Hello and welcome to this beginner-friendly meditation.
My name is Genevieve McKenzie and I'll be your guide here today.
To begin,
Find yourself in a comfortable position,
Whether that's lying down or seated upright.
Find what works for you here today.
We often think the object of meditation is to clear and quiet the mind.
And while that may happen,
The object of meditation is actually to create awareness of our thoughts and be able to form a relationship with them where we have choice in our reaction and response to our thoughts,
Our emotions,
Our impulses.
And that is what we are going to do today.
Practicing finding awareness of our thoughts.
Throughout this meditation,
You may catch yourself thinking or being lost in thought and know that is totally okay.
That is totally normal.
Our brains think it's what they do.
It's the practice of continually bringing yourself back to this moment,
Again and again,
With compassion,
As many times as you need.
That is where the work lies.
We will begin with a brief tuning in to get our mind and bodies in the same place and then we'll jump into the meditation.
To start,
Take a nice deep breath in through the nose,
Breathing into the low belly.
When you breathe all the way in,
Hold at the top.
And then exhale,
Let it go through the mouth.
We'll do that two more times.
Take a nice deep breath in through the nose,
Breathing in to the low belly.
Feel it expand.
Hold at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
One more here.
Breathing in through the nose,
Breathing deep into the low belly.
Feel it expand like a balloon.
Hold at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
Take a moment to tune in to your body.
And I want you to take this time and name three things or three sensations that you can feel in your body right now.
Whether it's the blanket on top of you,
Or your feet making contact with the floor,
Your back supported by a mattress.
Name three sensations you can feel in the body.
Not judging them,
Not deeming them good or bad,
Just simply observing and labeling the sensations you feel.
Now we will begin the practice of meditation.
When you find the mind wandering,
When you catch yourself thinking,
Invite yourself back to this present moment.
Back to the sensation of breathing or sensations in your body to help anchor you in this present moment.
Imagine you are in a pond.
You are floating in this pond.
The water around you is calm.
The environment around you is peaceful and inviting.
And as you look up from this pond,
You notice a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds.
They gently float by and change shape and morph.
I want you to think of your thoughts as these clouds.
As they come into the mind,
Watch them as they float by.
Observe them,
But don't interact with them.
Don't judge them.
Don't deem them as positive or negative.
Just simply observe them floating by.
As a thought comes up,
Notice it.
Don't get attached.
Watch it naturally float by.
Staying connected to the present moment.
Returning to the breath or body as many times as you need.
Notice if you are caught up on thought and bringing yourself back to this space.
Noticing the thoughts.
Returning to the breath and the body.
Knowing that if it's important,
You will remember it.
Just for these next few moments,
We're going to practice observing and letting go.
You are not your mind or your emotions.
You are the loving observer of your experience.
Take a nice deep breath in through the nose,
Breathing into the low belly.
Feel it expand and hold at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
Breathe in deep into the low belly.
Feel it expand and hold at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
One more together here.
Deep breath into the low belly.
Feel it expand like a balloon.
Hold at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
You can begin to bring some movement back into the fingers,
Into the toes.
Allowing yourself to reawaken.
Thank you so much for choosing to practice with me today.
The practice of meditation helps us understand the impermanence of our thoughts and it helps us not so heavily identify with what is going on with the mind.
It's a practice.
If you spent this whole time thinking that's okay,
That's normal,
Know that the more effort you put towards it,
The easier and more beneficial this practice will be.
I hope to practice with you again sometime soon.
Take care.
