Welcome Zen , friend . I hope , wherever you are , you are doing well . I'm glad you've joined me for this episode of A Drop of Zen , a short guided meditation designed to help you feel more calm and grounded . Let's begin by finding a place to sit or lie down in where you can be comfortable , where maybe you can be all by yourself and not be interrupted , and where you don't have to do anything at all but follow along with this meditation and once you are comfortable , you can invite a soft gaze downward or close your eyes . We'll begin by bringing your attention to your breath . Just simply notice it . Is the inhale quick or slow ? What is the exhale like ? See , if you can have only curiosity and absolutely no judgment , it's a miracle that our bodies breathe on their own without us even having to think about it . So , just simply noticing the breath and allowing it to be just as it is , can you now bring a little more attention to the exhale than the inhale ? Just noticing that exhale . And now let's begin to invite in silence , to invite your thoughts to quiet , knowing there is no perfect way to do this and you don't need to try to do this perfectly . When a thought comes to mind , simply notice it and then let it go . For instance , if you start thinking about what you should make for dinner , instead of then thinking about what is in your cabinet or refrigerator , just notice that thought what should I make for dinner ? Notice it and then imagine poof . You can just make it disappear and then continue doing that . Notice the next thought and let it go . If it helps you to have an image , maybe you'd like to imagine a beautiful stream where the water is glistening , and every time you have a thought , remove it from your head as an image of a leaf , let it fall into the water and let it drift away , and just continue to do that , knowing that you're doing a great job . We'll stay here for another minute when those thoughts come to you , either poof , imagine them disappearing , return to the silence , or remove that thought as a leaf and watch it drift down the stream .
Speaker 1It's normal to have thoughts pop into our minds as we try to silence our mind . Enjoy those moments , those glimpses of silence as you have them . Begin to bring your attention back to the present moment , to your body , by just noticing the chair or ground beneath you , and make any small movement that feels good . As we come out of this meditation . We'll take a nice , nurturing deep breath in , together with a long , slow exhale . Let it go and just allow your breath to ebb and flow at its own pace .
Speaker 1This is great practice to meditate on your own , in silence . This is exactly what you'll do when you sit in silence . Invite silence in , notice your thoughts , let the thoughts go and just continue to repeat . People often say they aren't good meditators , but this is the process . This happens for most of us . We have thoughts , we let it go , we let the thoughts go , we enjoy that brief glimpse of silence and we repeat Just showing up and trying the meditation is really all you need to do and that's what counts . That's what you get the gold star for . I'm so glad you joined me here today and until next time , friend , I hope you'll continue to take some time today and every day to do something kind for yourself .