To begin the stacking cups meditation,
I invite you to picture a table in front of you.
I invite you to picture yourself setting a cup,
Lid down,
On that table right in front of you.
And this cup,
Which we'll call cup one,
Represents the intention to rest.
So as you picture that cup sitting lid down on the table in front of you,
I invite you now to honor that cup by resting.
Let your body be comfortable and at ease.
If you cannot be comfortable right now,
If you cannot be at ease,
That's okay.
Get as close to comfortable and at ease as you reasonably can and rest.
Rest.
Let your body be comfortable and at ease.
Rest.
Rest.
Let your body be comfortable and at ease.
If you want to,
You can spend the entire meditation session with just this one cup.
A meditation session spent with just cup one is a successful session.
If that's how you're feeling,
Feel free to pause this video now.
If you're ready,
Let's go ahead and add cup two.
I want you to picture that table again.
I want you to picture that single cup sitting lid side down on the table,
That cup of resting.
And now we're going to take a second cup and we're going to stack it right on top of that.
So now we're seeing two stacked cups on the table before us.
The second cup is relaxing.
Relax.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Release tension and settle into relaxation.
Relax.
Relax.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Release tension and settle into relaxation.
As you visualize the table,
As you visualize those two stacked cups,
I invite you to recognize this as an opportunity to honor both cups.
In other words,
As you continue to relax,
Continue also to rest.
Relax and rest.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Let your body be comfortable and at ease.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Rest and relax.
If you wish,
Stay with these two cups for the entire meditation session.
A session spent with just cups one and two is a successful session.
If that's what you wish to do,
Feel free to pause the video now.
Now we're going to prepare to add cup three.
I invite you to return to the visual,
The table in front of you with two stacked cups.
I invite you now to picture your hands on the table.
I invite you now to picture your hand adding a third cup to the stack.
This third cup is breathing.
Breathe.
Breathe naturally and comfortably.
If possible,
Power your breath through the belly.
If possible,
Inhale through the nose.
Breathe.
Breathe naturally and comfortably.
Breathe.
Breathe.
As you visualize these three cups stacked on the table,
Recognize this is an invitation to honor all three of those intentions.
Breathe,
Relax,
And rest.
Rest,
Relax,
And breathe.
Breathe naturally and comfortably.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Let your body be comfortable and at ease.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Breathe naturally and comfortably.
If you wish,
You can remain with these three cups for the entire meditation session.
A session spent with cups three,
Two,
And one is a successful session.
If you wish to stay with these three cups,
Feel free to pause the video.
Now we're going to add cup four.
Return to the visual.
See that table in front of you.
See those three cups stacked on the table.
Now picture your hand adding a fourth and final cup to the stack.
This cup is smiling.
Smile.
Smile naturally and comfortably.
Even the faintest smile will do.
This smile may be so faint,
Someone looking at you from the outside couldn't even tell you're smiling,
But you know that you are.
That smile is enough.
Smile.
Smile.
If you're unable to physically smile,
Or if you want to add warmth and light to your smile,
You can try this technique which is called besties and faves.
Let your imagination be filled with images of your beloveds and your favorites.
Your favorite people to be around.
Your favorite hobbies and activities.
Favorite places you love to be or to visit.
Your favorite meals and beverages.
Your favorite treats and snacks.
Your favorite pets and wild animals.
Picture anything that brings joy and warmth to your heart.
This technique is a form of inner smiling.
Smile.
Smile naturally and comfortably.
Even the faintest smile will do.
I invite you now to return to the visual.
The table with those four cups stacked in front of you.
And recognize that image of those four cups as an invitation to honor all four of those intentions.
The intention to smile.
The intention to breathe.
The intention to relax.
The intention to rest.
Rest.
Rest.
Relax.
Breathe.
And smile.
Smile naturally and comfortably.
Even the faintest smile will do.
Breathe naturally and comfortably.
Let your body grow still and soft.
Let your body be comfortable and at ease.
Rest.
Relax.
Breathe.
Smile.
Rest.
Relax.
Breathe.
Smile.
Stay with all four cups for as long as feels comfortable.
During some meditation sessions,
We'll stack up to cup four and then we'll stay with all four cups stacked for the rest of the session.
Some days we may feel overwhelmed.
We may feel agitated.
We may feel restless.
We may feel distracted.
And if this happens and it's too difficult to honor all four of those intentions,
Recognize this as an invitation to begin gently unstacking cups.
So if you've stacked that fourth cup and you're smiling and all of a sudden it just starts to feel like too much,
Feel free to take that cup off and stay with cups three,
Two,
And one.
And likewise,
If that's overwhelming,
Remove cup three.
And if necessary,
Remove cup two.
And if even cup one,
If even sustaining the focus to rest feels like it's agitating you,
Feel free to remove that cup as well.
And let your meditation become unstructured.
No rules,
No expectations.
Let that difficult energy work itself out however you wish.
And only when you feel ready again,
Begin restacking those cups.
In this way,
The meditation then becomes a dynamic and ongoing process of adding cups and removing cups.
Stacking the cups up and pulling the cups down.
Do this to calibrate the meditation to your energy level and your attention level on this day,
In this moment.
In a moment,
I'll be ending this guided audio.
If at any point you feel stuck or lost or confused,
Feel free to look back at the video screen where you'll find written instructions to remind you how to do this meditation.
When the meditation is over,
I invite you to bow your head five times.
Once to each of the four cups,
And then once to yourself in gratitude for making time to meditate today.
