Welcome to the practice.
This meditation is usually done in a sitting position.
So I invite you now to settle into a comfortable but attentive posture.
Sitting tall if it's comfortable for you.
In a balanced way.
And sensing the possibility of relaxing into this uprightness.
Each part of the body resting effortlessly on the one below.
And remembering that if you become uncomfortable in the course of this meditation or are struggling to sit still,
To give yourself permission to move and adjust your posture as you wish.
And when you're ready,
We can begin.
So to start,
I invite you to gently close your eyes,
Either fully or partially,
Whichever works best for you.
In a moment,
You will hear the sound of the bell.
My invitation to you is to use it as a bridge from the outer world across into your inner world.
Listening to its sound as it fades away.
Letting it guide your awareness.
You you And now taking a deep breath in and releasing any tension on the out-breath.
And then repeating this two more times,
Without any need to rush.
And when you're ready,
Gently letting your breathing return to normal.
And as you breathe,
Allow yourself to rest right here in this moment-to-moment experience.
Allowing the eyes to be still.
The forehead to be smooth.
The cheeks to soften.
And any tension in the jaw to dissolve.
Dropping the shoulders.
Inviting a sense of ease in the chest.
And softening any tightness you may find in the stomach.
Now slowly expanding your awareness to the body as a whole.
From the head all the way down to the toes.
Feeling yourself breathing naturally without forcing it in any way.
Noticing that in this very moment.
You are alive and have everything you need.
And just sinking in to a sense of contentment.
And I invite you now to bring to mind the image of a mountain.
It could be a real mountain that you have visited.
Or an image that you have seen somewhere.
And gradually letting this mountain come into focus,
Just as if it were right in front of you.
Perhaps your mountain has snow covering its peaks.
Rugged granite sides perhaps?
And forests covering its lower slopes.
There may be streams and waterfalls cascading down the slopes,
Or perhaps your mountain is dry and barren.
If you struggle to visualize,
No need to worry,
This isn't unusual.
Just focus instead on your body as a whole.
Sitting right here,
Moment to moment.
So observing this mountain,
If you can,
From its lower slopes all the way to its high peaks,
Forming a sense of the mountain as a whole.
How massive,
How solid and how unmoving it is.
Simply observing it all,
Noting these qualities and,
If you feel ready,
Seeing if you can welcome a sense of the mountain into your own body.
Sitting here and allowing it in so that your body and the mountain in your mind's eye become one.
So that as you sit here you share in the stillness,
The solidity and the majesty of the mountain You begin to accept these qualities into your own body.
Grounded in your posture,
Sitting tall in a balanced way,
Each part of the body resting effortlessly on the one below.
Your head becoming the peak of the mountain.
Your shoulders and back,
The sides of the mountain.
Your buttocks and legs forming a solid base,
Rooted to and supported by the surface beneath you.
Experiencing in your body a sense of uprightness from deep within your sitting bones all the way up through your spine.
And as you sit here breathing,
Feel yourself become a little bit more like the mountain with each cycle of breath.
Becoming taller and more alive with each in-breath.
Calmer,
More centered and grounded with each out breath.
And noticing now how conditions on the mountain are constantly changing.
Just as our thoughts and feelings are coming and going,
So too with the mountain.
Every day the sun rises and falls.
In the morning the sun brings with it warmth and life.
Then sunshine sweeps across the landscape and shadows change moment by moment.
And later darkness descends and the temperature drops and another day passes.
And through all of this the mountain remains still and unmoved.
And just as night follows day and day follows night,
So too with the ever-changing seasons.
At times there is calm on the mountain.
At other times the mountain is baked by scorching sun or shrouded in mist,
Soaked by torrential rains or blanketed by snow.
And through all of these changing conditions,
The mountain remains still and unmoved.
And so too it is in our own lives.
Where perhaps seemingly out of nowhere,
Storms appear and begin to rage,
Bringing with them a sense of turmoil and chaos.
And just like the mountain,
We have the opportunity to remain still and unmoved.
Connected to our inner strength and stillness.
And recognizing that this too shall pass.
And if your mind wanders,
Just acknowledge this without any self-judgement and gently bring your attention back.
To the sense of dignity in your body.
As we continue staying with this sense of stability and inner stillness.
I invite you to bring your awareness to your breath.
Observing the cycles of your breath.
Noticing how the air moves through the body with each inhale.
Noticing how the inhale ends.
And observing the air as it leaves the body with each exhale.
And setting the intention to just accept things as they are right now.
Whatever arises,
Just noticing it without judging or reacting.
Sitting with dignity,
Without forcing anything,
And as best you can.
As we near the end of this practice.
Observing the quality of your mind right now.
Acknowledging any thoughts or feelings.
And noticing too if there has been a shift over the course of this meditation.
And now simply resting in a sense of gratitude for this practice.
And the time that you have just given yourself.
Finally,
I invite you to silently set the intention right now to hold on to these feelings and carry them with you into your daily life.
Now taking a deep breath in.
.
.
And allowing the breath out to be long and smooth and soft.
And very gently starting to bring this meditation to an end.
And when you're ready,
Opening the eyes if they're still closed.
And starting to bring some movement back into the body.
Thank you for coming with me on this journey.
I hope to see you here again tomorrow.
