Mark 

Westchester, IL, USA

Jess

Telluride, CO, United States

Practice presence, soften your gaze, and embrace the feeling of being enough in this very moment.

English

You are already enough. This calming meditation offers a space of contentment through the present moment and the inspiration that lives within it. Exploring the dance between desire and presence, of intention and expectation. Practicing the ability to hold what is present without reaching for something more, first through our body and then integrating this idea into our lives.

This Is Enough: Finding Contentment In The Present

Hello, my name is Eden, and today this meditation will help you find strength in presence, exercising the muscle in our minds that allows us to stop reaching for the next thing and to find the joy that exists right here. So let's just start today with a few slow, deep breaths together, in through the nose and out of the mouth, two more just like that, in through the nose, sigh it out, shoulders move away from the ears, in through the nose and out through the mouth, finding just a little bit more relaxation in the body somewhere, wherever that might be for you today, however your body is entering the day, find just one more little ounce of relaxation. Go ahead and close your eyes from top to bottom, or you can just let them soften if that feels better for you today. And just as the eyes look beyond you, whether they're opened or closed, start to soften the muscles of the eye, starting to ask the eye to stop searching for something specific to hold on to, maybe you notice that the eyes continually want to move back and forth, finding something to hold on to. And what's it like to give them permission over and over again to relax, to stop searching for once, taking a few more of those pointed, slow breaths. And what's it like to tell your mind that whatever your relaxed eyes perceive is enough, taking a few more pointed, slow breaths into that enough, relaxing the eyes over and over. Whether that's an inward or an outward scene, this is enough. Letting the gaze soften, perceiving all corners of your vision, instead of just one thing to define, to decode, to hold on to, this is enough, without the need to search or to find. But together here, we're just skipping those first steps and going straight to the act of holding what's here, right now. This is enough, this act of perceiving is enough, without searching or finding. And as we move through our lives, working hard, dreaming, setting goals, moving forward, we're reaching, searching to find that next piece that we desire, that we deserve, that we say we need or that we know we want. Our mind is always reaching to search and find and accomplish. And how honorable the searching can be at times, as we are humans who are built to develop and to grow and change and shed and shift and be inspired over and over again. And, and, if we only allow ourselves to reach towards something else in every moment, hoping to find something that is not currently here, when we arrive at that goal, that dream, that desire, that achievement, that accomplishment, we literally will not have the pathway in our brain, in our mind, that allows us to say to ourselves, oh, I'm here, I've made it to that thing, this is enough, this is it. Chances are, we won't be able to see this moment for what it is and for what we thought it would mean to us. It often passes by unrecognized, as we continue reaching that familiar action that we've always done, that we've been taught, that does feed us in many ways. And go ahead and take a long, slow breath again, softening the muscles of the face, the jaw, the shoulders, the hips. As we first usher in a moment of reflection, taking stock of life thus far. And yes, take a moment, take a breath, and pinpoint some place that you've desired to be, some thing you've desired to hold, where you now are, that you now have. Maybe a relationship, a home, a garden, a passion. And honoring yourself right now for reaching that goal, that dream, that desire, achievement, accomplishment. Can you feel it too? Soften into that feeling, whatever it is. And letting the corners of your lips curl up slightly, maybe noticing how that lets that feeling flow through you just a little bit easier. And soak that in. You deserve it. You've made it. And then gently letting that go, returning to the eyes again, asking them to let go and relax. Not searching, not finding, just holding. Letting whatever is right here, whether it's out your window, the landscape of your living room, the ever-changing art behind your eyelids... Letting whatever it is that's right here be enough, just simply by being here and nowhere else. Really here. Using your breath as your anchor into this place, imagining the mind opening like a crocus in spring. As you relax into what's here, that there is still inspiration and dreams to be had when we aren't searching or finding, but just holding here. By just being here fully and feeling the gratitude that exists in this moment. Allowing ourselves to be hungry and satiated at the same time. The dance between desire and presence of sitting in intention without expectation. And softening once more to this moment right here. Thanking yourself for how far you've come. Thanking all of our lives for this moment. And thanking everything that is to come without needing to reach for it. This is enough. You are already enough. May we find peace in wanting and not having. May we find joy in the simplest of pleasures that is each breath. May we find inspiration from the inside out too. You are enough and this is enough. Knowing there is no rush here, but whenever you are ready to rejoin the day, you can gently let the eyes open and search and find again. Remembering your capacity to just hold what you find today. Letting today be enough too. See you next time.