Welcome to this evening's meditation.
I once read that while the day is for interaction and reception,
Evening is the time for rest and reflection.
During the day we spend so much energy engaging with others,
At work,
At home,
Even in passing,
That we often forget to pause and notice how we feel after all of this doing,
Giving and receiving.
So this evening we will do just that.
Reside in the present moment.
Gather the scattered energy,
Rest and reflect on how the day has moved through you.
In this meditation I will use the concept of going underneath,
A way of bringing sensations,
Thoughts or emotions into your field of awareness and while holding them in awareness,
At the same time going one layer beneath,
As if sliding underneath them,
To notice the calm and peace that is always there,
Though often covered by the busyness of the day.
The only prop I suggest for this evening is a soft pillow.
Let us begin.
I invite you now to lie down on a comfortable surface.
Rest your head on the pillow,
Supporting the length of the neck.
Feel the space between your chin and chest.
Let your shoulders settle into the support beneath you,
Arms either relaxed by your sides or resting on your body.
Legs either extended,
Feet facing outward or knees bent and connected,
While the soles of your feet walk away from each other towards the side.
Choose a position that allows your whole back and legs to feel heavy,
Grounding into the soft surface below you.
Take a slow breath in through the nose and a long steady breath out through the mouth,
Silently sighing out.
If that helped release a little of today's weight,
Repeat it for two or three more rounds.
Then gently return to your natural breath,
Calm and unforced.
As you lie here in this space,
Notice the of your shoulder blades.
Only notice.
And now,
Slowly allow your elbows to drift slightly out from the body.
Notice how this creates more breath across your upper back.
Now bring your awareness to your shoulders.
Imagine or feel them softly,
Sliding a little further away from the ears.
Notice how this creates length across your whole neck.
And in this space,
Notice your jaw.
Perhaps simply noticing it is enough to relax it.
Or perhaps you allow a few gentle intentional yawns,
Feeling how with each yawn the jaw loosens.
Notice how this creates more depth across your entire jaw line.
And in this space,
Notice your eyes.
Eyelids soft,
Eyes heavy,
Sinking back into their sockets.
With every breath,
Releasing any remaining tension pockets.
In this space,
Now guide your attention upward to the area of your forehead.
Imagine it smooth and wide,
Like an open horizon.
And slowly,
Let awareness drift to the back of your head.
Find a spot or an area in the back of the head that feels particularly heavy.
Notice the head heavy.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
With each exhale,
Handing over some of that heaviness to the pillow.
Pillow like a soft bed for your heavy head.
As you lie here in this space,
Notice the heaviness of your whole body.
Notice the sensation of heaviness.
And as you hold this sensation of heaviness in your field of awareness,
Imagine or feel going underneath it.
And notice the softness below the heaviness.
Even if only subtle,
Let yourself feel the softness holding,
Cradling the heaviness.
And as you lie here in this space,
Notice your thoughts.
Notice the fluctuation of thoughts,
Coming in and going out of your field of awareness.
And as you continue to notice this stream of thoughts,
Instead of following it,
Imagine or feel sinking and settling underneath it.
As you rest under the surface of your stream of thoughts,
Notice the depth of your breath.
Even if only for a short while,
Notice the steady rhythm of breath that carries the fluctuating thoughts.
Breath in,
Breath out.
Thoughts in,
Thoughts out.
Breath in,
Breath out.
And as you lie here in this space,
Now with this awareness of breath's consistent presence,
Allow any sensation or emotion that has weighed on you to rise.
Stress,
Tension,
Anxiety or busyness.
Whatever it may be,
Allow the stillness to bring it up to the surface and reveal it.
And as you hold this emotion in your field of awareness,
Imagine or let yourself feel softening underneath it.
Notice the peace of your being.
Deep.
Discovering or remembering the peace that is always underneath the noise and the rumble above.
Like the quiet tide beneath the restless waves.
Like still air beneath a mountain's weight.
Your breath,
Steady.
Your body,
Soft.
Your mind,
Still.
Take a deep,
Soft breath now,
Signalling to your body that you are slowly returning.
And notice if anything has shifted,
Physically,
Mentally and emotionally.
And when you are ready,
You may either open your eyes or carry on into sleep.
Remembering that this steadiness,
This peace,
Is always within you.
Underneath the noise.
Underneath the tension.
Underneath the rush.
Peace is present.
May you have a restful evening and a good night's sleep.
