Good morning,
This is morning stillness for a peaceful resilient day.
So we'll just begin by simply arriving here,
Exactly as you are,
And we do this by allowing our breath to flow naturally,
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relax.
There's no need to do anything with your breath,
There's no need to force it,
Your body knows how to breathe,
Just as it knows how to relax.
So let's just invite the body to soften,
Starting at the crown of your head,
And gently inviting the muscles of your face to release,
Your jaw,
Your shoulders and your arms,
All the way down to your toes,
And we'll trust that the body remembers how to let go,
And you're simply giving it permission,
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relax,
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relax,
And just notice how the mind goes quiet when we just allow the body to relax,
We allow the breath to be what it is,
And we allow the moment to be what it is.
One of the real good arts of meditation is allowing the moment to be what it is,
Really underneath everything we're already meditating.
So now I just want you to imagine you're sitting or standing in a place that feels deeply peaceful to you,
Perhaps it's a forest,
A meadow or a quiet garden,
And you can sense the earth beneath you,
It's solid and it's supportive,
And as you settle here,
Begin to visualize your body as strong,
Ancient tree,
Your spine is the trunk,
It's steady and dignified,
Your arms and your fingers stretch like the branches towards the sky,
And beneath you,
From the base of your spine,
The roots begin to grow,
And these roots extend deep into the earth,
Through all the layers of the soil or sand,
And through the stone,
Just anchoring you into the quiet strength of the ground below you.
And just while you're still settling in and becoming the symbol of an ancient tree,
There's a wonderful poem,
Roots don't rush to reach the dark,
They trust the slow unfurling.
What is solid need not shout,
The deepest ground is holding.
And notice just like the tree,
The tree doesn't have to stand tall and doesn't have to work at it,
It just is,
And just like your wisdom and your resilience,
It's already there,
You already have it,
You just have to allow it to be,
You have to trust it,
And just like the tree,
With every breath in,
Draw up that nourishment from the earth,
The stability,
The resilience,
The quiet wisdom of a thousand seasons,
With every breath out,
Release anything that feels shaky or uncertain,
Just allowing it to let go.
A tree doesn't grab hold of a loose leaf,
Nor does it grab a loose branch,
It just allows it to do what it does,
And let the earth absorb it,
Transforming it into strength,
Just like the tree,
With every change of the season,
Just like every breath,
With every change of the body,
Just allow it to be what it is.
You are held,
Just like the trees are held,
Not by force,
But by surrender,
To the support that's always here,
And you,
Just like the trees,
Hold all this wisdom and knowledge and resilience over a millennia of generations past,
All deep withinside of you,
If only we slow down and recognize that,
And if we just feel it deeply,
And allow the body to do what it does.
And as we slowly come back to bring the awareness back to our bodies,
To the sensation of the earth beneath you,
To the rhythm of your breath,
Know that this rootedness is always available to you,
This steady refuge like an ancient tree,
Whenever you're feeling a bit unstable or whenever you're wavering,
Just remember,
You have so many years of experience,
So many generations of experience,
And it's all there deep within,
If we only trust.
So in a moment I'm going to tap the bowl,
And just bring your awareness back to the room,
Gently open your eyes,
Shake out your arms,
Wiggle your fingers and toes,
And just take a deep breath in,
And recognize that you do have all this wisdom,
And you do have all this resilience,
But sometimes life gets on top of us,
Sometimes the noise of thinking and planning and worrying and the stress of life,
Sometimes that just covers everything up and makes a bit of a mess of everything,
So if we just take a step back,
And just be like that tree in the middle of a field,
Ah,
I've got this.
Thank you,
I'm Stephen Webb,
And thank you for supporting me,
You are awesome,
And I hope you have a lovely,
Peaceful,
Resilient day.
