Assume a comfortable posture for your body,
Allow your back to be gently upright,
Breathe softly,
Slowly and deeply,
Several times.
Gradually allow yourself to feel your body,
Feel that you are completely inside of your body,
Inhabiting every cell,
Every tissue,
Organ and system in your body.
Feel what each part of your body carries within,
Discover any strong sensations in your body,
Sometimes in the form of tiredness,
Exhaustion,
Pain,
Contracture,
Illness,
And sometimes sensations appear in subtle ways,
Such as impatience and restlessness.
Just notice,
Keep on breathing softly,
Slowly and deeply,
And with each exhalation,
Allow all the burdens in your body to loosen and release.
Allow your body to become lighter,
Softer,
More flexible.
Keep breathing gently,
And with each exhalation,
Allow yourself to go deeper and deeper into your body,
Sink in,
Feel that you are now resting deeply in the stillness of your body.
In this stillness,
Find a stable base,
Which supports you completely,
Rest.
Now keeping your connection to the stillness of your body,
Gently slide your attention to listen to the sounds,
Listen to the sounds around you.
On the outside,
Notice the voices,
The familiar sounds of your home and your neighborhood,
See if you can even hear the sounds of your own body and your breathing,
Listen.
Now gently slide your attention inward and begin to listen to your own thoughts,
Your opinions,
Your inner dialogues,
Listen if there are any criticism,
Complaints,
Judgments towards yourself and others,
Listen to the echo that resonates within you,
Perhaps with those disturbing news or information that you have recently received,
Those voices that you keep hearing without being able to process them.
Now breathe slowly,
Softly,
And deeply,
And bring your attention to the silence,
Listen to the silence,
Discover the silence within each sound,
Within each voice.
Now let go of the accumulation of sounds and voices and simply rest into the depth of silence,
Rest in the silence outside and inside of you,
And in doing so,
Discover great peacefulness,
Rest in the peaceful silence,
Rest.
Keeping your connection to the stillness of your body and the silence of your voice,
Gently slide your attention to the space of your mind in your heart,
Notice if you have experienced emotions that unsettle you,
That shake you and carry you away from your own stable center,
Without judging yourself nor your emotions,
Just notice,
See if you experience fear or anxiety as you contemplate future images of your life,
Of your surroundings,
Of upcoming events,
For you or your dear ones,
Or for the world,
Events that might have frightening outcomes.
Perhaps these images are causing a tight,
Constricting feeling in your chest,
If so,
Just be aware of it.
Now take a soft,
Slow,
Deep breath and bring your attention to your heart,
And as you exhale,
Allow yourself to let go and release all the pile of difficult emotions and disturbing images of the future,
And in doing so,
Discover a new,
Wide,
Limitless,
Open space in your heart.
Breathe,
Feel how you can now accommodate in that space all events inside and outside of you,
So everything now has room to arise,
To manifest and to dissolve effortlessly,
Just allow everything to be as it is and rest in the open spaciousness of your mind in your heart,
Keeping your connection to the stillness of your body,
The silence of your voice,
And the spaciousness of your mind in your heart.
Discover that your meditation practice has generated healing,
Nourishing,
And luminous fruits for your benefit and the benefit of many.
If you feel like doing so,
Repeat along with me,
In liberating my own being,
May I benefit others.