Welcome to the morning meditation.
This is the morning practice that I do each morning and I like to keep my meditation really simple and just sets me up for the day nicely with a calm compassionate heart and the mindset to be able to do whatever I need to do.
So the first thing we do is just settle in,
Allow the body to become quiet.
And we do this just by allowing the body to relax.
Allowing the shoulders to relax.
Wiggling into this position.
Placing our arms in a comfortable place.
And then just becoming aware of our breath.
We don't need to do anything with the breath,
We just become aware.
We allow the body to breathe just the way it knows how to do it.
I always find when we get involved in the breathing or the relaxing,
That's when everything goes wrong.
That's when we get caught up into are we doing it right,
Are we doing it wrong.
So just allow this moment to be what it is.
Allow the body to relax.
Allowing the shoulders,
The face.
Even your eyes and your cheeks.
Your back and your bum and your legs.
Just allowing it all to relax.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relaxed.
And I spend two or three minutes just settling into this quieter,
More stillness time.
And my mind will start thinking stuff up and feelings and emotions will start arising.
And I just acknowledge them and smile and thank you for the thought.
And then just go back to the breath,
Go back to the allowing this moment to be what it is.
It's important not to be annoyed with the thoughts or the feelings coming up.
That's what the body has evolved to do.
That's what the mind's evolved to do is think stuff up,
To plan the day,
To keep you safe.
To think stuff up and bring it to your attention.
Right now all we're doing is just allowing this moment to be.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relaxed.
And it's always really refreshing that we don't have to do anything with all these racing thoughts.
We don't have to do anything with these emotions that arise.
We just observe them arising and falling away.
Just the same as we observe the sounds coming in and changing and adapting and evolving into different sounds.
Same as the thoughts and emotions.
This moment is forever transitioning to a new moment.
It's never the same.
Always moving.
It's always calm.
Beneath all the thoughts,
Beneath all the feelings.
Beneath all the little minutia of what I have to do,
Am I doing it right?
Is this helping?
Why am I doing this?
Below all that,
There's a lovely calmness.
There's a peacefulness that's always there.
And that peacefulness you don't have to do anything with.
And it really is that simple.
Just training the mind and training the process to just,
I don't have to do anything with it.
I can just acknowledge and smile.
And with that comes wisdom and compassion.
With that becomes a kinder heart.
A more wiser day.
With that you become a person that handles things in a wise,
Compassionate way.
And just before we come back to this moment,
Just thank your body and thank your mind for allowing it quiet and down for this moment.
And just take this intention with you for the day.
That you're going to be calm,
Open hearted,
Open mind and wiser.
And just feel what the body knows is best.
So as I count back from five,
Just five,
Four,
Just gently open your eyes.
Three,
Shake out your arms,
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Two,
Just look around and one,
Just take that breath and just feel that calmness inside.
But also you're here and alert and ready for the day ahead.
Thank you.
I'm Stephen and thank you for supporting me.
Wishing you a wonderful,
Peaceful day.
