitality and energy,
Melting into the lower back and feeling the middle of the back and the upper back again,
We may notice some residual tension in this area,
Which is fine and we might want to imagine zooming out here and just placing our loving attention on any prominent sensations that we may feel,
An act of genuine self-kindness and self-acceptance,
Checking in at the base of the spine once more and feeling the weight of the body on the glutes,
We re-familiarize ourselves with this stability that never wavers,
No matter how many challenges we may be facing,
Scanning again the thighs,
The backs of the thighs,
Feeling the legs almost melting as we feel through the knees,
Softening into the shins and calves and gliding our awareness over the tops of the feet and around the ankles,
As we reach the soles of the feet once again,
We may feel a little more centered and calm and so I invite you to turn inward now and get to know this serenity,
A safe container where you are always supported,
Always enough and always loved,
Coming close to the end of the meditation period now,
Take a second to check in with how you feel,
There's no need to describe,
Label or quantify,
Just feel and know,
Notice how your perspective may have changed,
You will now hear the bell ring three times and on the third ringing of the bell,
Gently open the eyes and return to the room.
