The Mountain Meditation The Mountain Meditation Coming to sit either on a cushion on the floor or a straight back chair Taking a moment to connect with the sensations of sitting Notice where the body is being supported by the cushion or the chair Tuning in to the sensations that this creates Adopting your position to one that signifies a sense of dignity Of being awake Having the back straight but at ease Resting the hands wherever feels comfortable Having the head balanced on the body Taking a few moments to rest in stillness Welcoming the opportunity to be still And now if you're okay with this,
Gently closing your eyes And taking your attention to your breathing Noticing each in-breath and each out-breath Not changing the breath,
Just letting the breath breathe itself Allowing the body to be still Sitting with dignity,
Moment by moment And now picturing in your mind the most beautiful mountain Perhaps a mountain you know,
Or you've seen,
Or you might just be imagining Holding the image of the mountain in your mind Noticing the shape of the mountain The peak The base of your mountain The sloping sides of the mountain Just exploring the size and the density Solid Unmoving Unrooted and grounded in the earth Perhaps at the very top of your mountain there is snow And there might be trees lining the slopes Sitting and breathing with the image of this mountain Observing it And when you feel ready,
Seeing if you can bring the essence of the mountain inside your own body So that you become one with your mountain,
Rooted in the earth Your head becomes the peak of the mountain Shoulders and arms become the sides And your legs are the solid base,
Rooted to the cushion of the chair And with every breath you become a little bit more like your breathing mountain Rooted,
Solid and still As you sit,
Becoming aware that the light and the colours around your mountain are changing Daytime is turning to night Blue sky becomes black Day to night,
Night to today And yet through all these changes,
The mountain remains still Just experiencing the changes in each moment As the seasons flow into one another And the weather shifts from moment to moment and day by day But the mountain just remains still,
Completely rooted and grounded in the earth In summer,
The snow may have gone from the mountain,
Apart from the very top The slopes may have turned green and be scattered with flowers In autumn,
The mountain may be shrouded in red,
Orange,
Brown and gold And in winter,
A blanket of snow and ice None of these changes matter to the mountain,
It just stays still Rooted,
Grounded in the earth,
It's just being itself Whether it's surrounded by fog or bathed in sunshine Storms may arrive,
But still it just sits,
Unmoved Spring comes,
Birdsong echoes around the mountain,
Flowers spring,
Ice melts,
Water flows Through it all,
The mountain remains seated,
Unmoved As we sit in meditation,
So we can learn to experience like the mountain Embodying stillness and groundedness in the changes that flow through our lives We experience day by day,
Moment by moment,
Constant change in our minds and in our bodies and in the world around us Our own weather,
Darkness and light,
Stormy or calm We can become like the mountain in this practice,
Gaining a sense of the strength,
Stillness and qualities the mountain embodies Realizing that our thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions and sensations are very much like the weather on the mountain So in our practice,
Tapping into the wisdom of the mountain,
As you continue to be with your mountain,
Until the sound of the bells Thank you for watching!
Thank you for watching!
Thank you for watching!
