Hello,
Welcome to this meditation.
The goal of this practice is for you to connect to a place of inner calm and peace.
This meditation uses the metaphor of a hurricane to guide you to a state in which you become an observer that is able to notice what is happening from moment to moment with a sense of calm and clarity.
After the final bell there will be a series of journal prompts and reflections.
These are completely optional but feel free to end your practice at the bell if you so desire.
This meditation can be used multiple times,
In fact the more you practice it the more familiar you will become with the metaphor.
If at any point during the meditation you feel unsettled return your focus to your breath.
Now let's begin.
Find a comfortable meditation position either sitting on a cushion on the floor or on a chair.
Sit tall with your back straight but your shoulders relaxed and let your hands rest gently in your lap.
Close your eyes.
Let's take three deep slow breaths to begin.
Breathing deeply through the nose and out through the mouth.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
One more.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
As you breathe out just let it all go,
Let your shoulders slump and let your body sink into your body.
Start to become aware of your body.
Notice the sense of contact between your body and the seat beneath you.
Notice your feet on the floor,
Your clothes against your skin.
Anchor your breath.
Now let's consider a metaphor.
Let's imagine the strong turbulent winds of a hurricane.
Within the centre the eye is quiet.
There is no wind and no movement there.
For a moment picture this idea in your mind.
Can you visualise the strong turbulent winds of a hurricane and the inner core that is peaceful and quiet?
Let's see if you can become like the centre of the hurricane.
Your current circumstances,
Your thoughts,
Your feelings and the sensations throughout your body can be compared to the winds of a hurricane.
Is it possible for you to let go of all these things for a moment so that you are no longer taking part in them,
Like the centre of the hurricane is not taking part in the turbulent surrounding winds?
To do this start by focusing on your breath.
Simply breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
As you do this focus inward.
Just like the eye is deep within the hurricane,
Your eye is deep within you.
Use your breath to connect this part of you.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Stay connected to your breath.
If anything stressful happens in this moment,
Such as negative thoughts,
Unpleasant feelings,
Annoying sounds,
Difficult life events,
Memories,
Try to look at them as if they are the turbulent wind of the hurricane whirling around,
Continually changing and predictable in nature.
Notice that you are not them.
You are the silent centre of the hurricane,
The part that is peaceful despite what is happening around you.
You are the silent centre of the hurricane,
Peaceful and at ease.
You are not reacting,
You are simply observing.
Like the wind of the hurricane,
These experiences are constantly moving and changing.
You on the other hand are stable.
You are not moving or being carried away by them.
As you are breathing,
Notice how you move more and more towards the centre of the hurricane,
Towards the eye.
Take some deep breaths in.
As you breathe out,
You move closer and closer to the centre.
Just like the turbulent wind of the hurricane,
Your thoughts,
Your feelings and whatever is happening outside yourself is still going on,
But you are no longer part of it.
You are in a safe,
Peaceful place.
Breathing in and breathing out.
As you sit here connected to your eye,
Notice whatever arises.
Notice the wind of the hurricane,
But do not participate.
Stay in the eye.
Notice thoughts,
Notice feelings and notice sensations.
Continue to watch the ever-changing nature of the world inside and outside you.
Watch from a distance,
With curiosity and without judgement,
Without reacting to what you see.
No matter how intense or bad the hurricane gets,
The eye is always centred,
Calm and at ease.
Even the most turbulent hurricane cannot hurt or harm the eye.
The eye is safe.
Whenever you feel you need to restore your inner peace,
Use your breath to connect this silent part of yourself.
Breathe in and breathe out.
It may help to visualise the hurricane with yourself in the centre.
It can be difficult to see the eye of the hurricane at times and sometimes we forget that the eye is even there.
However,
It's always there.
If we examine closely enough even the strongest,
Darkest hurricane,
Sooner or later we'll see the eye centred and constant.
Now when you feel ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Optional reflections after this meditation include,
What was it like to connect to the observing self?
How do you feel now?
Did you resonate with the metaphor of the eye of the hurricane?
If not,
Can you think of another metaphor that would resonate with you more?
Sometimes during meditation issues that have been suppressed for some time begin to rise to the surface.
Were there things that you noticed that you may have repressed in the past?
If so,
What kind of experiences did you notice?
What was it like to notice them and how did you deal with them?
Thank you for joining me in today's meditation.
Wishing you a wonderful day ahead.
Namaste.
