Good evening everyone and happy New Year to you all and welcome to the first Sunday meditation of 2018. So nearly 2 weeks into the month of this, the months flying by already. I'm just interested to know who's set any New Year's resolutions and if you have, if so, it'd be really great if you'd like to share those and just interesting to see how you're getting on with any New Year's resolutions that you did set.
Just a little bit before we do begin just talking about resolutions, . It's often interesting people, and myself included in the past when I've set New Year's resolutions, it's started with quite a negative sentence of I'm going to stop or I, I won't do. A certain, you know, particular thing we often do start cutting things out or stopping things as our resolution.
So it's just looking at that and noticing maybe it's a bit, it becomes a bit more difficult to fulfil those resolutions because we're starting off on a negative . Negative sentence rather if we turned it around, perhaps looked at what we enjoyed doing in 2017 looked at the highlights and perhaps looked at things that we would like to spend more time doing and if it is something particular that you would like to start, perhaps it was smoking or something like that. Then maybe rather than I will stop smoking, you could look at, I will adopt a healthier lifestyle which would cover that area as well.
So it's not putting so much pressure on you to achieve particular things and it's starting off more of a positive note. So with that in mind, we're going to just as always, we'll have two meditations, one with myself and Mike and Mike will be doing a lovely meditation, one of my favourites, the lake meditation, which I think he's . He's been, he said that he's been going to start off this this year and also I will be doing what's called knee meditation and it's just going into the visualisation meditation of the future self.
So I'll pass over to Mike, he'll begin and I hope you enjoy this evening's meditation and if you have any questions, as always, and you can pop those pop those into the Q&A or the chat box. OK, thank you. Over to you Mike.
And thank you very much. And, yeah, welcome to, to, to those of you participating tonight. It's lovely to be here.
I'm looking forward to an excuse to get a bit more. Of a meditation in and sort of adding to what I've done today already, which is rather lovely. And yeah, I'm going to have a look at the lake meditation.
So before we start, what might be interesting is just to see whether you can just gently close your eyes and is there a lake that you that you know of that you've swam in that you've fished, that you've walked past, that you know of, that you've been on holiday to. Can you find like in mind's eye and picture it and. Just get a sense of you just sitting at it.
And the one that's come to me is the lake that, on one of my Dog walks that I'll stop and throw sticks into and Yeah, that, that lakes just coming to my mind. So that's the one I shall use today. So I'm just hoping that people are able to find their own lake.
And if so, let's start. So the idea of the lake meditation is that we can use the lake meditation. It's a John Cabot Zen meditation from the second batch of Mindfulness reduction courses that he ran all those many, many years ago, and it's remained a real sort of staple of mindfulness based stress reduction.
The idea of it really is, it can teach us and just remind us that we can if we want to. And get in touch not only with the change in content and the intent thoughts and feelings, but also with that vast reservoir of attentiveness and that vast reservoir of awareness that we have within ourselves. So that's the way that I tend to use the lake meditation just to remind.
The vastness of possibilities that one can find through just sitting and being quiet in oneself and one's breath perhaps and having the lake is a sort of point to allow us and to deepen our meditation. So if we can get yourselves comfortable in your chair. Feet flat on the floor, hands just resting in your lap.
And just allow your eyes to close gently. Now let's And a few moments just get in touch with the flow of our breath. In breath.
And the out breath. And as we focus on our breath as we Breathing. That's that's just trying to gain.
As a whole. And now, please, just picture in your mind's eye as best you can, the lake, a body of water. It's just held.
In that receptive basin by the earth itself. And if we Just note as we do so that water likes to pool in low places. It seeks its own.
It asks to be held. And contained. Let's go look at the lake that we found.
Find that curious scientist persona that. Builds our meditative practise. Is your lake deep or shallow?
Is it blue or green or clear? Is it muddy? And as you begin to establish this image of a lake.
In your mind's eye. Just allow yourself. To bring it inside you completely.
As we become one. With the leg. As you sit here.
Your energies held by your awareness. And your openness. Yes sir.
And in the same way as the lake's waters are held by this receptive and accepting basin. Of the earth itself, so we Just sit. Breathing.
With this image of our lake. Allowing the body of the lake and feeling its body as your body. Allowing your mind and your heart to be open and receptive.
As we find that stance, the curious scientist once more. Let's be curious about the surface of our lake. At the moment, perhaps it's flat.
Like a mirror. Reflecting trees. Maybe rocks, certainly the sky and the clouds.
And it's holding everything in itself. Momentarily. Stillness calm.
And like life Wind stirs up ripples, and waves on the lake. And we sit with it. Clear reflections may disappear.
Sunlight may sparkle in the ripples and dance on the waves. And we sit with the lake. And when night comes.
Maybe the moon dances on the surface of the lake. Along with the outlying of the trees. If our mind wanders, we smile.
We just bring it back to our lake. Our presences. Noticing that our lives, just like the lake, change with the seasons and change with events that pass.
And in winter the lake may freeze over. But it's teeming with movement and life just below the surface. A bit like our minds, maybe.
The lake is choppy. And the water disturbed. Let's just find that lake once more.
And as we sit, Just sitting with our lake, being in contact with and feeling the changing energies at play on the lake. Wind, waves, light, shadows reflection. Notice the effects of what happens with the lake on your thoughts and feelings, and maybe with Billy barking there, has it disturbed the surface and the clarity of the mine lake.
As that muddied the waters. And crucially, is that OK with you? Isn't having a cold or a wavy surface part of being a lake?
Might it be possible to identify not only with the surface of our lake, but with the entire body of the water? So allowing that choppiness that's been Excited by the noise of the dog barking, and maybe we can find that stillness below the surface. At most experiencing now just gentle undulations as we return to the quiet.
And in the same way in your mindfulness practise and in your daily life. Can you be in touch not only with the changing content. And the intensity of the thoughts and feelings.
But also with that vast unwavering reservoir of awareness that resides just below. The surface of your mind. And this is what the late meditation can teach us.
It can remind us of the lake within ourselves. That gets stirred up, that becomes choppy and ripply. And we may notice that and find it uncomfortable.
That we just need to reach in. Go beneath the surface. And find that calm which is always there.
And if you find this image to be of value, Or you might want to use it from time to time. Just to deepen And enrich your practise. And so in the time that remains.
Just continue now. To get a sense of your lake. The surface of your lake.
The depth, the vastness. The unwavering reservoir. Awareness And just sit for the last minute in quiet.
Until you hear me and the meditation. And begin to just stretch and open your eyes. Just let go of that lake.
No, you can find it whenever you need it. Just by visualising your leg. And allowing yourself to just But can That back.
Well done. Well done if you manage to refind oh here comes again. We find that sense of calm once more.
Well done. And I'll hand you back to Meg. OK, thank you, Mike.
So we'll just I'll just invite you to perhaps move your position, so if you're in a seated position, you can lie down for this one as well or vice versa, just to maybe do any movements, wiggle fingers and toes before we start the second meditation, which is the me meditation. OK, so once you've found a nice comfortable position, just making sure if you are sat that you've got nice upright spine, so imagine that thread running all the way up the spine, up the top of the head and your shoulders are rolled down the back, so. You've got the chest nice and open and space for the lungs to breathe.
Just when you're ready, you can Close the eyes again. You can keep the eyes open and lower the gaze, but with the visualisation it may be easier to. And close the eyes.
And just connecting back to the breath again, just feeling the cool air as it inhale. And just through the nose. As you exhale the wall exits.
And just settling into the rhythm of the breath. Just allowing movements of the day. Just to drift off and fade into the background.
And then we'll start on the meditation. Just invite you to visualise. Yourself in the future.
So just picturing You standing in the future. And then this image of you. You feel free.
Your body moves with ease. There is a lightness. There's no need to hold on because you feel relaxed and at ease.
The sense of joy. Your mind is clear and your heart is open. Wherever you are, you are surrounded by love and appreciation.
We value valued, seen, heard, and fully supported by all. And in this future self, you are doing what you love. You were destined To do this.
You're making a contribution contribution. And bringing your unique vision. You are happy, healthy, strong.
You feel energised. Bold and confident, and you can tell this in your posture. And more than this you notice a new depth to your compassion.
And now you just begin to explore the sensations that you're feeling in this future self. And as you explore the sensations, just pick 3 words. Silently to yourself and repeat them to anchor this vision of yourself.
And now you begin to look around. Just observe where are you in the world. And how far into the future is it?
Who are you with? What are you doing and perhaps even look at what you're wearing, the clothes that you're wearing. Where do you live?
So just asking yourself those questions. Just noticing with curiosity. What comes up as you ask those questions?
Make those discoveries. Again, just with curiosity. Now ask the future version of yourself if it has a message.
The present you. Again, just notice what comes up, the first thing that comes up, just listen and observe. What the message is.
And then just sending appreciation and love to the future so. Just allowing an image. You just disappear, to fade away.
You come back To the present you sat here lying down, listening to this meditation. Listening to the words. Me speaking.
And listening to the breath and coming back to the breath just as we did at the beginning of the meditation. Feeling the breath you breathe in. Can you breathe out.
When you're ready, you can just begin to move. You're wriggling the fingers and the toes and opening the eyes. And just To finish off, I'd like to finish off with a little quote.
Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not here yet. And if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.
So the reason I wanted to finish with the, with that quote was just because this meditation. It's not about attaching to the future self and forming sentences such as when I achieve X, then I will be happy or when I get married and have children, then I will be happy, or when I get my achieve my job promotion, then I'll be I will be happy. So anything that comes up, it's not attaching to.
Those ideas of the future self, it's just about coming back to remember what your intentions are, and your purpose and where you are heading in the direction you're heading and just coming back to your present self, and perhaps there are decisions that you need to make because now it's the new year, lots, lots of things come up and it's a good time for setting intentions and making decisions within your life. And this meditation is just to help to give you a little bit of direction and hopefully be able to make better decisions in line with the direction that you're going in. So that was the me meditation, thank you very much and well done as always.
It's lovely to do this Sunday meditation and I think it's very nice it starts off the week well. And I always enjoy having a little moment to listen to Mike's meditations as well. So if anybody has any questions, as always, please feel free to you can ask them now.
Otherwise you can email us at any time and if there are any specific meditations you would like to see this year yet, then just let us know and we'll schedule them in. So I think that's all from from me. Hope you have a lovely Sunday.
Get back with us. Oh thank you, Mike. I love that.
And you know I, I just to say, when I got to my future self, and I, I've not done that one before. And when I sort of said, you know, is there anything you want to say to yourself, it was, well, you won't get here without change. Yeah.
And I find that really useful, you know, that sense of, added to that sense of, you know, I talk about it quite a lot about we have hope, but hope without commitment, is, is not nearly as powerful as hope with a bit of commitment to change. So that was really useful for me where I am in my life today. So thank you, Meg.
Oh, good. Oh, you're more than welcome. Really, really good.
I. I really enjoy them as well. So thank you, thank you very much and we, oh, before I forget, we will have a change in next month's meditation.
It's going to be on the 18th, Sunday the 18th. That's right, isn't it, Mike? Yeah, yeah.
Perfect. Thank you. But I will email out to let everybody know and remind them.
OK, wonderful so have a lovely rest of your Sunday evening. Have a lovely evening, Mike, and we'll see you next month. Yeah, speak soon.
Thanks now, bye bye.