Begin by finding a comfortable seated position,
Closing your eyes gently and taking a few deep breaths.
Inhaling through your nose,
Filling your lungs,
And exhaling through your mouth.
Releasing any tension,
Feeling the ground beneath you supporting your weight.
And feeling really held by the ground beneath you.
Feeling really supported and feeling able to go even further inward now.
Imagining yourself on the banks of a swiftly flowing river.
Hearing the rushing water,
Feeling that breeze on your face.
Noticing all of the sights and sensations around you as you stand by this fast,
Rapidly flowing river.
This river represents the automatic pilot of your mind.
The constant flow of thoughts and perceptions and sensations.
And rather than trying to stop this river,
Or rather than trying to climb into this river,
See what it feels like now to simply observe it from a distance.
Observing the fast movement of thoughts,
Ideas,
Sensations.
Not trying to slow the river down or stop it in any way.
But simply noticing how your stream of consciousness continues to flow through you.
And observing these currents without judgment.
Notice how you're able to observe your mind observing.
How there's part of you that's able to notice this fast flowing stream of consciousness in your mind.
Not trying to control it or stop it.
But simply being able to stand on the riverbank and notice it as it flows by.
And now imagine yourself walking along the riverbank in the direction that the water is flowing.
As you continue to walk,
You will eventually come across an opening,
A clearing,
Where a beautiful lake extends out in front of you.
The river which had once been filled with rapids and flowing rapidly now empties into this lake of stillness.
Allow yourself to really notice all the details around you.
Noticing the banks of the lake.
Noticing the way in which the still clear water of the lake reflects the sky and the landscape around it.
Being really curious about the water having come to this point of stillness.
Resting in this basin of water,
Being held fully by it.
So still and comfortable that the water reflects the true nature of the world around it.
Not distorting,
But showing with absolute perfect beauty the world,
The moment,
And the now.
Notice how your awareness of the stillness of the lake brings even greater stillness to you.
How that rapidly flowing stream of consciousness of your mind has also come to a place of stillness and restfulness and awareness.
Allowing yourself to appreciate and feel gratitude for this moment of stillness.
And not judging if this image of the lake begins to disappear for you,
Becomes distorted or you forget.
Simply notice when your mind has wandered and bring it back to this image of the still placid lake of your mind.
An image which represents the nowness within you.
An image which represents a reality that is absent of distortion and that reflects accurately the world outside.
Continuing to breathe deeply now.
Feeling that stillness of the breath.
And this calm still lake wouldn't be here if there wasn't that fast flowing river feeding it.
We don't need to completely get rid of that part of our mind that jumps ahead and thinks rapidly and flows like the currents of the river.
That has a part to serve in our lives and a part to serve in how we show up for others.
But what we need to remember is that fast flowing river isn't the only part of our consciousness.
Because it leads to a place of stillness.
It leads to a place of rest.
And that river can very often times cause us to forget or to misunderstand.
But by resting in the place of stillness of the moment,
We're able to reconnect.
We're able to understand.
And now beginning to let go of any images in your mind.
Allowing your mind for a few moments just to go in whatever direction it would like.
As you begin now to gently wake up your body,
Bringing a few gentle movements throughout your body.
Giving a bit of a stretch,
Allowing your eyes to open now.
And taking this image of the beautiful placid water with you into the rest of your day.
