Greetings to all, especially to the peacemakers, healers, and helpers, and all those with open hearts and minds. This guided meditation includes 3 steps of practices, beginning with a meditation on the breath, then oneness with the universe and inner-verse (source of life), otherwise taught by Jesus of Christianity as the Kingdom of God within, where God’s presence dwells (Luke 17:21), and concludes with an inner smile and blessing for all of life in creation.
Please know in advance, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Whatever you experience is right for you and may be unique from others’ experiences. Don’t try to make anything happen during meditation, just observe. If at any time you become aware that your mind is drifting, gently bring it back to the meditation.
This guided meditation is appropriate for all spiritual seekers (or nonspiritual seekers) to experience unitive consciousness. The source of inner peace, bliss, and joy is accessible within each one of us, and is the experience of “Supreme Reality” described by the world’s religions and wisdom traditions in many names and of which psychology has described as essential for well-being and flourishing in life.
Let’s begin together…
Find a comfortable position, close your eyes, and allow yourself to relax…
Begin by taking several long slow deep breaths breathing in fully and exhaling fully.
Breathe in slowly and deeply and exhale fully.
Breathe in slowly and deeply and exhale fully.
Breathe in slowly and deeply and exhale fully.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth. Gently allow your breath to find its own natural rhythm and feel yourself calmer, more peaceful, relaxed, and at ease.
If your mind wanders to thoughts, plans or problems, simply notice your mind wandering. Watch the thought as it enters your awareness as neutrally as possible. Then practice letting go of the thought as if it were a leaf floating down a stream.
In your mind, place each thought that arises on a leaf and watch as it floats out of sight down the stream. Then bring your attention back to your breath. Your breath is an anchor you can return to over and over again when you become distracted by thoughts during meditation.
You might become distracted by your body or sensations that draw your attention away from your breath. You may also notice emotions and feelings arising. Simply notice without judgment, and refocus your mind, guiding your attention back to your breath.
Now, observe your breathing. Notice how your breath flows in and out. Make no effort to change your breathing in any way, simply notice how your body breathes. Your body knows how much air it needs.
Notice the breath as it enters your nose, each time you breathe in, the way the breath feels on your nostrils. Feel the breath as it passes through your nasal passages, and down behind your throat.
When your attention wanders, as it will, just focus back again on your breathing. Notice any stray thoughts, but don’t dwell on them. Simply let the thoughts pass.
Feel each time you inhale, the breath passing down your windpipe. Feel the breath going down….. Feel the breath going down….
Notice where the air enters your lungs. Allow your breathing awareness to deepen the feeling of relaxation you are experiencing. Feel the air expand your lungs with each in breath. Feel your lungs expand… and relax…. expand…. and relax….. expand…. and relax…..
As thoughts come in, allow them to pass, and return your attention to your breathing.
Now notice the exhalation phase of breathing. Observe as the air leaves your lungs and begins to travel upward. Focus your attention on that moment of each breath.
Now turn your attention to the breath traveling up and out, through your mouth. Feel the breath in your throat, your mouth, and across your lips.
Notice each breath as a whole now. See how the breaths flow like waves. First in…. and then a pause…. and out…. and then a pause…. Notice the pauses, these rests between breaths.
Notice now how your body feels.
See how calm and gentle your breathing is, and how relaxed your body feels.
If you are completing today’s practice with this meditation it is time to gently reawaken your body and mind. Keeping your eyes closed, notice the sounds around you… Feel the floor beneath you… Feel your clothes against your body… Come back into the room, feel where you are seated, wiggle your fingers and toes, gently shrug your shoulders. Notice if you feel relaxed and content as your body reawakens and when you are ready, open your eyes.
Continue this practice until relaxation and peace are experienced fully within the self, when your mind and heart are calm and without disturbances, and then proceed:
Now bring your inner self to stillness beyond the breath.
All is quiet and all is at peace here from this inner-verse of spiritual beingness and life. Be still. If any thought or image flows in through your mind, allow it to gently release into the flowing stream of peace into oneness of the universe. Keep releasing your mind into the peacefulness that comes from within you.
All is one in the world.
In the heavens and the earth, all is one life and one creation, to the farthest reaches of the cosmos to the fireworks and big bangs of birthing galaxies and solar systems to the tiniest blade of grass, droplet of water, and grain of sand on the oceans shores.
All are from the same source of life, even the smallest of all living consciousnesses with breath and respiration, all are made of the same elements and dust from the stars. All of creation is powered by the mystery of what is not yet fully discovered. The door of truth opens ever so gently from the peacefulness within you.
Open your ears now and listen in the stillness.
Listen to what it is you hear around you.
Pause in the stillness and listen.
Observe what you are hearing outside of where your self ends, and the rest of the universe begins, and then focus your observation within… expanding your awareness to oneness with all of creation as you gently sense a centering within in a peaceful warmth, a blissness, that surrounds you, embraces you, and flows from the river of life from deep within you.
As you sense this oneness with its ever so gentle and comforting – beyond words and images – a sweet and unmistakable presence of all that is loving, and protective, and holding all that is Good in the universe, that is also within you.
If you are completing today’s practice with this meditation it is time to gently reawaken your body and mind. Keeping your eyes closed, notice the sounds around you… Feel the floor beneath you… Feel your clothes against your body… Come back into the room, feel where you are seated, wiggle your fingers and toes, gently shrug your shoulders. Notice if you feel relaxed and content as your body reawakens and when you are ready, open your eyes.
Continue this practice until experiencing this sense of oneness fully and wholly (you’ll know it when you do), and then proceed:
Allow an expansion of this inner sense of knowingness to settle in. You are one with nature and all creation. You are life. You are the light of the world. Right where you are, where ever your location in space and time: All is good here and all is right.
There is order and all is flowing with lightness in the gentlest slight breeze, flowing between the outer world of life in nature and your inner world of consciousness and spirit.
This is it.
This is the presence that many call the Kingdom of God, the treasure within the heart. It is life force energy experienced in the oneness with every thing that is, and all that isn’t. Everything and no thing all in one. In the stillness, the peace, and the silence. In the bliss and enjoyment of the moment as perfection.
You are as one with all existence in creation.
This is the presence of God from within, as eternal as consciousness of what is, as infinite as all measurements, including time, and as vast as all of the galaxies in the skies. Anything is possible.
Nothing in the world is more powerful than this peace that comes from within. This is salvation from all suffering on earth. It is the Garden of Eden, Paradise, Nirvana, The Promised Land, Valhalla, Shangri-la, New Jerusalem, Zion, Elysium, Avalon, Utopia, New Atlantis, Xanadu, the Celestial Abode, otherwise known as, Heaven on Earth, and it is within every one of us.
As you inhale on the next breath, allow yourself to smile on the inside. Let this inner smile grow and expand throughout your body, like the rising sun spreading its rays across the skies.
Expand your inner smile to beyond the edges of your body and into the space around you, radiating this peace and at-onement from within into life, blessing all of creation. Know this place inside of you is always available whenever you wish to return.
It is time to gently reawaken your body and mind. Keeping your eyes closed, notice the sounds around you… Feel the floor beneath you… Feel your clothes against your body… Come back into the room, feel where you are seated, wiggle your fingers and toes, gently shrug your shoulders. Notice if you feel relaxed and content as your body reawakens and when you are ready, open your eyes.
Draw your mind, and your heart, and your hands into bowed prayer position (namaste), and Amen.
Helpful Notes: Those who are new to meditation or who may be experiencing chaos, confusion, conflict, or stress with negative effects in life may experience persistent voices, “auto-recordings,” and narratives inside during meditation – these may be encouraging or discouraging and invoke other thinking or inner reactions. Meditation is an opportunity for inner observation and contemplation to discern whether these are of love or not loving origin. Consider what spirit/energy the words or images arise from, reflect on the source and release all that does not serve the greatest good.
Additionally, some individuals may feel the pains of wounds and suffering from in the heart during meditation, such as reliving past experiences and memories, and projecting emotions into futures and other alternate realities, such as hypotheticals and/or desires of what one wants to happen. Let these all go to the best of your ability. Live freely in the moment without attachments for greater inner peace (this is similar to Jesus saying his disciples had to leave behind everything to follow him and the Buddhist “emptying” of the self). If at any time you feel stuck or blocked in negative thoughts or emotions, please consider discussing with a trusted mental healthcare provider and/or spiritual counselor/director, such as an ordained minister for support.
Remember, be patient. Experiencing the inner-verse and presence of the source of life within takes discipline and regular practice. Always remain compassionate and forgiving along the journey into the self, the peace that surpasses all understanding is within each of us to enjoy at any time we choose to enter the Kingdom of God (by many names).
Namaste with love and blessed be your joy!
Always,
Shannon
©2022, Joy Alchemy® by Shannon