Festive Season Meditation

A FESTIVE SEASON MEDITATIVE EXERCISE

Meditative Exercises are brief and simple practices that provide us with an opportunity to simple PAUSE .. BREATHE .. and LET GO.   In this way we apply the apply the skill of meditation into the busy-ness of every day life.

The festive season (and the lead up .. such as this week!) can be a stressful and anxious time. There is lots to be done, the shops and streets are too busy, we find ourselves constantly spending money and worrying subconsciously about how much, there is cooking, cleaning and organising to handle. This is when our regular meditation practice can be put into the 'not enough time' basket .. which only makes us feel more frantic and out of touch.

Meditative Exercises can fill the gap until you settle yourself and find some time for your usual meditation practice.

What we need however is a mindfulness bell .. the bell that tolls at retreat to remind us to pause and observe body and mind, to take a breath and reconnect. .. and Christmas carols can be a wonderful mindfulness bell!

Each time you are notice a christmas carol (or festive music) .. you bring your awareness right back into the present moment. When we are present we become aware of our mind and body, and are reminded to take a moment to do a meditative exercise to calm and ease.

Each time you notice a christmas carol playing ..

PAUSE what you are doing

NOTICE where is your body .. where is your mind?

RELEASE your shoulders, your jaw, your face and allow a moment to scan through your body noticing any areas that you can relax and soften

BREATHE slow, gentle and long. Take your inhalation through the nose and feel the cool air .. take your exhalation through your mouth, allowing the breath to simply fall out of the body

OBSERVE how simple and relaxing it is to just breath and pause a moment. And in this moment everything is manageable and ok.

GIVE thanks for this breath, this moment, this day.

SMILE to yourself and to others to share the spirit of the season.

By practicing this technique regularly over the coming week, little by little, a subtle relaxed alertness will begin to weave into your day. When you know that you can access this relaxation at any time you will begin to feel more in control and in touch with your life. Even on the busiest of days (or perhaps, especially on the busiest of days) you can always find a moment to pause and breathe.

"In the clarity of a quiet mind,

there is room for all that is actually happening

 and whatever else might also be possible."

(Ram Dass)