The Lake Meditation To start,
Get yourself in a comfortable seated or lying position where you can enjoy and relax throughout this meditation.
Start to get in touch with your breathing.
Noticing your breath as it flows in and out,
Not trying to change your breathing in any way,
But just accepting it as it is.
Extend your awareness into your body as a whole and become aware of your breath as it enters your body.
It's quite normal of course to find that your attention wanders and this is fine.
When you are aware of this,
Then just mentally note where your attention has wandered to and then gently lead it back to your breathing and your body.
Start to allow an image of a lake to enter your mind's eye,
An expansive body of water held in a receptive basin by the earth itself.
Noting in your mind's eye and in your own heart that water likes to pool in low places.
It seeks its own level,
Asks to be held or contained.
The lake you are invoking may be deep or shallow,
Blue or green,
Muddy or clear.
With no wind,
The surface may be flat,
Mirror-like.
It reflects trees,
Rocks,
Sky and clouds,
Holding everything in itself momentarily.
Wind stirs at waves,
Reflections distort and disappear,
But sunlight may still sparkle in the ripples and the dance on the waves in a play of shimmering diamonds.
And when night comes,
It's the moon's turn to dance upon the lake.
Or when the surface is still,
To be reflected in it alone with the outline of trees and shadows.
In winter,
The lake may freeze,
Yet be teeming with movement,
Life and excitement below.
As you are here,
Breathing as you establish this image of a lake in your mind's eye,
Allowing yourself,
When you feel ready,
To bring it inside yourself completely.
So that you begin to merge with the lake,
Becoming one with it.
So that all your energies in this moment are held in awareness with openness and compassion for yourself.
In the same way as the lake's waters are held by the receptive and accepting basin of the earth herself.
Breathing as the lake,
Feeling its body as your body,
Allowing your mind and your heart to be open and receptive moment by moment to reflect whatever comes near.
Experiencing moments of complete stillness when both reflection and water are completely clear.
And other moments perhaps,
When the surface is disturbed,
Choppy,
Reflections and depth lost for a time.
And through it all,
As you are 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 effect.
In contact with them,
Just as you are in contact with and feel the various changing energies at play on the lake.
The wind,
The waves,
The light,
The shadows,
The reflections,
The colour and the smells.
Noticing the effect of your thoughts and feelings.
Do they disturb the surface and clarity of the mind's lake?
Do they muddy the waters?
Is that OK with you?
Isn't having a rippling or a wavy surface a part of being a lake?
Might it be possible to identify not only with the surface of your lake,
But with the entire body of water,
So that you become the stillness of the lake as well.
Which at most experiences only gentle flutters,
Even when the surface is plagued by extreme factors.
In the same way,
In your meditation practice and in your daily life,
Can you be in touch not only with the changing content and intensity of your thoughts and feelings,
But also with the vast,
Unwavering body of awareness itself.
Residing below the surface of your mind,
The lake can teach this and remind us of the lake within ourselves.
If you find this image to be of value,
You might want to use it from time to time to deepen and enrich your meditation practice.
You might also invite this lake to empower you and guide your actions in the world as you move through the unfolding of each day,
Carrying a vast reservoir of mindfulness within your heart.
Dwelling here in the stillness of this moment,
We can be the lake in silence now,
Affirming our ability to hold in awareness and acceptance right now,
All our qualities of mind and body,
Just as the lake sits,
Cradled,
Contained by the earth,
Reflecting sun,
Moon,
Stars,
Trees,
Rocks,
Clouds,
Sky,
Birds,
Light.
Caressed by the air and the wind,
Which bring out and highlight its sparkle.
Its vitality,
Its potential,
Moment by moment by moment.
Holding on to that stillness.
Until next time.
Getting ready to bring yourself back into the room.
Gently opening your eyes.
You are now the lake.
You have that strength.
Thank you for your time today.
