Welcome.
This meditation practice will help you to clear your mind of overthinking,
Learn how to calm your mind,
And help it to observe more and engage less.
You may notice that sometimes your thoughts build up,
Creating a constant mental chatter in your mind,
And your mind may have developed habits of worrying,
Analyzing,
And evaluating personal events over and over,
Creating great stress.
The mind always needs problems to solve,
And so it will always seek them.
You may be feeling trapped or locked in an endless spiral of thinking,
Without the possibility to stop,
But focusing on physical sensation and learning how to be truly present in the here and the now will help you stop the unwanted thinking.
So let's begin.
Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.
Perhaps this is sitting upright with your shoulders rolled back and your chin tucked in towards your chest,
Relaxing all your muscles,
And making sure nothing is drawing your attention away.
Once you've found a comfortable position,
Go ahead and settle in and gently close your eyes.
Now bring your attention inward.
Focus on your breath.
Don't try to control the breath.
Just be aware of each natural inhale and exhale as you take the seat of an observer.
Notice everything you can about your breath.
Notice the cool air entering your nostrils,
Going down your throat,
Through your airwaves,
All the way down to your lungs and your belly.
Notice the belly and chest rise and fall,
All in rhythm with your unique breath.
Become aware of all the muscles connected to the rhythm of your breath.
Be aware of your ribcage expanding and contracting with each breath.
Let go of the need to control this breath in any way.
Now shift your attention to become aware of the temperature of your body.
Notice if your body is warm or cool,
Or maybe you just feel neutral.
Notice how some parts of the body may be feeling warmer than others.
That's perfectly normal.
Acknowledge any sensations of warmth in your hands and your fingers.
Notice the warmth or the coolness in your feet or your toes.
Notice any warmth in your legs and your arms,
And the sensation of warmth in the center of your body.
Be aware of these sensations and acknowledge them with compassion.
Allow yourself to stay with them just for one moment longer.
And as your body continues to relax,
You may start to notice some parts of your body feeling more relaxed than others.
This is okay.
Some parts might still feel tension and tightness.
This is perfectly normal.
You don't have to force relaxation.
For now,
Just acknowledge these sensations.
Allow your mind to observe and accept everything for what it is.
You don't have to do anything.
You don't even have to think or control anything right now.
There's nowhere to rush to,
Nowhere to be.
You are in the right place at the right time.
This is your time for you and your relaxation.
Begin to deepen your breath.
Allow that next inhale to be just a little slower.
And your exhale to be just a little longer.
You're just gradually slowing your breath.
And by slowing the breath,
You're slowing down the mind.
As you do this,
Notice how good it feels to calm your mind.
And as you continue to slowly deepen your breath,
Notice how you're releasing any excessive thoughts.
You are not using too much energy thinking.
You are simply thinking normally and naturally.
All you're doing is noticing your breath slowing.
It's easy and effortless.
And you feel relaxed and present.
Notice and observe any internal judgments,
Evaluations,
Phrases,
Words,
Images,
Anything that's arising in your mind.
Note what's taking place.
Acknowledge and accept how thoughts come and go,
Releasing any judgment.
Recognize that you always have the choice whether to follow your thoughts or to let them go.
So when you catch yourself being pulled by a thought,
Just allow yourself to stay outside of any evaluations.
And instead,
Simply notice these creations of the mind.
Allow any thoughts that arise just to be there.
There's no need to control your thinking right now.
Just simply acknowledge your thoughts,
Allow them to be,
And give them space to play.
So instead of trying to control your thoughts,
Acceptance and allowance will allow you and your thoughts the space to come and go and eventually fade away.
Because you are so much more than your thoughts.
And your thoughts cannot control you.
If it's helpful,
Try to visualize your thoughts almost like a shooting star across a clear night sky.
When a thought comes into your mind,
Just notice it as if it were a shooting star.
You know,
You can always stay outside of all your thoughts,
Remaining to be observant and detached.
And from this comfortable distance,
You can witness your thoughts,
Watch them as they arise,
And allow them to simply fade away.
And then you can choose to return your gentle attention back to your breath,
Breathing in and breathing out.
So now,
Just allow yourself to go back to observing your breath,
Noticing each inhale and exhale.
By doing this,
You are training your mind to remain observant when too many thoughts are trying to pull your attention away from this present moment.
By focusing on your breath,
You can gently guide and return your conscious awareness back to your breath.
So take this moment to just notice how calm you're feeling,
How relaxed and present you feel,
And remind yourself of this state when the next time your brain starts overthinking.
You can stay here as long as you'd like,
But if you're ready,
You can slowly begin to return to your surroundings,
Calmly observing your waking state.
Begin to stretch your body,
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Have a great rest of your day.
Much love.
