So we'll begin with the first element of earth So I'm going to turn my attention to the body And I'm going to begin by becoming aware of all the parts of the body that are in contact with something So my feet and the floor And whatever you're sitting on or lying on,
Just be aware of all the points of contact that you can sense with the body And then being aware of the clothing on the skin,
Noting exactly how that feels,
That feeling of connection and contact And then feeling the weight of the whole body,
So rather than feeling the weight of the whole body,
Rather than feeling the weight of the whole body So rather than focusing on any particular part of the body,
Getting an overall sense of how heavy or light your body is feeling And this is a reminder to begin to let go of some of the tension in the body,
So we're not holding the weight of the body in tense muscles But we're relaxing the body so we can really feel the heaviness,
The weight of the body And allow the body to be held and supported by the ground So we don't need to hold onto the body ourselves,
Just allow it to be supported So the element of earth,
So we're connecting with our physicality,
Connecting with the body This feeling of weight in particular is a direct feeling of connection with the earth,
As the feeling of weight is the pull of gravity of the earth So the feeling of weight you have in your body right now is a direct,
Tangible connection as it's the earth gently pulling your body towards itself So just allow that to happen,
Feel that connection So we're coming to rest,
Coming to settle into the body,
The body is always present,
Always in the moment,
It can't be anywhere else So by being aware of the body,
I'm ensuring that I am also with the body in the present moment So feeling grounded,
Connected and beginning to allow the body to relax and settle This is a useful way to start any meditation,
Starting off with this connection,
Presence,
A feeling of stability,
Security And patience,
Not rushing on to the next part of the meditation,
Again not trying to create any particular experience Just being with your body as it is,
Pausing,
Waiting Now moving on to the second element of air and becoming more aware of the breath So feeling the element of air enter and leave the body So feeling those physical sensations in the body that accompany the breath So that slight expansion and movement as you breathe in And now release the contraction as you breathe out,
Really noticing how that feels in your body Don't try and change the breath in any way Just allow your breath to find its own rhythm,
Maybe you will spontaneously take in one or two deeper breaths So don't stop that if that is what the body wants to do But we are not going to make any effort to make the breath slower or deeper Simply allow the breath to occur in the body And as much as possible not concentrating,
Not focusing on the breath,
Not excluding anything else from your awareness So again trying to move away from the idea of effort So allowing the awareness to be open,
To be light,
To be easy and effortless And just noticing the breath within the center of your awareness,
The foreground of your awareness Everything else is still just there as it is,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
The body,
Sounds Just allowing all these things happening in this moment to happen around the breath And just allowing the breath to be in the center,
The foreground of your awareness,
Your open,
Easy awareness And maybe begin to start really enjoying the breath,
Enjoying that rhythm,
That rise and fall,
In and out Really allow the breath in fully and freely and release,
Let go of the breath each time you breathe out Allowing the breath to flow freely through the body Allowing the element of air to do all the work,
I simply receive and then let go of the air The air breathes my body Continuing to be patient,
Not expecting,
Not trying to create Just enjoying being in contact with the body and enjoying the flow of breath So moving on to the third element of water and thoughts Let's see if we can allow our thoughts to flow as freely as water flowing in a river or stream So to do this,
Maintaining that open awareness,
That sense of allowing,
Of welcoming each and every thought into your mind Just as we welcome the breath into the body And don't try and change your thoughts in any way,
Doesn't matter how fast or slow the water is flowing Doesn't matter how deep or shallow Just allowing each thought into the mind and then letting it go,
Just as we let each breath go So we're ready to take in the next breath,
So we let the thoughts come and go and we wait and wonder what the next thought is going to be that appears in our mind And just as we allow the breath to happen to the body,
We don't have to remember to breathe or make an effort or a choice to breathe So too with our thoughts,
We can just allow the thoughts to emerge,
To arrive within our mind We don't have to decide what to think,
We don't have to remember to think Allowing the thoughts to happen all on their own without any effort,
An effortless flow of thoughts through the mind So the content of the thoughts is completely irrelevant,
Just notice them and then think,
I wonder what the next thought is going to be Get ready to welcome the next thought I'm not trying to change my thoughts,
Just allowing them to flow through the mind I'm not trying to change my breath,
Just allowing it to flow through my body And I'm maintaining an open,
Easy awareness,
Not concentrating,
Just allowing Not trying to get anywhere,
Not trying to achieve anything Being open to what is already there,
To what is already happening So moving on to the fourth element,
The element of fire,
And the fire of emotion,
Feelings of sensations So being aware of how you feel,
What's your emotional state right now It's probably a mixture of different emotions,
So just spending a few moments just exploring how you feel I find it helpful to feel emotion in the body,
To feel it as much as possible as a sensation in the body Maybe located in a particular place,
Or it could just be a general sense of the energy of the body And that idea of an inner fire burning within,
Within the body Maybe generating some heat,
Maybe some light,
Maybe a gentle flame,
Maybe stronger So feeling the energy,
The sensation,
The emotion,
As much as possible in the body Remembering the body is always connected and supported by the air And the breath keeps that fire burning,
Giving life to the body And sometimes rather than trying to identify any particular emotions or label them,
I like to get a sense of the basic energy That lies behind all emotions,
Positive or negative,
Gentle or strong And for me that's that sense of aliveness,
That sense of being alive And feeling that energy of aliveness in the body For me that's the driver,
The foundation of all the variety of emotions Feeling the living presence of the body,
The aliveness of the body So the body radiates aliveness,
Just like a fire radiates warmth Feeling the presence of your body,
Just as you'd feel the presence of a fire And as with everything in this meditation,
Not trying to change your emotions,
Your feelings,
Your sensations Allowing them to be just as they are,
Giving them the space and the time they need to fully express themselves,
Resolve themselves And integrate themselves into your being,
Allowing yourself to feel whole,
Complete and fully present So taking strength from the connection with the earth And courage from the flowing breath to allow any thoughts and any emotions to flow freely through your body and through your mind Letting go of restriction,
Suppression,
Of holding on Really embracing that feeling of allowing,
Releasing,
Letting go,
Allowing everything to flow in this moment just as it is I'm going to move on to the element of sound next So we're going to take sound as the fifth element today And becoming aware of all the sounds that you can hear in your environment surrounding you right now Remembering to encourage that sense of an open and easy awareness rather than a narrowing,
Focusing or a concentration of attention So being open to any and all sounds that are all around you just to pass effortlessly through your awareness So actively listening out for the different sounds,
The variety of sounds Noting the most obvious sounds and the loudest sounds Noting any continuous or background sounds,
Bringing them into your awareness And remaining open and alert for the occasional sounds,
Maybe the unexpected sounds,
The new sounds And even if there aren't any,
You can still have that open awareness of alertness,
Checking if there are any so you're ready for them,
If they come And noting what the quietest sounds are that you can hear And listening out for the most distant sounds,
These may also be quiet or occasional Just allow your awareness to be broad and wide and open and alert and notice if a distant sound appears within your awareness As always,
Not trying to change the experience of sound,
Not trying to ignore or block out any sounds But welcoming each and every sound into your awareness And allowing the sounds of this moment to come into your awareness and to pass through your awareness so you're attentive and open to the unique blend of sounds in the next moment And the moment following that,
Flow of the blend of sounds passing through your awareness And the moment following that,
Flow of the blend of sounds passing through your awareness And maybe beginning to get a sense of being able to listen to quietness Even as other sounds come and go,
Getting a sense of a background of silence,
A space of silence within which all other sounds come and go,
Rise and fall And listening to a stillness,
A spaciousness,
A quietness,
A silence that exists with sound,
Not just in the absence of sound So we're going to take this idea of a space,
A silent space within which all the sounds that we are aware of come and go And take this idea into the final element,
The sixth element of light,
And the light of awareness So until now we've been aware of our body,
Aware of our thoughts,
Emotions,
Breath,
Aware of sounds And now is the time to be aware of your own awareness Being conscious of your own consciousness,
Being self-reflective,
Metaconscious,
Knowing that you are aware What does it feel like to be a conscious aware being?
I used to practice a meditation where you would feel or visualize or imagine yourself to be a point of light,
A point of awareness in the center of the forehead So everything,
All your experiences,
Everything that you were aware of would be happening around that point of light,
That point of awareness,
The soul if you like There's another way of feeling,
Imagining or even visualizing,
Just getting a sense of yourself as awareness And that is of yourself as space,
The space within which everything happens Rather than everything being outside of you,
Outside of that point of awareness,
Everything can be inside you within that empty space of awareness So it might be worth just experimenting with those two options Sometimes one may feel more useful than the other The idea is like there is this silent space within which sounds come and go There's also a quiet space of awareness within which everything comes and goes,
Not just sounds,
But thoughts,
Emotions,
The breath,
Sensations in the body All experiences from moment to moment happening within and passing through this empty space of awareness For me this can give a real sense of wholeness and completeness as every experience I could possibly have is happening within me There is nothing outside of me,
Because I am the space within which everything happens Just as the earth is floating through space,
So all my experience is floating within the space of my awareness I welcome and accept all experience Allow it to be exactly as it is and hold it gently within my awareness And the key to feeling that space of awareness is not to seek it,
But to allow everything else to flow freely We allow our thoughts,
Our emotions,
Our breath,
We allow all these experiences,
Sounds to flow freely Then the only place we can be is within this open space The space of awareness doesn't seek to change or interrupt or stop anything This allows us to be fully 100% present with what is,
And there lies real complete freedom We allow our thoughts,
Our emotions,
Our breath,
We allow all these experiences to flow freely So coming back down through the elements to conclude the meditation So within the space of our awareness,
Noticing sounds coming and going Notice your thoughts passing through your mind Notice the emotions and sensations in the body Connect again with the breath,
Feeling the breath rise and fall in the body And feeling those points of contact,
Of connection with the body And feeling the weight of the body,
That gentle pull of the earth Being grounded and connected and present So notice how you're feeling at the end of the meditation Notice if you feel any different from the beginning Noticing that if there was a change,
That that occurred without us making any effort to change But just simply by becoming gradually more aware of different elements of what is already happening in the present moment This feeling now is always present,
Always there We just need to give ourselves time and space to connect with it,
To allow ourselves to experience what's already there So notice how you're feeling at the end of the meditation
