The goal of this meditation session is to help separate you from your thoughts and to let your thoughts come and go instead of getting caught up in them or allowing them to dictate what you do.
So to do this practice you want to go ahead and find a quiet place where you can sit and allow yourself to find a comfortable position. You can close your eyes or keep them open. And if you choose to keep your eyes open, perhaps you can look forward in a light gaze, not really focused on anything in particular. Just allowing yourself to be here, in this moment.
There’s nothing else to do. Nowhere else to be.
Right here, right now is where you are suppose to be.
Breathe in, and let it out.
See if you can allow your shoulders to drop & relax on the out breath.
Take another deep breath in, holding it for a moment, and then release.
Really just grounding yourself to the here and now
Another deep breathe in, and then let it go.
Finding your center. Finding your calm.
Relaxing. Planting your feet firmly on the ground.
Or
If you’re sitting cross legged, just feeling the sense of contact between your seat or your feet on the floor beneath you.
And now just continuing on to breathe in and out.
Try to focus fully on your breathing.
Notice the feeling of the air flowing in through your nostrils, down into your lungs, and down into the belly as you inhale.
And
On the exhale, feel the release of any tension as you let the air out slowly.
Now imagine that you are sitting by the side of a gently flowing stream. This might be a stream that you know, or it might be something you simply create in your mind using your imagination. There might be a light breeze blowing as you sit here, the sun’s reflection glistening on the water and saw green grass beneath you.
Imagine the river stream, however you like, it is your imagination. This is your meditation. Now imagine who leaves are floating on the surface of the river stream. And imagine that these leaves gently flowing past you down the stream for the next few minutes. See if you can take every thought that pops into your head and imagine that you’re placing it onto a leaf.
Now your thoughts may show up in your mind in the form of words, pictures, or something else, however way a thought arises, simply place it on a leaf and let it float. And do this, regardless of whether the thoughts are positive and enjoyable, or if the thoughts are negative and challenging, simply place every thought on a leaf and let it flow down the street.
If you notice that your thoughts stop for a moment, just continue to watch the river stream sooner or later, your thoughts will start up again because thoughts are constant. Thoughts come and thoughts go. Allow the river stream to flow at its own pace. There is no need to try and speed it up because the goal here is not to wash the leaves away. The goal here is to allow them to come and go in own time. We are here to just sit and watch.
If your mind says something along the lines, like I can’t do it, or this is stupid, please. Those thoughts on weaves and let them float by if a leaf gets stuck, let it hang around.
There is no need to force it to float away. Simply sit and watch as sooner or later another leaf will come along and give it the nudge it needs.
If a difficult feeling arises such as boredom, impatience, or anxiety, simply acknowledge it silently. Say to yourself, here is a feeling of boredom or here is a feeling of impatience or here is a feeling of anxiety. And then place those words on a leaf. Now from time to time, your thoughts will hook you and you will lose track of this meditation. This is normal, our attention naturally wanders, and it will happen time and time again.
And so, as soon as you realize this has happened, simply come back to your imagined river stream, continue to place each thought that pops up into your mind on a leaf, watching it slip by again and again, your thoughts will hook. You just remember, this is normal.
As soon as you notice this has happened, simply come right back to your stream.
Now, as the meditation comes to an end, begin to let go of your imagined river stream and bring your attention back to where you are in the present moment.
Start to notice what you can hear, what you can feel, and when you are ready, arrive to the present and notice what you can see.
You might like to take another minute to sit quietly before carrying on with your day, holding on to the sense of presence and calm from thinking.
Thank you.
Namaste.
