Begin by sitting comfortably,
Relaxing the shoulders,
Relaxing the neck.
Settle your attention on the breath,
Noticing the inhale,
Noticing the exhale and its natural rhythm.
As you inhale,
Feel the expansion,
The opening,
And as you exhale,
Feel the releasing and the softening.
And as you inhale,
Opening up,
Expanding,
And as you exhale,
Releasing,
Relaxing,
Softening.
And as you breathe,
Just begin to scan the body and relax all parts of the body as they come into your attention,
Softening the hands,
Soften the face,
The forehead,
The jaw,
The tongue,
Maybe practice a yawn to release the jaw,
Relax the throat,
Maybe swallow to release the throat muscles,
Relaxing the shoulders,
The belly,
The lower back and the hips,
Relaxing as much as possible so you're not carrying any unnecessary tension,
And then continue to breathe in your natural rhythm and begin to visualize a blue sky,
An expansive,
Vast blue sky.
And beyond just visualizing,
See if you can also experience,
Recall the openness,
The vastness,
The expansiveness of a blue sky,
Clear blue sky.
And if you can,
Allow the mind to mingle with the openness of the sky so you're no longer just seeing it on a screen,
But that openness,
That expansiveness is now part of the mind.
And with this openness,
This vastness,
Begin to extend the receptive awareness attention outwards to the sounds in the space around you,
Any small,
Subtle sounds,
The ambient noise of the room or the space you're in,
Without labeling,
Without judging,
Just draw in the awareness of noticing the sounds,
And with the awareness as expanded as possible,
Mingling with the openness of a blue sky,
Begin to observe any neutral or pleasant sensations in the body,
To maybe the tips of the fingers,
Maybe the feet,
Noticing any neutral or pleasant sensations in the body,
Just observe,
Just feel,
Just experience,
And then expanding the awareness to take the entire body in awareness.
Observe all areas of the body of the being,
Including uncomfortable,
Unpleasant sensations.
The unpleasant sensations,
Like the pleasant or neutral ones,
Can be physical,
Gross feelings in the body,
Or they can be more subtle,
Tension in the mind,
A persistent,
Nagging thought,
Lingering,
Uncomfortable feelings,
And as these uncomfortable sensations,
Feelings,
Thoughts,
Tensions,
Arise in the awareness,
Stay connected with the sense of openness of a vast blue sky,
Expansiveness,
Experience the uncomfortable sensations in the vastness of the blue sky,
Of the mental space,
Make a soft,
Open space,
Holding these areas of tension,
Of pain,
Feeling how vast and how extensive the space is,
And allowing the unpleasant feelings,
Thoughts,
Sensations,
To be held,
To float in your extensive awareness,
Your vast awareness,
And without judgment or pushing away,
You allow them to exist,
And with time,
You see how any sensations,
Neutral,
Pleasant,
Or uncomfortable,
Arise,
Maybe intensify,
Fade eventually pass away.
The natural ebb and flow of thoughts,
Of uncomfortable experiences,
Sensations,
How do these experiences,
Sensations,
Change the thoughts?
How do they change as you observe without judgment?
And notice any resistance to the discomfort,
Notice if it arises,
And try to release and relax in this vastness.
There's plenty of space for all sensations to arise and pass away in this plane of beingness,
Of existence,
The constant moving,
The change,
And any time resistance arises,
Relax and release.
Observe and release.
Observe the openness with expansiveness while not being pulled by it.
Allow any lingering,
Painful thoughts,
Uncomfortable sensations to just float in this open space of being,
And staying as long as you need to,
But when you're ready,
Begin to ground yourself more consciously in your body.
So deepening the breath,
Moving the breath more gross,
More full.
Keep the awareness of the space around you,
Of the sounds,
And then becoming more aware of where your body is seated,
The seat below you,
If your feet are on the floor,
Where they connect with the ground.
And as much as you can,
Hold that feeling of that expansiveness,
Of that openness,
While also bringing attention to the grossness of the body.
The more we return to that silent,
Expansive space,
The more we can feel that connection of peace and silence throughout our days.
And when you feel ready,
You open your eyes.
Thank you.
