So welcome.
This is a guided meditation on impermanence,
On exploring the inevitability of death and how it can be a wake-up call to life,
To live well,
To live fully,
To seize each day.
The meditation will begin with a short spoken section and move towards a period of silent sitting meditation at the end.
So come into a comfortable position,
Maybe sitting or standing or laying down and feel the surface that you are sitting or standing or laying on,
That which is underneath you which is supporting you.
Notice where your body touches that surface,
That you can feel its support,
That you can feel your weight resting down on it.
Notice the breath entering and leaving the body of its own accord and that you are here,
Alive,
Being breathed,
Preparing to meditate.
Dear one,
We are here and one day we will die.
We usually do not know when and we do not know how and this unsettling uncertainty is certain.
It is a strong thing to reflect on and yet reflecting on impermanence will serve us well.
We are meditating in order to wake up,
To live well and to love fully.
We are meditating to bring us into the present moment.
We are meditating to be aware of the world.
We are meditating to bring us into the present moment,
To cultivate belief in ourselves,
To being present with how beloved those around us are and what a gift this life is.
I know that it does not always feel that way,
Dear one.
It can feel overwhelming or too much of bewildering and yet we are still here,
Alive,
Breathing through it all.
In meditation we get to practice being with this moment,
With all of its momentum,
With our mind muttering.
We get to still ourselves,
To come back to our senses.
We get better at being with what is.
Take some deep breaths.
Fill your body,
Satellite.
There is no need for drama over the Dharma of death.
Death is not a cause to spin out.
It is a call to step into life,
To show up for ourselves,
For others and for the wider world around us.
Knowledge of impermanence is a call to life.
It is a call to help,
To lend a hand,
To practice opening our hearts and to letting life move through us.
It is a call to be practical,
To be pragmatic with our lives,
To tend to our own hearts,
Our own lives,
To be practical with our lives,
To tend to our own hearts,
Our own inner life and our willingness to be with it all.
Notice the felt sense of being in a body,
Maybe some heat or some warmth or likely be sensations in your torso.
Do not go into stories or stories of your own life.
Just notice these purely somatic sensations of being a body here,
Breathing,
Practicing being present.
Our mind patterns will build momentum and in meditating we are dared to come back to the somatic senses of the moment,
To come back to our felt sense of being here and being alive.
We are cultivating a practice that lets us process life,
That lets us be present,
That supports us in being present with our lives and with life's persistent potency as it continues day after day.
Life is short,
We usually don't get to choose when or why or how we die and yet we do get to choose when and why and how we live.
So we are taking this session to choose to cultivate our life energy,
The sense of our own aliveness of being here today.
It's the Latin phrase carpe diem that means seize the day.
We are practicing being present with ourselves,
We are building good habits of the mind.
So dive fully into this moment,
Dared to feel it,
The sensations,
There may be noises around you.
Notice your breathing,
Is it tight or shallow or slow or fast?
Notice how this moment is,
How being alive is right now.
Notice if you are tender and touched inside,
Be gentle with yourself if so.
Notice if your mind is restless and if so keep coming back to the sensations of the breathing body.
Notice if you are tender and touched inside,
Be gentle with yourself if so.
Notice if your mind is restless and if so keep coming back to the sensations of the breathing body.
Right now it's like this,
Here I am meditating on my own impermanence,
Daring to dive in.
So we will sit quietly together for a few minutes feeling it all,
Feeling it all fully the physical sensations of being here in the body.
So settle and sit and follow your breath for these moments.
So settle and sit and follow your breath for these moments.
So settle and sit and follow your breath for these moments.
Notice it can take something to stay still with our experience,
To dare to feel it.
But this is a potent practice and you are doing well by keeping coming back,
Returning the mind to this moment.
Extend care and compassion for yourself.
So settle and sit and follow your breath for these moments.
And we will finish this action by setting an intention of one action we can take today to cultivate the aliveness in our lives.
Maybe telling someone we care,
Going for a swim,
Going out in nature,
Daring to send that email we've been a little nervous about for a while.
Setting an intention to do one action today to bring more lives,
More aliveness into our lives.
And then have a yawn,
Have a stretch.
Wiggle your fingers,
Move your shoulders.
Notice that we are here,
Alive and breathing.
We can still move and reach and stretch to the extent we can.
Notice the place that you have been meditating.
Really look at the surroundings around you,
The quality of the light,
The textures,
These micro moments of aliveness,
These details of our day.
Notice the feeling sense in your body that you are left with,
Having sat quietly for a while.
Extend yourself some kindness and well wishing.
I thank you for your practice,
For your willingness and your bravery to dive into this topic to cultivate your own aliveness.
I wish you a rest of the day filled with wellness and wonder.
Thank you for your practice.
