Five minute magic pt. 52 - Breathing exercise 'Making Space'

Welcome to five-minute magic from Mindful Creative Podcast. A short bonus episode, sharing tips and insights from the book's pages of the same title. 
 
Every week I'll share one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process or work/business, or just the food for thought for the weekend ahead. 

These bonus episodes share content from the audio book, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes.

Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to five minute magic from the mindful creative podcast. A short bonus episode, share and tips and insights from the pages of the book of the same title. Every week I'll be sharing one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process, your work, your business. Or just food for thought for the weekend ahead. These episodes share content from the audio book, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes below. Today we have a breathing exercise number three as featured in the book Mindful Creative. It neatly follows on the work done in with the previous two exercises setting the foundation for this meditation titled Making Space.

It is a simple meditation to make some space in your mind, a space from which creative reflections and new perspective may emerge and it only takes about 10 minutes. . 

Make space, number three. This is a simple meditation to make some [00:01:00] space in your mind. A space from which new creative inspiration and perspectives may emerge. It takes around 10 minutes.

Sit with your back upright and relaxed, your hands loose in your lap.

Take a moment to look at the space around you.

Noticing the room, and then gently close your eyes.

Take one long, deep breath in,

and then exhale slowly and fully, dropping the shoulders as you do so.

Arrive fully in the [00:02:00] moment.

Let the breath flow naturally.

and observe it for a little while.

Become an observer, watching what thoughts are in your mind at this time.

Sometimes when we do this, it goes empty. We don't find any thoughts.[00:03:00] 

If that's what happens, then dwell there. In the vast spaciousness.

Other times you might find an endless stream of thoughts running through your mind, one after another, or all at once, or one persistent thought refusing to go away.

Whatever happens, become a silent witness, watching thoughts float past like clouds in the sky of your mind. Let them come and go. Don't hold on to them or get carried away by them.

If that does happen, simply return to observing.[00:04:00] 

Whatever thoughts you find yourself watching, imagine them to be like clouds. Let them dissipate. As if they were turning into rain and falling to the earth, leaving a clear blue sky.

Rest in the spaciousness of the mind.

Any urgent thoughts can wait until after the practice.[00:05:00] 

Bring your attention to your body, starting with the head. Imagine that all heaviness and busyness is draining from your head, down through your body and out into the earth at your feet.

Bring your awareness to your neck and shoulders and imagine your muscles and joints loosening, almost as if they're coming apart from your body.

Feel the space and lightness in this area.[00:06:00] 

Notice the upper body, and lower body, and the arms, and once again, if there is any tension or tightness. Imagine it all draining down through your body, through your feet, onto the floor, and becoming absorbed by the earth.

Allow this same letting go in your hips and legs,

feeling all tension fall downwards into the earth.[00:07:00] 

Finally, feel the contact of your feet with the floor,

as the last residue of any tension or worry flows through them and out of your body.

Now imagine a warm white light just above the top of your head.

Imagine this light is flowing down through your head and down through your body and limbs.

Every inch of your body is radiating with this light.[00:08:00] 

Stay here in this spaciousness.

This lightness, this clarity from which creativity may flow.

As the light is slowly absorbed into your body, it starts to fade, leaving the sense of spaciousness.

Keeping this sense of spaciousness with you,

slowly start to come back to the space [00:09:00] around you.

Hearing the sound of your breathing

and feeling the contact of the seat with your body.

Feeling the temperature and texture of the air around you and noting any sounds you can hear.

When you're ready, take a deep breath in and out and gently open your eyes.