This is a five-minute guided meditation around the idea of the lake within.
And when you're ready,
In your own time,
Just getting settled into a comfortable position,
Seated or laying down,
Allow the hands to gently rest on the lap,
And the eyes close if that feels safe for you.
Taking a slow breath through your nose,
And a soft exhale out your mouth,
Again,
Breathing in through your nose,
And softly exhaling through your mouth.
Allow the breath to return to a natural rhythm of inhale and exhale.
Now,
In your mind's eye,
Begin to imagine your favorite body of water.
It could be a lake,
The ocean at sunrise,
Or simply just a place your mind creates on its own.
There's no right or wrong image,
So just notice what appears.
See the colors,
Notice the light,
And the landscape all around it.
This water represents your inner world,
Including your mind,
Your nervous system,
And your emotional landscape.
Now imagine that dark clouds are gathering overhead,
Raindrops begin to fall,
And each drop represents a thought,
A drop representing a worry,
A to-do list,
An old memory,
Or anticipation of what might happen in the future,
All dropping down with every awareness.
Notice how the raindrops create ripples on the surface of the water.
The surface of the water now becomes busy,
Waves are overlapping,
Ripples are happening,
And the reflection becomes distorted.
This is a lot like what anxiety can feel like,
Stormy,
Activated,
Unsettled,
But if we can observe,
We are not the storm itself,
We are the ones that's witnessing it.
And so if you can gently shift your awareness,
Instead of being inside the water,
And imagine you are sitting safely on the shore,
You are steady,
You are grounded,
And you are just sitting watching the rainfall.
Notice that even though the surface is moving,
The depth of the water beneath remains undisturbed.
Deep below the ripples,
There is stillness.
You find balance,
Harmony,
And wholeness.
You take that all in with a slow breath through the nose,
And as you gently exhale,
Imagine the rain beginning to soften.
Each drop becomes lighter,
And the clouds begin to part.
With each breath,
The storm lightens up,
And the storm eases.
Inhaling,
The sky brightens,
And exhaling,
The ripples on the water slow down.
You take a breath in,
And a breath out,
Until the surface of the water becomes calm once again.
Still,
Clear,
And like nature,
A mirror.
Look into the reflection,
You can see clearly again.
You can see the landscape,
The light,
And even yourself.
Notice how the water did not need to become something new,
It just found its way back to its natural state.
Calm was always there beneath the surface,
All along,
And as you reflect on that thought,
Take in one more slow,
Easy breath in through the nose,
And as you exhale,
Bring your awareness back to your body.
Feel the support beneath you.
Wiggle your fingers,
And your toes,
Maybe just let the head gently fall from side to side,
And front to back.
Roll your shoulders up to your ears as you breathe in,
And exhale let the shoulders melt and heavy with gravity,
Rolling back down the spine,
Lifting through your chest,
And coming back to your breath,
And eventually when you're ready,
Slowly letting the eyes open if they were closed,
And just taking one last final breath,
And some kalpa,
Perhaps could sound like the storm may visit,
But stillness lives within me.
I hope that you carry this felt sense of calm throughout the rest of your day,
Thank you for practicing this guided meditation with me,
Until I see you again,
Namaste.
