Finding a comfortable seated position.
Feeling your shoulders to drop and relax.
Planting both your feet firmly on the ground.
Resting your hands in your lap.
You can close your eyes if you'd like,
Or you can leave them open with a soft downward gaze.
We'll begin by taking the first minute just to focus on the sounds around you.
Maybe they're in the room or outside.
And trying not to get lost in the storyline of where the sound is coming from,
But just listening.
You can stay here if you'd like,
Or you can bring your focus fully to your breath.
Perhaps noticing the feeling of the air flowing in through your nostrils and down into your lungs.
Or perhaps it's noticing the rise and fall of your belly or your chest.
Feeling the release of any tension with every exhale.
And now imagine that you are sitting by the side of a gentle flowing stream.
This might be a stream that you know,
Or it might be one that you can create in your own imagination.
Notice the time of year.
Perhaps there's a light breeze blowing as you sit there.
Watching the light glisten in the water.
Watching the soft grass or the pebbles or rocks beneath you.
Now imagine that leaves are floating on the surface of the stream,
And these leaves are gently flowing past you down the stream.
And for the next few minutes,
See if you can take every thought that comes to mind and place it on a leaf.
Your thoughts may show up in the form of words or pictures or something else.
Either way,
As a thought arises,
Simply place it on a leaf and let it go.
In the space in between your thoughts,
Gently bring your attention to your point of focus,
Whether that's sounds or your breath or touch points in your body.
Every time a thought comes to mind,
Place it on the leaf and let it go down the stream.
Do this regardless of whether the thoughts are positive and enjoyable or negative and challenging.
Simply place each thought on a leaf and let it float down the stream.
In allowing the stream to flow at its own rate,
There's no need to rush it or to speed it up.
The aim here is not to wash the leaves away or get rid of them.
The aim is to allow them to come and go in their own time.
You just sit,
Observe,
And watch it go by.
And if your mind is saying something along the lines of,
I can't do it,
Or this is stupid,
Simply place those thoughts on the leaf and let them go.
If a leaf gets stuck,
Let it hang around.
There is no need to force it to float away.
Simply sit and watch.
If a difficult feeling arises,
Such as boredom,
Impatience,
Maybe anxiety,
Simply acknowledge that it's there and say to yourself,
Here is a feeling of boredom.
Here is a feeling of impatience.
And place those on the leaf and let them go.
Now,
From time to time,
Your thoughts will become strong and you'll lose track of the exercise.
And this is normal.
Our attention naturally wanders,
And this will happen from time to time.
But as soon as you realize,
Simply come back to the stream.
Continue to place each thought that comes on a leaf and watch it go.
And in between your thoughts,
Bring your attention back to your anchor,
Your breath,
Or the sounds,
Or touch points in your body.
Again and again,
Your thoughts will come.
Remember this is normal.
As soon as you notice this has happened,
Simply bring your attention back to the stream.
And as the exercise comes to a close,
Begin to let go of your imagined stream and bring your attention back to where you are.
Notice what you can hear.
Notice what you feel.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and notice what you can see.
Just taking another minute or so to sit quietly before carrying on with the day,
Holding on to the sense of presence and spaciousness from thinking.
Therefore,
You may now notice the beat of our
