Welcome everyone,
Just make sure that you're comfortable and relaxed,
Breathing deeply.
We will begin,
Deep breath,
Down into the abdomen,
Holding the breath,
And then breathing It's always important in meditational practice to prepare the external space around you,
To reflect a level of quietness that is perceived by your body.
In this energetic field,
Non-verbal communication field,
Your body recognizes when you create a quiet space externally.
This could be something as simple as removing objects that may distract you,
Removing situations that may create distracting forces,
And it can be as simple as just tidying up the space where you sit and meditate,
So that those non-verbal cues that are there in the background reflect this calmness and quietness that you come back to.
Meditation is about choosing a calm and quiet place,
Externally as well as internally.
Now you may wish to communicate to those around you who may disturb you that this is your quiet time,
And allow the process to unfold.
It's very difficult sometimes for people to understand what quietness means,
Because we are,
As a social entity,
Used to action and noise,
And a more goal-orientated perspective of life,
And sitting in calmness and quietness is not something that we're used to,
Including the body.
So when you choose quiet space,
It's important that you relax your body by finding a comfortable position,
So you sit comfortably,
Either on your chair with your feet flat on the ground,
Or lying on your mat with your back straight and your arms relaxed and your shoulders relaxed.
Take a moment to breathe deeply and relax and visualize calmness and quietness.
Now the mind may be active in the background,
Connecting you to thoughts or feelings.
Remember you are preparing for a state of consciousness that is meditation,
And you're not pushing yourself or forcing yourself to come back home to that state of inner equilibrium.
You're allowing for the process to unfold gently.
One of the most simple of ways to put this into practice is to gently close your eyes,
So that you reduce the external visual distractions that the mind is triggered by,
Or when the eyes recognize certain cues,
Creates because of those cues.
Now,
Letting go is very much the grounding that helps you to focus on your breath.
So it's important to be conscious that you are breathing in deeply into your abdomen in a relaxed and calm way.
So the breath carries within it the energy that is life-giving,
That helps you to be resilient and empowered by just this wonderful sense of focus.
You focus on your breath,
Which helps your body and your mind and your feelings to focus on the practice,
To be immersed within the practice.
Now take a few deep breaths,
Inhale slowly through your nose,
Feeling the abdomen,
Stomach area expand,
And exhale gently through your nose,
And extend the out-breath.
Conscious,
Deep,
Slow,
And very aware breath.
Now this step,
The second step of your meditational practice today,
Which I call grounding,
Is a very important and often neglected step,
Very often one to just jump straight into a meditational practice.
When you ground yourself,
You're somehow communicating to the world that it's okay,
The natural flow of everything,
It's okay,
I accept that I don't need to follow the mind into the wonderful adventures that it creates,
Or wonderful perspectives of reality that it perceives.
I can be here,
Grounded,
Embodied within this wonderful focused breath that I'm breathing into the temple,
This beautiful temple that is the body.
Once the body recognizes that you're nurturing and giving space and time for this sense of equilibrium to be a part of this beautiful temple,
Then the body,
Non-verbally,
Subtly,
Begins to communicate to the energy within your being,
Energy within your body,
The nervous system,
But also the deep energy within your being.
Once such communication is received,
It's important to keep flowing with the natural rhythm,
The natural frequencies and vibrations that the temple that is your body creates in the background.
And you may notice this just as a wonderful feeling,
Often we have this feeling when we're very tired and we just rest our bodies on the bed and relax,
Those first few moments it's just like,
Ah,
It's so lovely to just relax,
So lovely to have time now to rejuvenate,
To reconnect to that which is truly nurturing.
It's a grounding sense of gratefulness that brings us back to the energy that is now in harmony with the natural flow that is your breath.
And notice that as soon as you recognize this,
You are in connection with the lovely and beautiful and subtle breath that the cosmos is breathing in with you,
So you're not alone.
It's almost as if you're grounded in the multi-dimensional interconnected perspective that being here in the now,
In the present moment allows for.
Now don't try to come back to the here and now,
Don't push yourself to be present,
Just simply be grateful that you are alive,
This precious gift of breathing in,
In connection,
In harmony,
In alignment with the cosmos is a profoundly important step in the meditational practice.
Take a moment now,
Be present as you come back to your focused attention,
The breath and the energy within the body,
Moving deeper,
Moving inwards.
Now you're ready to breathe in,
Now you're ready to breathe out,
Now you're ready to breathe in,
Now you're ready to breathe out,
Now you're ready to breathe in,
Now you're ready to breathe out,
Now you're ready to breathe in,
Now you're ready to breathe out,
Now you're ready to breathe in.
Now moving inwards does not require any form of struggling,
You don't have to struggle to come back to this present moment,
Moving inwards is the recognition that the natural rhythm within the cosmos is in communication with the depth of your being.
Now if within the periphery of your thinking process the mind gets caught in a thought,
In a situation,
In a memory,
In a situation around you that's distracting you,
Simply observe the breath,
That's your anchor,
That's the way to come back home to being very mindful aware that as you observe your breath,
The sensation of your breath brings about a subtle communication,
An intuitive communication that is very much a part of the subtle realm that is very much as real as the reality that the mind is usually caught up by.
So the subtle within you begins to communicate through your breath,
Through the rhythm and frequency of your breath begins to communicate to you this sense of oneness and unity as you move inwards.
Take time,
Don't rush,
Accept that which is unfolding,
Your thoughts,
Your feelings without negating them,
Just being present and then coming back to this wonderful sense of connection to your breath,
Embodying the breath in all aspects of your physical body,
The temple,
But also in connection with the subtle,
The breath of the cosmos.
Take time,
There is no rush,
Acknowledge your thoughts or your feelings as they come to you,
Acknowledge them as you would acknowledge a wonderful cloud drifting through the sky,
It's there,
It's an aspect of the mystery that is life.
Observe,
Accept,
Then come back to the awareness itself,
So you're not simply aware of the external but you're aware of the vibration and frequency of awareness,
So breathe gently,
Softly,
Move inwards with this sense of acceptance,
Ah,
I am part of this beautiful mystery,
There is no need for me to attach or latch on to the different energies of my thinking process or my feeling process,
I can just be,
You're shifting your attention from the periphery and moving inwards,
Your attention is moving inwards.
The mind is stubborn,
The mind will continue to play out this wonderful energy that keeps us attached to the mundane,
This wonderful energy that keeps us attached to the function of the mind.
Energy in its pure state is wonderful,
So you're acknowledging as you breathe in and breathe out that there is a purpose that doesn't require thinking but that requires direct experience,
There is a purpose why your mind so easily gets distracted by the external realms of perception,
The external perception of reality,
And the way to do this is to remove the obstacles that you become aware of.
Now Rumi speaks about love flowing naturally through the core of our being,
That which prevents love being the obstacles that we face in life,
The challenges,
The difficulties,
And as we gently remove them through focused attention,
Then love just expands into this state of being,
And the natural rhythm of love begins to communicate to the mind and to the feelings in a subtle but very powerful way.
Now slowly,
Slowly,
If you notice that your mind and emotional communication within your mind is distracting you,
Then come back to the temple and notice if there is any tension in your body.
Relax each part of your body that may be tense or may be holding on to the past or to the future.
Releasing the tension through the breath helps you to recognize what it means to be in a state of nurtured relaxation.
With each out-breath,
Let go,
Let go of the tension in your shoulders,
Let go of the tension in your lower back,
Let go of any tension that may be stimulating the mind into activity.
Let go of any tension that may be stimulating the mind into activity.
Let go of any tension that may be stimulating the mind into activity.
Let go of any tension that may be stimulating the mind into activity.
Let go of any tension that may be stimulating the mind into activity.
Notice as you come back to the present in this way,
Being present to the gentle breath that's nurturing the very core of your being,
The energy within your body,
Notice how the mind maybe continues to wonder,
But in a less intense,
Less powerful way.
And so the clouds come and go,
But your attention,
Your focus is present to the awareness itself.
You're aware of the very core of awareness.
And so there is a calmness,
There is a deep relaxation that happens with each breath.
This deepening is the state of meditation that gently guides you step by step into a state of pure equilibrium.
Everything is perfect,
Everything is as it should be.
There is no need to push the river upstream,
There is no need to struggle.
Just being in pure awareness means that we gently open our hearts to the direct communication that is loving,
Nurturing,
Supportive and very healing on many,
Many levels.
Now remain connected to the present through this gentle,
Soft approach where you are not pushing the river upstream,
Where you're just moving with the flow,
Where you're just breathing with the flow,
Where you're just thinking,
Feeling with the flow.
You may wish to remain in stillness for a little longer,
Allowing the breath to guide you back home to this beautiful state of equilibrium,
Allowing awareness of all and everything,
The breath of life,
To guide you back to this beautiful state of inner tranquility.
And when ready,
Taking time to slowly and gently come back,
Come back to your life practice,
To the everyday mundane situations that we find ourselves in,
But be very intentional in your practice.
Throughout your day,
Just stop for 30 seconds,
Take a deep breath,
And the breath then will guide and remind the body to come back to this gentle,
Soft connection to all and everything,
Including the mundane world.
Being intentional.
Now when ready,
Gently opening your eyes,
Stretching,
Wriggling your toes,
Moving your fingers,
Gently moving your head from side to side,
Gentle stretch.
As you look around,
Just see and experience reality from this new perspective.
I am here,
Present to all and everything in a gentle,
Soft and very beautiful,
Nurturing way.
You may wish to take now a few moments to reflect and appreciate the calm and presence that you have connected to,
That you have brought yourself into alignment with.
I am here,
Present to all and everything in a gentle,
Soft and very beautiful,
Nurturing way.
You may wish to take now a few moments to reflect and appreciate the calm and presence that you have connected to,
That you have brought yourself into alignment with.
You may wish to write in your journal,
Drink some water,
Hydrate,
As you continue to carry this calm,
Mindful state of well-being into your day.
Thank you.
