Journey To Remember: A Body Scan And Meditation On Wholeness

Welcome to this guided meditation on wholeness,

Which will include a brief body scan.

Settle in,

Find your breath and its rhythm,

And let's just inhale together.

Fill the lungs completely and let the belly relax outward with the fullness.

With the out breath,

Slowly exhale.

Be aware of letting go,

Of releasing the air.

Just release.

And here at the beginning of this meditation,

Let's commit to stopping our formation of expectations,

To letting go of our version of how we think things should be,

Of how we think this meditation should go.

Allow everything,

Including ourselves,

To be just as it is and trust that the way that it will be on its own is how it should be.

And the space that we create when we let go of our expectations is creating space for grace to find us.

And we create the potential for us to acknowledge our own wholeness right here and right now.

In the wholeness of this silence,

There is no you.

The concept of you is absorbed by the silence that you create.

And the concept of you is part of a unified whole.

And so for the next handful of minutes,

Let's commit to experiencing only a consciousness that observes.

Observes the activities of the mind.

Observes the activities of the body.

Let's take another full,

Deep in-breath,

Filling the lungs completely.

And gently hold that breath for just a moment and just feel the lungs fill,

Nurturing your body with this life-giving oxygen.

And then very slowly,

Very mindfully,

Gently release that breath and just let go.

And again,

Inhale deeply.

Feel your lungs filling from your belly to your sternum to your upper rib cage and keep the shoulders relaxed.

Hold the breath for just one moment.

With the shoulders relaxed,

Feel the chest full,

Neck and jaw relaxed,

And just hold the breath.

And again,

Begin to release the breath with a slow,

Easy,

Audible exhale.

Consciously release the breath.

Just let it go.

Perhaps as we arrive in the body in this time and in this place,

You're noticing tension in the body.

Tension is a normal part of life.

Life is tension.

It's healthy tension that we all embody,

Life and death,

Movement and stillness.

It's the place in between all of the polarities.

It must exist in everything that lives.

So take some breaths now,

Just very easily,

And practice gently focusing your attention on the activity of the lungs.

As you breathe in,

Notice the sensation,

The feedback in the body.

And as you breathe out,

Notice those sensations and any contrast.

And here we will apply just gentle,

Slow,

Easy attention.

This is your practice.

And notice when you inhale how your lungs are opening to receive the air.

How they intuitively know what it is to accept what nurtures and to release what is no longer needed.

They accept the necessity of letting go and of creating space for what comes next.

And now just notice the presence.

Maybe your mind has been active,

Bringing you thoughts for your consideration.

Just name those thoughts very gently and then allow them to be on their way.

And just notice what is here for you right here,

Right now.

The gap between what is and how we think things should be is where all of the struggle in the world exists.

All of the striving and all of the loneliness.

If we can make our peace with what is rather than thinking that things should change,

We will realize that we are who we are looking for.

Breathe in and breathe out.

And notice now a sense of here-ness.

Just let your senses be wide awake and feel the aliveness throughout your body.

Listen to your surroundings.

Be open to the sounds that are here and then turn that listening attention inward.

Hear the movement of sensation and aliveness within your body,

Your heartbeat,

Your lungs filling and releasing.

Listen to your heart and just sense whatever mood or emotion might be present.

Sense it and name it and then release it.

Allow this listening to go even deeper and notice what is in your heart for meditation today.

Gently name whatever comes up and then release it.

Don't strive,

Just relax and let it all go.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Be grateful for your breath,

For your healthy lungs,

And if you are unwell,

For your body's great potential to heal.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Now,

In our world there is an abundance of fear,

But there is also an abundance of love and compassion.

So our task then becomes to embrace ourselves and our life in all of its wholeness.

If we favor the light and dislike the dark,

Then we will always struggle to be at ease in the light because we will know that the dark is coming.

And this extends especially to ourselves.

We cannot fully enjoy the aspects of ourselves that we love if we reject other parts.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Life does not postpone its steady march to wait for us to agree.

We are subject to its whims and at its mercy,

And we only have choice in how we perceive and respond to what happens.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Our mind is the engineer of the space we perceive between ourselves and others.

Our heart lays the path for us to cross that space,

To discover union.

Unity.

Compassion lights the way.

Breathe in and breathe out.

We will start with compassion for self right now,

Here.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

Let's begin by imagining a soft,

Warm light just above the head.

Notice that it gently pulses with your heartbeat.

Allow this light to cascade down over the body and scan through the body.

And just notice if there's anywhere that's tight,

Maybe clenched muscles,

A tangle of nerves.

And just notice whether it's possible to gently shine the light on those places.

Open them with your in-breath and release any tightness you observe with the out-breath.

And with the next breath,

Do the same thing.

Open with the in-breath and release with the out-breath.

Invite and receive softening.

Do this in the spots you may have noticed need your attention,

Your compassion.

See if you can sense the light doing this important work.

Imagine that this light is gentle,

Like that from a full moon,

And softly casts everything in silver,

Illuminating your internal landscape.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

And your task here is to take a soft,

Moonlit meander to explore the forms that populate your internal landscape.

As you explore,

Perhaps you feel a loosening,

An increase in space.

Bring your attention to the top of your head.

Feel the warmth of the light tracing down over your forehead,

Over your face,

Melting into your jawbones,

Down the sides of your neck.

Breathe in and breathe out.

And just feel the warmth.

Allow the arms to hang from the shoulder sockets,

Letting gravity do its work.

Allow the light to slide down over your shoulders,

Towards your elbows.

Feel the muscles in the forearms soften.

And allow the light to descend now to your hands,

Which are at rest,

Still.

See if you can place your attention on the hands,

The top,

Down to the tips of the fingers,

The sides,

And the palm.

And then just soften.

See if you can feel the blood in the veins,

The tingling that is the flow of energy in your body gently doing its work.

In here,

We allow life to happen through us and become a part of its natural flow without resistance.

You might draw the focus of the light to your chest and then allow it to cascade downward,

Warming and softening down the torso,

Down the belly.

And notice any sensation that's there.

Allow the light to warm,

Melt,

Shine compassion on any knots or unease.

And breathe into the space that is created.

Let this next breath be received deep in the torso.

Another breath.

And another.

Notice as you soften the belly,

The wholeness and dualities of the body,

The beating of your heart and the spaces in between.

Allow the light to continue down into the hips and down into the legs.

And breathe into any tension,

Down into the thighs,

The knees,

The backs of the legs.

And just ask your body if it's possible to let the light soften what's there.

Gently inquire.

Let it continue to the calves,

To the ankles,

To the feet.

The feet do so much for us.

Allow the light to explore them gently from the top to the tips of the toes to the bottom.

And feel the tingling.

Maybe feel your heartbeat in your feet.

Feel your breath bringing in oxygen to feed the flow.

And now gently broaden the scope of your awareness to perceive the entire flow of sensation,

Which is ever-changing.

And allow this life to live through you without opposition or resistance.

The body lives only in the present moment and is whole in its dualities.

Whole in the healthy tension between stillness and movement,

Between life and death.

Let us be here in this moment with the body as it does its work as our vessel.

Let us be here in this moment of tingling and wholeness.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

And here again,

As is its job,

You may find that your mind has drifted again.

Let us bring it home to your breath very gently.

Or perhaps focus on the tingling in your hands.

The warm liquidity in your shoulders.

The relaxation of your abdomen,

The openness and absence of tightness.

The light flowing over and throughout your whole being.

Meanwhile,

In the foreground,

Your breath continues.

Your lungs continue supporting you.

Your senses continue their job of perceiving this moment.

Your mind may still be doing its job and be attempting to present you with thoughts.

Allow them to pass.

Acknowledge them,

Greet them,

And then allow them to pass.

Bid them adieu with your out-breath.

And keep breathing in and breathing out.

In meditation and in life,

Our goal is not perfection.

It's called a practice for a reason.

The goal is not the absence of hurt or discomfort.

The potential for both hurt and healing to coexist is the aim.

Wholeness is where we are accepting the light and the dark.

And embracing the fact that they both have a place in order for the other to exist.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

We embrace ourselves and our situation without filters to see all parts as they are.

Without favoring one over the other.

Without striving for perfection,

Which is a construct of the ego.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

And allow this time to be one of simplicity.

Without judgment,

It is a time to pause,

To notice your mind's activity,

And then refocus.

So that we may carry this skill forward into the day-to-day activities of our lives.

Gently fill your lungs once more.

And just hold.

And then release with an audible exhale.

Again,

Inhale.

And allow an audible exhale.

Allow the sounds to carry with them any tension exiting on the wings of your breath.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

You are here.

You are present through the gift of your senses.

Set the intention to come home again,

Over and over again,

To this wholeness.

It doesn't matter how far the mind has traveled,

You can always come back home.

Like a home out in the wilderness on a moonless night,

The light will always be on.

A tiny pinprick in a vast expanse of darkness that you can always follow back to here.

You can return to the wholeness that is here with curiosity,

With nurturing.

Into the life and the light that's right here.

Home to the comfort of self-compassion and acceptance that you cultivate with silence.

Home to the comfort of not needing to know all the answers or solve all the problems.

To the comfort of not needing to strive or achieve to feel worthy.

Home to a state of being where we no longer seek answers because we no longer have any questions.

Home to the comfort of being enough.

Right here.

Right now.

Breathe in and then breathe out.

Relax with what is.

Acknowledge it.

Welcome it.

Allow it to pass.

Keep breathing in and breathing out.

Acknowledging the sensations and emotions that arise in the body.

And with the exhale,

Allow them to pass.

And as we sit here in this space that we've created for ourselves and the time that we've shared,

Carved out of our busy day,

Take a moment to acknowledge yourself and extend gratitude to yourself for taking this time.

And as we close today,

Set the intention to carry forward this presence,

This awareness,

This here-ness,

And this knowledge that you can come home to yourself anytime.

May I be filled with loving kindness.

May I feel safe from harm.

May I accept myself just as I am.

May I be peaceful and at ease.

May I be content.

May all beings be filled with loving kindness.

May all beings be safe from harm.

May all beings be peaceful and at ease.

May all beings be content.

You may sit here in the space you have created for as long as you wish.

And when you're ready,

Slowly begin to wake the body in whatever way suits you.

Perhaps consider turning the edges of the mouth up in a slight smile of gratitude,

Of compassion,

Of loving kindness.

Thank you for being here.

Namaste.