This is part two in the series coming home to the body,
Mind and the whole self.
Today we turn toward the mind.
The mind is where so many of us feel at war.
It spins,
It worries,
It criticizes,
It remembers too much or forgets what matters.
It tells stories that aren't always true,
But that feel so convincing.
And for many of us the mind has been a place of exhaustion.
A place we wish we could escape.
But what if instead of escaping we learned to befriend it?
Not to silence every thought or make the mind empty,
But to sit with it gently.
As though it were a companion.
It is not about silencing what stirs within you.
It is not about pushing anything away.
Instead it is about learning to meet the mind as it is.
With kindness,
Tenderly,
Honestly and with compassion.
So as we begin,
Make yourself comfortable.
Close your eyes if that feels kind or simply soften your gaze.
There is no right or wrong way to sit,
To lie or to be.
You don't need to calm yourself first.
You don't need to do it right.
You only need to arrive exactly as you are.
Now take a gentle breath in and let it fall away with your exhale.
No pressure,
Just allowing.
So often the mind can feel like a restless room.
A place where echoes bounce off the walls,
Where unfinished conversations linger.
A space cluttered with thoughts that arrive uninvited.
And stories that replay themselves again and again.
And yet your mind is not only noise.
It is also imagination.
It is memory.
It is creativity and dreaming.
It is a place where wisdom whispers.
If only we pause long enough to listen.
Today we will practice seeing it differently.
Not as something to tame or control,
But as something to soften towards.
If you can imagine now that you're looking up at a vast and endless sky.
This sky is your mind.
And across it drifts clouds of many kinds.
Some are small and fleeting.
Light,
Wispy thoughts that pass before you can even name them.
Some are glowing,
Tender memories.
Gentle reminders.
And hopes that bring a moment of warmth.
Yet some are dark,
Heavy and storm filled.
Thoughts that carry fear,
Shame or grief.
Notice though,
How the sky makes room for them all.
It doesn't resist the storm cloud.
It doesn't cling to the shining one.
It allows every cloud to move across its expanse.
And in the same way,
You are allowed to hold your thoughts.
Not pushing them away.
Just allowing.
Now as you watch the clouds,
Choose a thought to rise into your awareness now.
It might be a worry.
A to-do list.
Even the sound of my voice.
See it as a cloud in your inner sky.
What does it look like?
Is it sharp edged or soft?
Is it light and passing?
Or heavy and slow?
Does it hover close or drift far above?
Stay with it for a moment.
Not forced.
Not hurried.
Just drifting like a cloud.
Another thought may appear now.
Perhaps it's heavier.
Perhaps it's brighter.
Perhaps it looks like a storm cloud.
Or maybe it even takes the shape that mirrors the thought itself.
Notice it.
See it clearly.
And let this one move through too.
There is no rush.
No need to clear the sky.
Just clouds passing by.
Passing through.
Now step back in your imagination.
Notice that you are not the clouds.
You are not the thoughts.
You are the sky itself.
Soft,
Steady,
Always here.
Even when the clouds gather thick and dark.
The sky remains.
Even in storms.
The sky does not disappear.
Take a deep,
Steady breath with this truth.
Feel the spaciousness within you.
You are not your passing thoughts.
You are the vastness that holds them.
As you rest in this awareness,
Reflect upon these questions.
Which thoughts do you tend to cling to?
Replaying them again and again.
Which thoughts do you chase?
Hoping they will stay.
Which thoughts feel too heavy to carry?
And yet,
You keep them close.
And what would it feel like to let them drift?
Not erased,
Not denied,
Simply moving through.
Because we cannot change what has happened in life.
Nothing will ever be removed from our existence.
But we can begin.
To allow the thoughts to float by.
Not thoughts erased.
Nor denied.
Just simply moving through.
Take a moment to notice what arises in you.
You don't need answers,
Just noticing is enough.
The mind may never be silent.
And perhaps it doesn't need to be.
The invitation is not to demand silence.
But to cultivate gentleness.
To remind yourself that you don't need to obey every thought.
You don't need to believe every story.
You don't need to hold every cloud.
Instead,
You can be the sky.
Spacious,
Compassionate,
And steady.
And in that spaciousness,
Even the darkest clouds soften.
Even the storm has room to pass.
Take your hands together.
Holding them as if they were the hands of someone who never leaves you.
Because you are always with you.
And whisper softly.
I belong to myself.
Even in the storm.
I am not my thoughts.
I am the sky that holds them.
It is safe to let them pass.
Let those words settle deep into you.
And stay here for another breath or two.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest.
Notice the quiet that grows when you stop fighting the mind.
And begin to witness it instead.
And when you are ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Carry this truth with you.
You do not need to silence your mind to be at peace.
You only need to remember.
You are the sky.
Your thoughts are just clouds passing through.
