As you arrive in today's meditation practice,
Why not take the deepest breath you've taken all day in through the nose and then allow the breath to wash through the mouth.
If that felt good,
Why not do two more of those to land and arrive.
As you start to breathe and draw yourself into your practice,
Are you able to ground through the physical body,
Noticing the parts of you that are toward the earth,
The feet,
The hips.
Can you let them drop down just a little bit more?
Notice if you're holding on or in,
Opening,
Softening into your practice today.
Continue to be aware of your breath and you might seal the lips and just focus on the nose as you breathe.
Allow your awareness to wrap itself around your breath.
And from here,
Make your breath the place to return to.
Every time the mind wants to dance away,
Can you come back to the simplicity of breath awareness?
And sometimes with contemplation meditation,
It can be a lot to move on a bit of a thought journey when you already have your preexisting thoughts that are there.
So know that the breath is there to neutralize,
To wipe the slate clean and to come back to presence.
And then from there,
You might join me as we continue to contemplate as we meditate.
And for this year round up and unwind meditation,
Are you able to place your awareness into the space between the eyebrows?
And you might even imagine that this is the library of your memories.
This is where the past lives.
This is where the future lives,
All those visions and dreams and ideas.
And we're just going to go in here a little bit.
I'd like you to take yourself back to the start of the year,
The start of 2022.
How did you begin the year?
Where were you?
Who were you with?
And how were you?
Just bring to mind that version of you that started out this year.
And then from that version of you,
I'd like you to slowly mentally move through the year that has been up until now.
You might hover and glide upon important moments or experiences as you start to retrace the year that has been.
They could be personal and professional.
If there were any moves geographically,
Just noting those,
If there were any new connections made,
Any new relationships,
Friendships,
Noting those.
And also noting any lost connections,
Any lost relationships.
And being with it all as you meander through the year through your mind's eye.
And we're looking through this year through the lens of compassion,
With warmth and a knowingness as you reflect.
Now as you draw toward this timeframe,
Are you able to highlight any challenges that you faced this year?
Just take a moment to acknowledge them.
What was hard?
And while you notice those challenges,
Are you able to notice your strength and your courage and your resilience for moving through them?
Perhaps you're still in the midst of the most challenging part of the year.
If so,
Acknowledging your strength right now.
So holding all of that that has been within yourself,
Treating it as the past through a loving lens of awareness.
I'd like you to find and sift through your highlights.
What was the highlight of the year for you and why?
Take some time to explore this within.
Who were you with?
What were you doing?
And why was it a highlight?
How did you feel?
Can you relive this memory just for a few moments and notice how it feels inside of your body as you recount this time,
This highlight?
Bring that feeling,
Bring that memory deep into yourselves and hold it for a moment,
Embrace it,
Thank it for happening.
And then gently let the visualization dissolve.
I now like you to become aware of a low light,
Finding a low light from the year 2022.
Who were you with?
What were you doing?
And how did you feel?
Sometimes it's better to visualize a color or a texture rather than words.
And appreciating the highlight and the low light being part of your human experience this year,
Mixing it all together and finding a positive affirmation.
So a statement of learning that you'd like to carry forth into the following year,
2023.
Recording your learnings and making it a statement.
Do this for the next few extended moments until you have this clarified.
For example,
The challenges are hard,
But when you put yourself in uncomfortable positions,
You realize the rapid movement of growth is expanded.
Finding your positive affirmation you're learning from the year.
Making that really crystal clear in your mind's eye.
Imagine saying it internally a couple of times.
It's as if this version of you that has lived through your experience this year could give a little kind of card of wisdom to the version of you that started this year.
Nicely done.
And just sitting with that,
Sitting with this reflection time,
Is there anything else you would like to explore from the year that has been?
Do so now in the space between.
And if you have any words of warmth to shower upon yourself,
Perhaps writing a little note from you to you in this moment,
Taking into account everything you've lived through this year.
Writing a simple,
I'm really proud of you from yourself to yourself is enough.
Letting your awareness wash through your body once again and coming back to the felt sensation of your breath.
Allowing the ribs to expand a little bit brighter with the next inhale.
And allowing the ribs to gently soften in a little bit more with the exhale.
Starting to become aware of your body being supported by what's beneath you.
And as you do so,
If there's anything that you would like to let go of in this moment that you've been holding on for some time,
Permission to release it and let go of it now.
You don't need it.
It's not serving you.
If that's a story you have about yourself,
If that's a feeling you have towards someone else or an experience,
Let it go.
And as you let go,
You start to draw in more space to create,
To live boldly and brightly.
We close our meditation practice with this simple affirmation.
I am right on time and I am right on track.
I am right on time and I am right on track.
Take the deepest breath you've taken all day in through the nose.
Let it go through the mouth,
Starting to become aware of the sounds in your space.
And you might start to bring a little bit of gentle movement into the fingers,
Into the toes.
And when you're ready,
You might start to blink the eyes open.
