If you would like to light a candle or bring in any sacred objects for this meditation,
Please do so.
As you are settling in,
Choose a position that allows you to be comfortable and relaxed,
Ideally in a place where you won't be interrupted for the duration of this meditation.
As always,
We begin with the breath.
Notice the breath as a tool to slow everything down.
Use the breath to fill your body,
Breathing deeply and allowing your inner waters to settle.
Imagine a lake where the surface is calm and smooth,
Like the surface of a mirror.
Breathing in nice and deep,
All the way in,
Drawing that breath into the body,
And then exhaling fully and completely.
As you're breathing,
Become aware of where your breath is.
Is it short and shallow?
Is it tight up around the chest and shoulders?
See if you can pull that breath down into your belly,
Finding your breath by breathing nice and deep.
Think of your breath as an offering to your body,
Breathing deeply to send oxygenated air to all of your cells and tissue,
And then using the diaphragm on the exhale to squeeze out all of the expired air so you can get a nice full inhale on the return.
As you relax and settle in,
Make any adjustments to your posture and your position.
Breathing down,
Drawing the breath all the way down into the belly,
Further down into the pelvis.
See if you can breathe all the way down to your feet.
That's good.
Now allow your breath to find its natural rhythm.
As you breathe,
Feel yourself coming fully into the body.
Breathing deeply now,
Coming fully into the room,
Allowing all that you are to be with you now in this meditation.
Pull the breath into the body.
With each breath,
Become aware of relaxation.
Imagine that with each breath you're becoming more and more relaxed.
You don't have to do anything to find relaxation.
You simply have to allow it.
It's like when you turn off the TV and suddenly the room goes silent.
The silence was always there.
It was simply turning off the noise that allowed the silence to come to the surface and emerge.
Feel the relaxation as it gently spreads through your body,
Giving permission to all of your cells to balance and open.
Giving your mind and your nervous system permission to settle and go still.
Allow the rhythm of your breath to guide you.
Feel the rise and fall of your chest and your abdomen as it expands and contracts.
As you breathe,
Feel your awareness shift from your mind down into your body and drop into your center.
Imagine holding a small pebble over a pond.
Open your fingers and let the pebble drop.
Follow it as it gently floats to the bottom and drop into the deepest part of yourself.
Effortlessly allow your awareness to deepen.
Keep breathing.
As you drop into these deeper parts of yourself,
Watch as a sense of connectedness reveals itself.
Feel yourself moving into the depths and connect.
Imagine the image of a pin dropping on a map like a GPS marker.
Root into this feeling.
The center of your body,
Of yourself is drawing you close and holding you.
This grounded connection is bringing you more fully into your body,
Bringing you completely into this moment.
This connection is calling you to be fully present now.
This is simply you connecting with the deepest parts of yourself,
The place within you that is eternally present,
Eternally aware,
Eternally grounded.
Breathe into this space and allow yourself to receive the experience of being centered.
Keep breathing and allow.
As you breathe,
Imagine the breath moving in and out through the center.
Allow the sense of connection and groundedness to deepen,
To become clearer and just breathe into it.
All is well from this place of connection.
All is well from the center of yourself.
Now moving from the center of connection,
Allow your awareness to begin to gently expand like a balloon slowly being inflated.
With each breath,
Simply observe the expansion growing.
Allow the center and this connectedness to grow.
Notice how you can maintain your connection to the center and also expand your awareness.
Feel that expansion growing as it moves towards the edges of your physical body.
Allow your awareness to take up more space within you.
Like the rings in a tree,
The center remains stable as the tree grows and expands upward and outward.
The layers of the tree are all part of the same being and each of them are connected to the core even as they grow and expand.
As you continue with your breath,
Allow your awareness to move beyond the boundaries of your physical body.
It gently floats up and out.
Feel your consciousness present both within your body and without.
Keep breathing.
Now allow your energy to expand even further into the room.
Your awareness begins to take up even more space.
Even as you shift your focus beyond your body,
You are still deeply connected within.
Feel how expansive you are.
Notice how effortless it is to feel the room with your energy and awareness.
Keep breathing.
Keep expanding with each breath,
Moving beyond the room or the space you are currently occupying.
Allow your breath and your awareness to move beyond the boundaries of the physical room or house.
Expanding far enough that you are now able to see the town or the city below you.
Still centered,
Still grounded,
Still expanding.
Now expand out even further beyond the borders of the physical land as you gently rise up and out above the planet.
Still connected to your center,
You now move among the heavenly bodies,
The sun and the stars.
You are weightless and free.
Boundless,
Eternal and infinite.
As you breathe into the perfection of this moment,
All is well.
Your awareness embraces you.
Your breath supports you.
And your center holds you.
Keep breathing and allow.
As you find your breath again,
Notice how effortless it is to simply be.
Staying connected to your center allows your awareness to expand,
To grow,
To shift and evolve.
And all you have to do is breathe.
Breathing in nice and deep,
You begin to move back through the stars,
Past the sun and the moon.
Returning closer now to the earth.
Feeling your presence and your awareness now.
Coming back above the town or the city beneath you.
Slowly returning now.
As you begin to see the room in the house where you are currently located.
Breathing nice and deep,
Feel your presence fully with you in the room.
Returning to the physical space that you are currently occupying.
Using that breath to come back.
Breathing nice and deep now.
Feeling your awareness return to the body.
Returning back within the boundaries of your physical self.
Breathing nice and deep as your consciousness and awareness return to the center.
Feel yourself rooted and grounded.
Fully back into the body.
Keep breathing and allow yourself to return to that center.
All is well.
You are still in that state of ease and flow.
Using your breath as a tool to remember how to find your center.
Feeling yourself embraced by your awareness.
Connected to your body.
And simply allow your presence to return to the moment.
Just like the silence in the room.
The stillness.
And the ease of your loving awareness is always present.
You just have to remember to breathe and allow.
Taking another breath now.
Becoming aware of your body.
Of the clothes against your skin.
Of the chair or the bed or the floor beneath you.
Becoming aware of any sensations that are there with you in the room.
Using your breath now you are fully present in the body.
Grounded and connected.
Fully present in this moment in time.
And if you ever find yourself scattered or distracted,
Uncertain or imbalanced.
Simply use the breath to drop into your center.
To ground into your connection.
And simply allow your awareness to return.
Breathing nice and deep.
Taking one more breath.
You can wiggle your toes.
Give a nice big stretch.
And simply return to the moment.
Thank you for taking this meditation journey with me.
Have a wonderful day.
