Maciej

Gdańsk, Poland

Jan Shultz

Carlsbad, CA, United States

Katie Cassou

Wilmette, IL, USA

Coach Lisa

Tempe, AZ, USA

Secular

Recovery & Healing

Healing

Nature

English

Inspired by Pema Chodron's quote "You are the sky. Everything else- it's just the weather," this practice can help you get space from your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. We'll tap into our inner nature of lightness and spaciousness, and watch everything else float by like clouds.

Open Sky Meditation

 Hello, my friend. Today I want to share a short practice inspired by a quote by the Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron. She said, you are the sky, everything else. It's just the weather. So I invite you to get comfortable. You can do this practice sitting or lying down or even standing up. You can do it inside or outside, whatever feels right for you. We'll begin by taking a few nice deep breaths, allowing ourselves to settle into our bodies and into this present moment, allowing yourself to really land here. Then I invite you to bring a sense of lightness and spaciousness, tapping into the energy of an open sky. This is our inherent nature, freedom, joy, lightness, expansive energy. You can visualize a clear blue sky or perhaps sunset or sunrise. Whatever brings you the most peace and comfort. I invite you to imagine not only being outside, experiencing that sky, but also being a part of it. See if you can sense and feel the boundaries of your body starting to soften or dissolve, becoming the sky. Seeing the movement of the air, a light breeze, perhaps sensing the temperature, the warmth of the sun. Perhaps you can hear the sound of birds nearby. Just taking a moment here to really become the sky. Letting go of the sense of your body, dissolving into lightness, spaciousness, freedom. And as you float in this space, you may notice thoughts arise, emotions, body sensations, and they are all okay. Remember that they are just clouds passing by. Your thoughts, feelings, or sensations are not a part of you, but are temporary visitors. Just like the clouds are always moving through the sky above us. See if you can allow these thoughts, feelings, and sensations to simply float by, not getting worried or attached to them, but simply having that non-judgmental awareness, that acknowledgement of that cloud. Watching it rise and fall through your consciousness, letting it float by, and staying connected to that sense of being the open sky. Remembering that these clouds are not personal and they cannot hurt you. If you find yourself getting wrapped up in one of these clouds, chasing one of these clouds of thought or feeling or sensation, it's okay. Just breathe deeply into your belly, in through your nose, and out through your mouth, coming back to that sensation of the open sky. Breathing in that sense of freedom and lightness. Breathing in that sense of freedom and lightness. No matter what is arising for you right now, no matter what your clouds look like, no matter what your clouds look like, remembering that these are all just temporary, that you can choose to step back and let those clouds float by, staying connected to your essence, that lightness of the sky. We'll stay here for another minute or so, just watching those clouds. Breathing in and out through your nose. Seeing a couple of nice deep breaths here, starting to come back into the boundaries of your body, feeling the weight and the solidness of your body. You're welcome to stretch or move, blinking the eyes open, maybe placing a hand over your heart if that feels good, always reminding yourself of your true nature of the open sky. It is always here, no matter the weather. Thank you so much for joining me for this practice.