So settle in with that tall spine.
Bring yourself to your practice.
Slow and steady breath,
Low and deep breath.
Whether you're lying down,
Seated on a meditation cushion,
Seated in a chair,
Wherever you are,
Feel connected.
Feel connected to the earth,
Feel grounded,
Feel rooted and feel safe.
Blinking the eyes closed if they're not already and if that feels okay for you,
Turn more and more inward.
Slow and steady breath,
Low and deep breath.
Feel yourself journeying inward,
Turning away from the world for a few moments with yourself towards your center.
With each breath,
Feel yourself turning more inward as if you're tunneling deeper and deeper within yourself.
Feel connected,
Feel grounded,
Feel rooted,
Feel safe.
Using our breath,
We're going to count down from 10,
Your next inhale as it comes is the number 10.
Then inhale nine,
Inhale eight,
Inhale seven and so on.
Remind yourself that you are safe and able to explore your inner self.
Remind yourself that this practice is without judgment.
Just a practice of observation,
Of reflection and not critique.
Fully relaxed and deep now,
Allow the mind to consider your daily life.
And on this daily journey,
What is maybe weighing you down?
What are these things that you collect?
Things,
Thoughts,
Judgments,
Worries,
Expectations,
Grudges,
Obligations.
Allow them all to come forward now,
Maybe flooding that mind's eye.
How many things are you carrying?
And how much do the things you're carrying without you throughout life,
How much do they weigh?
And what if you put them down?
What if you let them go?
How would you feel?
What would you do?
Allow the mind's eye to picture a big,
Heavy boulder at your feet.
It's big and it's heavy,
But somehow you're able to lift it.
Be this heavy boulder as clearly as you can and feel the weight of this heavy boulder as clearly as you can.
Acknowledge the work it requires from the body to simply hold the weight of this big rock.
Acknowledge the work of the mind to continue holding and not letting go of this rock.
And all that it represents.
To live in non-possessiveness.
It's not that we don't enjoy things and people and everything around us.
It's that we are not grasping for things.
We enjoy and release.
We let go and see that letting go is a good thing,
A healthy thing,
And not something that brings guilt or shame or weakness.
It is a strength to let go.
All of those things that make up your rock,
The thoughts,
The judgments,
The worries,
The responsibilities,
The expectations,
The weight of all that you carry,
What is the benefit of holding on to all of those things?
Why do we continue to hold all of this?
Do you continue to carry these things because they're yours?
They're items or things that you possess?
Because someone gave them to you?
Because you think you should?
Because you've always carried them?
Are there thoughts or feelings that you carry because they prove you were right?
Are there things that you keep because you know you paid a lot for it?
Because it represents someone special?
Because it feels wasteful?
Do you carry because you're still angry?
Are you resentful of who gave it to you to hold or who left it with you?
No judgment,
Just objective reflection.
There are many reasons that we keep things,
Whether physical or not.
And whatever the reasons,
Are they worth the cost?
Are they worth holding this heavy boulder every day?
Are they worth the toll,
The exhaustion,
And maybe the fact that you can't enjoy something else as fully because of this weight and this boulder that is in the way,
This boulder that you are holding instead.
In your mind's eye,
Allow yourself to drop this boulder.
Feel it drop from your arms.
Feel the immediate response in the body,
In the mind,
And in the breath.
How do you feel?
To live in non-possessiveness is not that we don't enjoy things and people and everything around us.
It's that we are not grasping or holding onto things.
We enjoy and release.
We let go and see that letting go is a good thing.
A healthy thing.
And not something that brings guilt or shame or shows weakness.
It is a strength to let go.
We can enjoy without possessing.
We can experience without carrying.
We can cherish without owning.
What are you holding onto that maybe you should release?
What are you keeping that isn't serving you and maybe never did?
What are you holding onto out of fear?
What are you holding onto out of anger?
What are you holding onto out of hope?
What are you holding onto out of a sense of obligation or responsibility?
What are you holding onto out of a sense of entitlement?
What are you holding onto out of a sense of worry?
What are you holding onto out of a sense of grief?
Everything we possess requires maintenance,
Requires tending.
How much energy could we save by releasing and letting go?
What can we enjoy and then release?
What can we experience without carrying?
What can we cherish without owning?
What can we forgive without holding?
What can we identify as having been useful previously,
But that is no longer of use?
What can we allow someone else to use and enjoy and benefit from?
What would happen if you let go?
What would happen if you set them down like that heavy boulder?
What release would you feel physically and mentally if you released?
Released items,
Ideas,
Stories,
Hurts,
Beliefs,
Feelings,
Use your exhales to release.
With each breath,
Feel yourself unburdening,
Letting go.
Give yourself permission to set it down.
No matter how long you have been carrying it,
Tending to it,
Maintaining it,
Feel the weight being lifted.
Breathe into the space you are creating.
Breathe into the space you are creating.
Feel the lightness.
Come back to the abundance of your life and breathe in the feeling of fullness and abundance with each of your inhales.
Feel grounded,
Rooted,
Connected,
And safe.
Using those inhales of fullness and abundance,
We will count from one back up to 10.
The next inhale of fullness and abundance is number one.
The next is two.
The next inhale of fullness and abundance is three,
And so on,
All the way up to 10.
Feel yourself journeying back,
Coming back to the world with this sense of release,
This sense of fullness and lightness.
With each breath,
Feel yourself becoming more and more aware of your body and your space.
Feel the shoulders soft.
Maybe wiggle those fingers.
Maybe move the toes a little.
Maybe gently blink the eyes a couple of times,
Kind of half open,
Half closed.
Always moving as slowly as you like as you come back into the world.
And with hands at heart center,
I thank you very much for sharing in this meditation practice with me today.
Namaste.
