In this meditation, we will practise stillness by visualizing a mountain.
This can be helpful when you're faced with difficult or unpredictable life circumstances
or in times of unwanted physical or emotional experiences.
Please take a moment to find a comfortable position. If you are sitting, keep your back tall but relaxed.
Gently close your eyes or rest your gaze on a spot on the floor in front of you.
Notice the ground as it provides support beneath you.
Take a couple of deep breaths and settle into the natural rhythm of your breathing.
There is nowhere else to be and nothing else to do.
Just follow the natural rhythm of your breath.
Take a moment now to imagine, in vivid detail, the most beautiful and majestic mountain.
This can be any mountain that you can clearly visualize and something that is meaningful to you.
The more detailed the picture of the mountain, the better.
Is the mountain rock covered? Or perhaps there is snow or greenery or maybe even flowers.
Are there animals living on the mountain? How tall is it? Is it tall enough to reach
the clouds, and do the clouds cover the top of the mountain?
Envision the various details of the mountain and notice how it is a stable, unmoving presence,
grounded in the earth. The mountain is standing tall and strong. It has been there for thousands of years.
All around the mountain, the weather changes from beautiful sunny skies
to hurricane-force winds, to snow and ice, but the mountain always stands firm.
The activity just whirls around the mountain but does not affect it day to day.
After a few moments of developing and holding this clear image in your mind,
imagine becoming the mountain. Imagine yourself sitting in stillness and in calm,
simply observing and resting unwavering as the various weather patterns, storms,
and seasons whirl around you. You are still standing tall and strong.
Now, focus on your breath going in and out. If you would like, allow yourself to relax
and take several deep breaths…
As the thoughts come in and out of your mind, continue to picture yourself as the mountain.
Sit up tall and strong like the mountain, firmly grounded to the earth.
Notice how the thoughts, emotions and physical sensations whirl around you.
The thoughts of people and situations that are pressuring you
are just thoughts, and you are a mountain, sitting strong.
Allow the thoughts to whirl around you while you stand firm.
You are who you are, who you have always been, regardless of the “weather” happening around you.
Just as the mountain endures constant changes and extremes, we also experience
various thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and life challenges.
Imagine viewing these experiences as external, fleeting and impersonal events, just like weather patterns.
Feel yourself unwavering and rooted in stillness amidst the constant
change of your internal and external experience.
Now allow yourself to sit with that feeling of strength, of power and majesty.
Take that strength with you as you go about the rest of your day.
Thank yourself for the time you took for this practice.
Take note of how you feel now before re-entering your day,
and know you can always return to this practice at any time.