Let's get ready for the practice.
Make yourself comfortable,
Lie down or in a seated position,
Whether that's full lotus,
Half lotus,
Or simply on a chair with a firm or softly cushioned seat.
Straighten your back gently,
Neither stiff nor slouched.
Close your eyes softly,
Let your chest rise slightly forward and draw your thighs gently backward.
Feel the natural weight of your body resting evenly on your sit bones.
Throughout your practice,
Keep this posture steady and balanced,
While allowing your muscles to remain relaxed and soft.
Commit to holding this posture steadily for the whole session.
As you settle in,
Bring your full attention to the subtle sensation of your breath at the point just beneath your nostrils,
On your upper lip.
This will be your anchor throughout the meditation.
If your mind drifts away,
Perhaps to thoughts or sensations elsewhere,
Maybe the thighs or any other place,
Gently and kindly guide your focus back to the breath's gentle touch beneath your nostrils.
Return again.
Begin by taking a slow,
Gentle breath in through your nose and let it out softly through your mouth and nose,
Wherever it feels most natural.
Feel the coolness of the air as it flows in,
And the warmth as it flows out,
As your anchor,
Your ever-present support through this practice.
As you continue to breathe softly,
Silently say to yourself,
I release what was.
I choose to live fully in the now.
I choose to live fully in the now.
Let these words settle deeply into your mind and heart.
With each inhale,
Invite new energy,
New possibility.
With each exhale,
Allow yourself to release anything that no longer serves you,
Perhaps their memories,
Emotions or old stories from the past that you carry.
Gently invite them to arise if they wish,
Without judgment or resistance.
Observe them with kindness,
Like watching leaves floating on a stream.
Notice how they come and go,
Never permanent,
Always moving.
Breathe in calm.
Breathe out release.
Feel your body soften as you breathe,
Melting deeper into the support beneath you.
Let go of any tension in your jaw,
Your shoulders.
Relax your face.
Allow your breath to flow smoothly,
Naturally.
If your mind drifts away,
That's okay.
Gently guide your attention back to the breath and the gentle rhythm of letting go.
Feel old heaviness.
Feel a sense of lightness growing inside you.
As you breathe,
Imagine the past as a distant landscape,
Something behind you now,
Softening and fading as you look forward.
There's no need to rush or force anything.
Just allow your breath to wash through you like a gentle tide,
Clearing away what is no longer needed.
Every exhale,
Feel the burden gently dissolve,
Like mist melting in morning light.
With every inhale,
Sense the spaciousness already here,
Quietly waiting beneath the noise.
You do not need to create peace.
You only need to notice what has always been.
Bring your attention now to your heart center.
Not merely the physical heart,
But the living presence that perceives all.
Feel a soft warmth begin to radiate,
A subtle glow,
Timeless and unmoved by thought.
This light isn't coming from outside,
It is your own.
A light of renewal,
Of quiet knowing,
A silent possibility.
Let this presence grow,
Not with effort,
But by allowing.
Let it rise like dawn through your chest,
Filling you with a peace that was never lost.
Remember now,
The past is behind you,
Not rejected,
Not forgotten,
But released.
Like a traveler who has walked with you and is now gently left at the crossroads.
You are the silent ground upon which all steps occur.
The past may have shaped the body and mind,
But it has not touched what you are.
See the past like clouds that passed across a clear sky.
The clouds may darken for a time,
But the sky itself was never harmed.
You are that sky,
Unmoved,
Unmarked,
Always open.
You have the quiet power to let the past rest,
To let it serve its purpose and then dissolve without resistance.
This is not forgetting,
It is freedom.
Breathe in renewal,
Breathe out release.
If sadness or loss comes,
Do not push it away.
Let it move through you like rain through a valley.
Felt fully,
Welcomed gently and allowed to pass.
There is nothing you need to fix,
No emotion to escape.
Just a simple seeing that whatever appears also disappears.
The ocean of your being is untouched by the surface waves.
Even pain is seen by something deeper,
Still and aware.
That's here,
You remain unchanged.
Grief,
Joy,
Longing,
Peace are welcome here.
You are vast enough to contain it all without being bound by any of it.
Of who you've been,
But of what you've always been.
With each breath,
Feel yourself returning.
Not to an idea of self,
But to the reality prior to all identity.
A still silent witness,
The background of all experience.
Inhale gently,
Exhale completely.
Feel the heaviness melt from your shoulders,
Your chest,
Your heart.
The tension was never truly yours,
You were only holding it unknowingly.
As you breathe,
Your body becomes lighter,
The heart brighter,
The mind quieter.
If thoughts arise,
Let them come and go.
You are not the thought,
You are that which sees the thought.
Be with the sea,
Let your breath return you to the quiet ground,
Beneath all mental noise.
This is home,
It has no name,
No story,
No future.
It is simply now,
Simply being.
A gentle smile may come,
A warmth in the chest may rise.
Let it be,
Do not grasp it,
Do not interpret.
Let it unfold,
Like a flower opening to morning sun.
A fresh beginning is already here,
Without needing to be earned.
With each breath,
You step further out of memory and more deeply into presence.
You carry nothing now but breath,
And even that,
You don't hold.
It flows on its own.
This is freedom,
Not in what you gain,
But in what you no longer cling to.
Let your breath be the bridge from story to stillness,
From identity to awareness,
From illusion to clarity.
Know this deeply.
Nothing you let go of was ever truly part of you.
And what you are cannot be lost.
It is not born,
Not broken,
Not becoming.
Stay here.
Let the stillness be enough.
Let it reveal itself,
Quietly and fully.
Silently say to yourself,
I release what was.
I rest in what is.
I live as what cannot be lost.
Now,
Gently deepen your breath.
Feel the subtle energy returning to your hands,
Your feet.
Move your fingers softly,
Toes slowly,
With awareness.
Not back to the old self,
But to this simple,
Living presence.
When ready,
Open your eyes.
Not to resume the past,
But to continue,
Freshly,
From presence.
Notice how you feel.
Perhaps lighter,
More at ease,
More clear.
This space is always available.
Not because you create it,
But because it is you.
As you move through your day,
Remember.
You are not here to hold on.
You are here to be.
And being requires nothing but presence.
You are home.
You are whole.
You are free.
