Let's begin to settle into stillness.
Checking in with ourselves in this moment and asking,
What is it that I need?
And inviting the body to settle into a posture that feels comfortable.
You might begin to invite a position that's both awake and alert,
Also relaxed and at ease.
This could be a seated posture.
If we're feeling depleted,
We can also lie down.
Closing the eyes if that feels comfortable.
Otherwise,
Just softening the gaze and looking a few feet in front of you.
Inviting the mind and the body together in this new moment.
This moment that has never been lived before.
Opening with mindful attention and curiosity.
What is it really like to be alive in this moment?
And remembering that a mindful attention is free of judgment.
So there's nothing that we have to fix or change right now.
We're opening our hearts,
Opening our minds to the way things are.
A mindful attention to our next breath.
Noticing what it feels like to breathe in.
And noticing what it feels like to breathe out.
We might invite in a slightly deeper inhale and a long,
Slow exhale.
Slowing the breath down.
Breathing in,
Filling the lungs and the belly.
Breathing out through the mouth.
Letting go on the exhale.
Slow cleansing breaths.
Just one breath at a time.
We might allow the exhale to support us and relaxing a little more fully.
So on this next exhale,
We might imagine tension melting from the crown of the head.
As we soften around the eyes and the jaw.
Exhale,
Let go.
And on this next exhale,
We might let go through the neck and the throat.
Down through the shoulders.
Letting go of tension through the arms,
Down into the hands and the fingers.
Letting go of any tension through the chest.
Releasing any constriction around the heart and the lungs.
Exhaling,
Releasing any tension in the belly.
Down into the lower abdomen,
The hips and the pelvic floor.
Letting go through the spine.
Letting go a little more fully.
Letting go of any tension through the legs,
Down into the feet and the toes.
Allowing the breath to return to a natural rhythm.
Where the inhale flows naturally and the exhale let's go in its own time.
One breath at a time.
We might anchor ourselves more fully into presence with these words from Thich Nhat Hanh.
Breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I am home.
Beginning to gently shift our awareness to the inhale of the breath.
Setting this intention to receive.
What is it like to open with receptivity to this next in-breath?
Allowing it to come in in its own time.
Receiving the inhale.
Filled with oxygen.
Filled with new life.
It's okay to receive this support.
One breath at a time.
You might also notice the support that's available to us in the body.
Noticing the earth beneath us.
Noticing the chair or the bed.
Can we receive this support?
Maybe even letting go a little more fully trusting that we will be held.
What is it like to open with receptivity to the support that is available to us?
With each breath,
Within each moment of our lives.
We might offer an invitation to each and every one of our cells.
All the receptors on these cells that they might open to receive as well.
Receive this oxygen.
Receive this reassurance.
Receive this support.
We can give ourselves permission to receive.
And opening with this receptive attention to the possibilities of healing in this moment.
Letting go of any of the limiting beliefs or stories that we might be holding.
Dropping attention to the area around the heart,
This heart wisdom,
This love.
Jack Kornfield reminds us our heart has spaciousness and love and wisdom and intuition and deep freedom.
All of which are beyond all of the stories of the mind.
Allowing the breath to breathe us in through the heart space and out through the heart space.
Connecting with all of these qualities of the heart.
Beginning with the spaciousness of the heart.
Breathing in this quality of space.
Breathing out spaciousness.
It's a vast container that can hold the entirety of life.
The 10,
000 joys,
The 10,
000 sorrows.
Breathing in spaciousness.
And sharing the spaciousness out into the world.
And opening now to this quality of love.
Connecting through the heart on the inhale and the exhale.
Maybe there's warmth,
Kindness.
Compassion.
Safety.
One heart-centered breath at a time.
Connect with all of these qualities of love.
Inviting them in on the inhale.
Sharing it with the world on the exhale.
Infinite loving presence.
Opening now to the quality of wisdom.
The wisdom of the heart.
Breathing in through the heart space.
Wisdom.
Breathing out.
Sharing this wisdom.
Allowing it to be shared as far and as wide as we are able.
One heart-centered breath at a time.
If our attention gets pulled away,
We just begin again.
Reconnecting with this heart's wisdom one breath at a time.
Opening now to the quality of freedom.
Breathing in freedom.
Exhaling.
Sharing this with the world.
This freedom of authentic self-expression.
Freedom to love fully.
Freedom to feel worthy.
And any other qualities that live within the space of freedom.
Inviting them into the heart space and exhaling.
Sharing them with the world.
Taking a few moments to really nurture these qualities of the heart.
Wisdom.
Spaciousness.
Freedom.
And if it's helpful to more fully connect with the heart's intentions,
We might place a hand on the heart.
And asking ourselves,
What do our hearts desire?
What are our deepest aspirations for our lives?
And taking a few moments to rest in this question and notice what arises.
Sometimes we receive a clear answer.
Sometimes it's enough just to sit with the question.
Planting the seed and knowing that it will bloom in the right time.
We might also take a moment to reflect on where in our life this aspiration might already be present.
Maybe we've had a fleeting moment of experiencing this desire.
Maybe we've witnessed it in the world.
Notice if there's any familiarity with this aspiration already.
Taking a few moments to attend to this.
If we aspire to peace,
Where is peace already present?
If we long for health,
Is there any small part of the body that feels healthy?
Or maybe there's a memory of health.
Whatever arises,
This belongs.
We'll move into a few minutes of silence,
Trusting in these words from Thomas Merton.
There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity,
A silence that is a fountain of action and joy.
It arises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all creation.
I just trust in the insight and the loving presence within this silence.
And may this practice support you on your healing path.
And may it support the greatest good of all beings everywhere.
We might take a couple of slow cleansing breaths.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes if your eyes were closed.
You're also welcome to stay in this space of meditation for as long as you need.
Thank you.
