No need to do anything but relax. Listen to your breath. Don’t change anything. You are perfect as you are. Become aware of your breathing – just awareness of quiet in quiet and quiet out, breathing peace.
Slowly sense the hairs on my head. They know the perfect way to grow and are as many in number as there needs to be. Breathe in gratitude for your hair.
Your scalp is such a tender area and has sensitivities that rise to comfort. Breathe in peace and feel the soft presence of a gentle caress. Peace resides.
Notice your mind and your thoughts. It’s okay your mind is busy. Be in peace. Part your lips slightly and know by this simple act of releasing your lips you are releasing tension throughout your whole body. Breathe.
Picture a beautiful green garden with thick foliage, flowers and leaves all nestled in a rich earth where their roots reside. Feel the light rain that gently blesses each leaf, each flower, each blade as it becomes steadier. Relaxing rain takes the thinking mind and washes it slowly into the rich fertile soil. Imagine thoughts dripping down into the earth like a chalk board being rinsed off by a soft hose. Some thoughts take longer than others to release but they eventually do. No worries. Let thoughts go. Let the rain come. Let peace reside.
Slowly become aware your breathing has slowed to a steady pace as the rain, slow, methodical, consistent, welcome. Peace in your breath. Slowly move your awareness down through your shoulders into your torso into your stomach. Calm energies moving in your stomach. Imagine a clock dial and with your breath move the dial slowly from one to three to six to nine to twelve, breathing in the rhythm of the movement inbreath one - three outbreath six nine hold at twelve inbreath one three outbreath six nine hold at twelve. Let go of the counting and feel the rhythm in your stomach of the breath slowly moving around the clock. Peace resides in your stomach.
Let go of any thought except gentle movement down into your sitz bones, down your thighs, down through your knees and into your ankles and feet. Breathe peace into the expanse of your legs knowing their strength in holding you up, holding you, growing into strength knowing just what to do to become the strength they are now. Breathe peace into your legs.
Bring your awareness gently to your feet, toes in front heel in back, the magnificent architecture of your foot, the presence of which has guided you through your growing times, a witness to you, a bystander for you in your life. Peace and gratitude to your feet, the power of their ability to move you on lovely walks, their sensitivity can feel the grains of sand on the beach, your strong toes as you stand tall in your stature. Peace and gratitude to your feet.
This is the time to comb your energy. Let a healing angel swoosh you with light healing wafts of air from your head to your feet, allowing the energy to move through your feet into Mother earth where you find comfort in her solid presence. You feel your toes tingling as the energy moves beyond clearing, smoothing, comforting. Swoosh.
Breathe in comfort. Breathe in peace.
Mother Earth holds wisdom. You hold wisdom. Breathe in wisdom.
Mother Earth holds peace. You embody peace. Breathe in peace.
Using your breath, listen to your body.
Using your breath, listen with your breath.
Invite in comfort. Invite in peace. You are peace.
Bring your awareness back to your breath. Without movement, using your imagination, bring your hands in prayer to your heart and feel the warmth of your body. With deep gratitude with deep peace, bow to you. Bow to your openness. Bow to your willingness. Bow to the divine within.
Breathe in gratitude
Breathe out peace.
Participants’ Reflections:
Thank you for the guided meditation. It was beautiful and relaxing and it took me to a peaceful place. I’ve been going through a lot with a family member who is mentally ill. She was committed on Friday and my mind has gone in a million directions. I am her guardian. She lives in another state so it’s hard to manage her situation. I woke up this morning feeling so frazzled but that meditation brought me to such a peaceful and quiet place. It was so relaxing. Thank you.
I want to express my gratitude to the group. In the last two weeks, I’ve been transferred to working at home due to Covid. I am grateful for that but it required weeks of training that was horrific. The training materials were good but they didn’t match my learning style. But in the last few days, it all meshed and yesterday, it was almost transcendent. The time between calls can be nanoseconds. On the calls, people are angry. One after the other. When I could, I took deep breaths between calls and that was calming. In addition, I was coming from a position of strength. I’m reading the Victor Frankl book on surviving Auschwitz. I wanted to thank everyone because I could feel the support.
I noted when we started this morning, it was foggy. Now the sun is up and the light is out, and the birds are singing. I felt there is a synchronicity here.
Just before you said the word ‘caress’, my cat jumped up on my lap to be caressed. I was holding her next to my ear. That amazing in and out, the purr, they are so grateful. The pure love that comes out of that. When you were talking about our feet, yesterday I was walking around and my feet hurt. And then I thought, aren’t I lucky I can do this. We can take our bodies for granted even if they aren’t what we used to be. This group helps us to get through the day.
It’s the buoying of community, the energy we share. It is so heartening that others can feel it too.
Thank you for joining us today, for taking the time to caress your own spirits, your souls, your minds and your bodies through the power of words and the power of meditation. Thank you. I honor each of you and I hope you have a blessed day.
This is an open meditation community meeting daily at 8:30 Eastern Time until shortly after 9am. If you would like to join us, contact shirleyriga@gmail.com.