The meditation for when there’s no reason to meditate.
Question: Why do you meditate?
People turn to meditation for all sorts of reasons – mostly, though, it’s to relieve suffering of some kind.
Sleep, pain, illness, depression, anxiety, stress, grief…
Do you find yourself only turning to meditation when the going gets tough?
Or have you discovered the absolute bliss of meditating when there’s nothing wrong? Nothing to fix?
Meditating just for fun?
Meditation has been described as “coming home to yourself”, and for a long time, I didn’t understand what that meant.
But ever since I stopped meditating for a reason and started meditating for the hell of it, I ALWAYS find that place within where there’s only acceptance, peace and love. It’s a BEAUTIFUL place to be. At home. Familiar. Safe. Welcome.
Sound too good to be true?
I’ve recorded a new guided meditation, Come Home to Yourself, so you can try it out.
(It’s the meditation you do when there’s no reason – and every reason – to meditate.)
Would love to hear how you go.
P.S. You can also listen to it here on Insight Timer.
Come Home to Yourself
– MEDITATION –
Includes 10 minutes of quiet, unguided time with interval bells reminding you where home is.
Transcript
This is a meditation that helps us find our way home; to the place within that welcomes us, with open arms, in whatever state we’ve arrived.
The place where there lives no fear, no anger, no anxiety, no shame.
But deep acceptance and peace and love.
WHAT POSITION FEELS LIKE HOME?
So, go ahead and make yourself comfortable.
In whatever position feels like home.
The position your body says to you: this one.
Whether curled up on a couch. Sitting upright and alert. Or something different.
There’s no pressure to get still straight away. There’s time for that. You can first check in with how your body’s doing.
Roll the shoulders… backwards and forwards.
Stretch out the neck…. in all different directions.
And get a sense of your body and the space that it takes up…
By gently rocking it from side to side.
Sensing where it starts and where it ends.
This body that’s your home.
THE NOURISHING BREATH
And then, if you’re ready, you can let the body rest. And nourish it with three refreshing deep breaths.
Breathing in
And breathing out
Breathing in
And breathing out
Breathing in
And breathing out
And lingering here. Watching as the breath settles into its own innate tempo.
A continuous rotation like a figure eight…
Of breath coming and going.
Coming and going.
Always returning home.
WHAT CAN YOU HEAR?
And now that you’ve spent some time arriving into your body, and this space, let’s explore what other things are experienced from this home base.
Things like sounds.
Have a listen. What are the sounds that are coming up around you?
If you like, you can mark off a mental checklist of what those sounds are as they arise.
Indoor sounds, and outdoor sounds.
And sometimes, the strangest sound of no sound at all.
WHAT CAN YOU SEE?
What else is experienced from home?
How about sights?
If you feel comfortable, you can open your eyes and take a look about.
Take a mental snapshot of things you can see.
And notice when you feel drawn to something in particular.
An object, a texture, a colour, a shape.
A glimpse of wonder gifted to you from your sense of vision.
KEEP YOURSELF COMPANY
And now returning inward, to where you can feel the breath.
Resting the eyes if it feels safe to.
Keeping company with all parts of yourself.
The restless parts… and the weary parts. The hopeful, optimistic, and wounded parts.
Treating yourself to this time. In a cocoon of permission and acceptance to be exactly as you are in this moment.
WELCOME YOURSELF HOME
Welcoming yourself home like a returned adventurer.
With big open arms and an eager ear.
Breathing with and listening to all the stories, beliefs, and the judgements.
Knowing they can be heard in this safe, familiar space.
There’s no need to censor or deny any part of yourself.
You can trust that from this honest, accepting place is where transformation begins.
Transformation of past hurts into future healing.
Of ideas into reality.
Coming home to yourself over and over again.
Accessing your intuition from deep within.
ENJOY THIS TIME
I’ll leave you here now to see what comes up.
When you hear the chimes, you’ll be reminded where home is.
Inviting you back time and time again.
For when you’re ready to return.
