Hello and welcome to this meditation.
I'm Christoph and I'll be your guide.
Thank you for being here.
So I invite you to get as comfortable as you can.
And this meditation is best enjoyed lying down or sitting in a reclining position.
Just get really comfortable.
Allow yourself to be fully here in this moment.
And if it's safe and comfortable to do so,
I invite you to close your eyes.
But remember you can simply lower your gaze if that's more comfortable or look at a point on the wall.
Whatever works best for you.
You are in control the whole time.
And I'm going to give you a little heads up.
And I want to share with you the essence of this upcoming meditation in my own words.
Because I think it is helpful to fully resonate with this meditation.
And the lake meditation is about stilling ourselves enough and calming our minds enough so that we can see things around us with more clarity and without judgment.
In the same way that the stiller the surface of the lake is,
The better it will reflect the mountains and the rocks and the forests around the lake.
So that is kind of the aim of this meditation.
To still ourselves just a little bit more.
And I'd like to begin by asking you to pay attention to the actual sensations of contact and support as you lie here or as you sit here.
Noticing where your body is making contact.
How your weight is distributed on the floor or the bed or your couch.
Actually sensing into your body.
Feeling your feet,
Your legs,
The hips,
The lower and the upper body,
Your arms,
And your shoulders and your head.
And just gently check in with yourself.
What does this noticing feel like?
The awareness around my body touching the bed or the couch.
And now kindly bring your awareness to your breath.
The actual physical sensations.
Feeling each breath as it comes in and goes out.
Letting the breath be just as it is without trying to change or regulate it in any way.
And just allowing it to flow easily and naturally.
Your breath has its own rhythm and pace.
It knows what to do.
It takes care of you.
And allow a sense of being complete,
Being whole in this very moment.
Just letting your breath be your breath.
And as you rest here,
Letting an image form in your mind's eye of a lake.
A body of water,
Large or small,
Held in a receptive basin by the earth itself.
Noting in the mind's eye and your own heart that water likes to pool in low places.
It seeks its own level.
It asks to be held,
To be contained.
And letting this image gradually come into greater focus.
And if it doesn't quite come as a visual yet,
Just allow the sense of this lake.
Feeling its presence.
The lake you're invoking may be deep or shallow,
Blue or green.
Could be muddy or clear.
And when there's no wind,
The surface will be flat,
Mirror-like.
Reflecting trees,
Rocks,
Sky and clouds.
Holding everything in itself momentarily.
Wind may come and stir up waves,
Causing the reflections to distort and disappear.
But then the sunlight may sparkle in the ripples and dance on the waves in a play of shimmering diamonds.
And when night comes,
It's the moon's turn to dance on the lake.
Or when the surface is still,
To be reflected in it,
Along with the outline of trees and shadows.
In winter the lake may freeze over,
Yet be teeming with movement and life below.
As you rest here breathing.
As you establish this image of a lake,
Allowing yourself,
When you feel ready,
To bring it inside yourself completely.
So that your being merges with the lake.
Becoming one with it.
And this way all of your energies in this moment are held in awareness with openness and compassion for yourself.
In the same way the lake's waters are held by the receptive and accepting basin of the earth herself.
Breathing as the lake,
Feeling its body and your body.
Allowing your mind and your heart to be open and receptive moment by moment.
To reflect whatever comes near or to be clear all the way to the bottom.
Experiencing moments of complete stillness.
When both reflection and water are completely clear.
And then perhaps other moments when the surface is disturbed,
Choppy,
Stirred up.
Reflections in depth lost for the moment.
And through it all as you lie here simply observing the play of the various energies of your own mind and heart.
The fleeting thoughts and feelings,
Impulses and reactions which come and go as ripples and waves.
Noting their effects.
Being in contact with them.
Just as you're in contact with the various changing energies that play on the lake.
Such as the wind and the waves,
The light,
The shadows and the reflections,
Even the colours and the smells.
Noticing the effect of your thoughts and your feelings.
Do they disturb the surface and clarity of the mind's lake?
Do they muddy the waters?
And is that okay with you?
There's no right or wrong of course.
It's just about noticing the essence of mindfulness practice.
Non-judgmental present moment awareness.
And perhaps it will be possible to not only identify with the surface of your lake,
But with the entire body of water.
So that you become the stillness below the surface.
And so in the same way in your meditation practice and in your daily life you can be in touch not only with the changing content and intensity of your thoughts and feelings.
But also with the vast unwavering reservoir of awareness itself residing just below the surface of your mind.
The lake can teach this.
Remind us of that lake within ourselves.
So what is the surface of your lake like right now?
What is it reflecting back at you?
And dwelling here in the stillness of this moment.
It can be the lake in silence now.
The whole lake affirming our ability to hold in awareness and in acceptance right now all our qualities of mind and body.
Just as the lake sits held,
Cradled,
Contained by the earth,
Reflecting sun,
Moon,
Stars and trees,
Clouds and sky,
Birds and light.
Caressed by the air and the wind which bring out and highlight its sparkle,
Its vitality,
Its potential moment by moment.
And so whether you are just sitting down by the lake or you are just sitting down by the lake,
Or you are being your lake,
Using the next few moments to simply be.
And when the mind wanders off too far,
Just non-judgmentally,
With kindness,
With self-compassion,
Bring it back to the now.
Back to you and back to your lake.
Just dwelling in that beautiful being mode where nothing needs to be changed.
There is no temptation to want the situation to be any different.
And where you fully appreciate the miracle that you are.
Gently staying with the breath.
And with your lake.
And the invitation moving forward is to see how much of this vision,
This fuller version of yourself,
This wider capacity that you have developed,
How much of that can you take forward.
How will stillness serve you?
And how can you serve the stillness?
It doesn't mean you're going to become boring or dull or disengaged,
Quite the opposite.
Stillness and calm are superpowers in these very interesting times of transition.
So the more you can practice the lake meditation,
The faster you will be able to calm the storms raging over your lake.
And bring back a calmer surface,
A calmer reservoir of thoughts and feelings,
All the way to the bottom of your entire being.
Just stay with these thoughts until you hear the bells.
And then gently open your eyes and bring yourself back to the room.
Much love everyone.
Namaste.
