Hi,
I'm Louise Bourbon and today I'd like to share with you a meditation I learned from one of the best.
David Gee,
My meditation teacher,
Helpfully reminds us in one of his meditations that the point of meditation is not to stop other thoughts.
One of the biggest and most common misconceptions that people have is that when we meditate,
We're meditating to stop our thoughts.
But some of the best and most experienced meditators in the world still have thoughts.
They just practice witnessing the thoughts,
Letting the thoughts pass,
Come and go,
Without needing to do anything with every thought.
And that,
To my mind,
Is what it is to meditate.
So let's try today to set an intention in.
Not to stop our thoughts,
But to simply witness them and accept them and let them be.
We have around 80,
000 thoughts per day,
Around every second.
And if we stop thinking,
We're not living.
So as we remind ourselves of this beautiful gift of life,
Let's move into our meditation practice by gently closing our eyes,
Taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through the nose.
And then,
If you can,
Taking another sip of air in through the nose.
And then exhaling through your mouth.
Long,
Slow,
Gentle exhale.
Let's do that a couple more times,
Taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through the nose.
And just when you think you can't get any more,
Just take an extra sip in through the nose.
And then gently exhale.
Last time,
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through the nose.
Another sip at the top.
And then release.
And allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Without effort,
Breathing in and out through the nose,
If that's available to you.
Notice how you're feeling.
Notice how your body is feeling,
Your mind.
Just spending a few moments scanning the body,
The mind,
Any areas of discomfort.
Breathing into those.
And then letting them go.
And in today's practice,
A simple practice,
We're just going to simply sit in stillness and silence,
And witness our thoughts.
Witness what comes up,
What shows up.
And let it go,
Knowing that if you drift away to thoughts or sensations,
Not only is that normal,
But it's actually all part of the practice.
Part of the meditation,
And one of the biggest gifts of meditation,
Is when we notice that we've drifted away to thoughts,
And we bring ourselves back to the breath.
So as we sit together,
Stillness and silence,
If you notice you've drifted away off onto thoughts,
When you do,
Be kind to yourself,
And just gently bring yourself back to your breath.
If you find this really difficult or challenging,
And it's more comfortable for you to move back to a mantra or repeat words,
Feel free to use the words that resonate with you,
Or I can suggest,
I am on the inhale,
Here now on the exhale.
But just spending a few moments with yourself,
Showing yourself some kindness.
And as you drift away,
Which we all do,
Just moving back to the breath,
Or to the mantra,
Till you hear the sound of my voice again.
And on the next exhale,
Just letting go of the mantra,
If you've been using one,
And just returning back to your breath,
Listening to the sound of my voice,
And just notice how you're feeling.
Perhaps it feels good to roll your shoulders back,
Or turn your lips up to make a smile,
Whatever feels right and comfortable.
And hopefully you can bring some of this peace within into your day.
Whenever you're ready,
Just wiggling your fingers and your toes,
And opening your eyes.
Thank you for meditating with me.
