Stop And Check In

This is your invitation to stop and pause in your busy day. Take 15 minutes to step off the treadmill and check in with yourself, body and mind. We don't do this often enough so here is your chance to practice the art of gentle relaxation in a spirit of gratitude for all that we have going for us in this wonderful world.

Transcript

Music Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation which is your invitation to stop for a few moments.

Step off the treadmill and check in with yourself.

It's a process that you can try whenever you feel the need in this busy world.

So to begin,

Let's close those busy eyes.

Slow down that always active brain.

Pause the whirlpool of ideas and just for now,

Let's experience these few moments of stillness together.

Checking in with how we are.

In our minds eye,

Imagine a clock.

Not a digital clock set to astronomical time,

Counting the milliseconds.

This is the clock we operate on most of the time.

And it's far too busy,

Far too non-stop.

Instead,

Just imagine a grandfather clock.

You know the old-fashioned one,

With those weights hanging on chains,

Behind glass.

The weights moving so slowly you can't even notice.

The slow tick-tock tick-tock.

No second hands on grandfather clocks.

The minute hand only moving on just one click at a time.

Just one movement of the hand in one minute.

Slowly does it.

Let's pause for one minute to imagine the slower pace that we observe in the grandfather clock.

Welcome back.

Now that is a different way of looking at time.

And maybe we need to experience time this way a little more often.

So now let's put our hands on our chests for the remainder of this session.

Notice our heartbeat.

Remind ourselves to slow down.

Learn to take it easy.

As someone once said,

We are human beings,

Not human doings.

So let's pause the doing and try the being for a change.

In these few moments allow ourselves to simply be.

Now you might be asking,

Surely we should be learning something new today.

Learning to practice some technique that will make us great meditators.

Isn't that the idea of these sessions?

Yes it is sometimes.

It's good to continue to learn.

Someone once said that education has ceased when the new is no longer proposed to the mind.

But today we are not going to propose something new to the mind.

This doesn't mean we will never add a new technique.

There's always next week,

And the week after,

And the week after.

But for today we are in minimalist mode.

But we won't be doing absolutely nothing.

We take a deep breath in.

We have to breathe,

So that's ok.

That's not work.

We pause for a second or two and then let the breath out.

As you breathe in,

Think of how good it is to be here breathing in.

And doing nothing.

Just taking in the good air.

And as you breathe out,

Thinking,

I like this feeling of relaxation.

I must do more of it.

So we welcome the next breath in.

Here comes the new air.

Good to receive another dose of air.

And as it goes out,

Think,

I'm so happy to be able to stop at last.

Let's pause for another minute.

60 seconds of relaxation.

Let's pause for another minute.

60 seconds of relaxation.

Welcome back.

You might just notice your heart beating a little more slowly now that you have pressed pause on your treadmill.

So next we check in to pay attention to how we feel just now.

Now that we have stopped,

We ask ourselves,

How does my body feel right now?

Any tension anywhere?

And see if you can manage to relax any tension that you find.

Every time you breathe in and out,

See if you can relax just that little bit more.

Breathing in peace.

Breathing out tension.

Breathing in gratitude.

Breathing out with a sense of contentment.

Did you notice any aches or pains anywhere in your body?

And where did these come from?

From running or exercising?

Posture issues?

Some sort of repetitive strain?

Just notice the ache and the possible cause.

If the cause is within your control,

Watch out for a chance to remedy it.

If it's from overstraining,

Resolve to take things a little easier.

If it's not something within your control,

Think about having it checked out some time soon.

Now most of the time,

Most of us have no aches or pains.

This is the wonderful nature of the human body.

But we don't stop to be thankful for all our working parts until one of them plays up.

Only then do we realise all the benefits we had taken for granted,

And we wish we had this pain-free existence back as before.

We hadn't noticed just how great it felt to be well,

Because we had this amazing gift of being well most of the time.

So assuming we have no toothache just now,

Let's think,

I'm grateful for my non-toothache.

And what about the non-backache?

What a gift that is.

And the wonderful non-broken arm?

That's a little more good fortune.

We are so lucky to have so many things going for us.

Living with a sense of gratitude,

We'll enjoy these benefits all the more.

Let's pause for one minute of gratitude.

Gratitude for all the things we have going for us.

Thank you for watching.

Welcome back.

And now we move on to ask about our minds.

We ask,

How are we in our minds today?

How are we feeling just now?

Is there anything troubling us?

Anything troubling our peace?

And what do we think might be done about that?

One helpful technique is to make a list.

It can be in a code that only you can read,

A type of shorthand of your own.

Set down the answer to the question,

Why am I feeling troubled or under pressure just now?

And ask yourself,

What can I do to help to resolve this?

Once you see the situation set out in black and white,

It is much easier to deal with it.

A list always helps.

Now in all this,

Don't let worries about the past or concerns about the future get you down.

The past is past.

Recalling errors of the past is not always a bad thing.

It can prompt us to make amends.

And we can resolve to do better in the future.

We learn from our mistakes and all of us make mistakes.

It's said that we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes.

But simply wallowing and thinking,

If only I had done this or if only I had not done that,

This is a waste of the present moment.

And the present moment has a better job of its own that we can be getting on with right now.

So just resolve to do what we can to make amends and leave the past at that.

And worries about the future can also be a waste of the present.

Remember,

The future can only be made better and brighter by action that we can take right now.

Ask,

Is there anything I can do now to fix or improve this looming event?

Is there anything I can do now to help bring about a better outcome?

If so,

Take that action now and let that action in the present help the outcome in the future.

And when it comes to worries on our minds,

Worries that we feel we can't resolve,

We must never just sit with these on our own.

If we are in a bad state,

Remember this is not a disgrace.

Confide in someone and you will see that there is a way through any problem.

Problems only seem insurmountable when you look at them on your own.

So confide in someone,

Anyone,

And seek help if you need it.

Wouldn't you be the first to come to someone's aid if you were approached?

To be approached by someone going through a hard time is a special gift and a special sign of trust.

People are waiting to offer help,

So don't leave them unable to help.

And now that we have checked in with our bodies and minds,

Let's become aware of our breathing again.

I hope we have managed to step off the treadmill for these few minutes.

Running on a fitness treadmill is fine.

We get on,

We get the circulation going.

We get running without having to go out in the rain or in the midday sun.

All very handy,

Not loved by everyone,

But still useful.

But the treadmill we are thinking about today is not a running machine.

Most of us are umbilically connected to a more dangerous type of treadmill.

And we run even when we sit down to eat.

We run when we sit down to watch TV.

Sometimes we even run on the treadmill when we are in bed.

The treadmill I am talking about is the succession of things we feel we must do.

This bottomless pit,

This bottomless to-do list with all the items coming in quicker than we can manage to get them out.

And with one activity running into the next without our even stopping to catch a breath.

This is a treadmill on which we need to press the pause button.

It cannot be good for us.

We must step off.

So today's message,

Treat yourself every now and then to the rare gift of doing nothing.

Surprise yourself with the thought,

I am at a standstill and happy to be stopped.

Keep safe friends,

Keep well and remember to take those breaks.

Namaste.

Thank you.

Reviews

Thank you, Tony! A timely reminder to slow down and be grateful, sprinkled with humour - loved it.

Excellent!!!! Just what I need. Love your gentle soft accent too. 💞. From Claire in Brisbane, Australia.

Thank you Tony for this timely reminder of the value of the pause in our days. I learnt this practice many years ago and it's wonderful to be reminded again. As always you are a gem!

Thanks for the calm, inspiring session. It brings some more tranquility in my life!

Thanks 🙏 Tony 😁
Your perfect words always create a path of calmness and peace. I appreciate feeling grounded and centered after meditating with you. 💗💗💗

Wonderful meditation! I’ve been listening to your meditations for a while now and have noticed a change in me. I’m more peaceful, calm, I look at life differently, I’m more great full for everything even the little things. You have become a staple in my daily routine and I look forward to each new morning I get to share something new with you. Thank you for caring and sharing your teachings of these beautiful meditations. Namaste🙏🏻💕

Thank you for your guidance. Namaste. I enjoyed this session.

thank you I needed that right now .. we need to stop the treadmill of thinking and doing. And be ok with that

I love this, thank you

Thanks!! Namaste

I love the particular segments so seamlessly connected and the music intervals not to mention The voice❤️!

This was wonderful! Thank you so much for this!

Dear Tony, what an excellent meditation to coincide with my current challenge of a cast leg and the gratitude towards all abilities without restrictions ...
And this saying of living for being and not for doing - no better way to express!
Joe

A needed reminder to stop and recenter. Thank you.

Very calming and I loved the music during the pauses ❤️🙏

Another absolutely spot on meditation Tony! Just the message we need more and more of, slow down while you can. . “ You’re a long time dead” as my Granny would say!

Thank you for another mindful meditation! Always so peaceful and thought provoking.💛🌻🍁😊