MEDITATION - Breath and Energy

© Jenn Shallvey

Blog post is also shared as podcast episode 27. Link below.

As this post is effectively words of a meditation you may enjoy listening and being guided through rather than reading. If so then jump below to the link to the podcast.

I am sharing with you a meditation of sorts. It's definitely different. And I decided to sit down today and do what I do, which is write and dictate. And then I was going to get this to be transcribed, and then I could actually make a blog post and it turned out to be more of a meditation than a writing of words. So, first of all, I recommend you don't listen to this while driving or operating machinery because it is a meditation in the end, it is a timeout and it is around 18 minutes of time where you need to just sit and be with yourself. And once you start listening to it, you'll get the idea. Also a heads up because I was planning to dictate this and then transcribe, it gets off a little bit slower than I would like. However, what I notice is that the pace works for the purpose of the meditation. And it's very intuitive. I just let a stream of consciousness flow through me and in and out onto the computer. And so whatever you're going to get is unedited exactly as it is, and therefore for you. And if you actually start listening to this and it doesn't feel right for you, then you're not ready to listen to it. But if, as you start to listen, it feels right then definitely this is for you. And that's the best way I can introduce this piece of meditation. I hope you enjoy it. I was thrilled to do it myself and we'll keep going back to the practise myself, because it felt so good. Enjoy.

A message for you. The you, that is listening is the part that knows. The you, that is listening are those who understand. Take this message as a way forward. Breathe. Breathe. It is our most simple ever instruction to you. Breathe. Breath is life. Breath is connection. Breath is being. It is you. You would not be without breathing. It is simple. So we tell you again, to breathe consciously, deeply, with feeling, with knowing, without judgement, until you feel a peaceful, calm wash over you and settle you back into your self to ground you physically in the world that you are in to bring you presence and awareness of the environment around you. Take the time for it is not much to breathe. Just breathe. There is no method, no manual, no ten point chart, no seven steps, nothing other than a simple message. Breathe.

Now, another message or another instruction to add to that one. Smile. Breathe and smile. Notice what happens in your body. Notice the change, the response, the physical experience of your whole body. Play with it. Breathe without smiling. Then breathe with smiling. And feel the difference.

Now breathe with intention and focus. And today, instead of breathing into your heart, which is really important, we want you to breathe into your brow, your forehead, a special place in you that allows you to see more than you can see physically.

You may know this place. You may not. That is why we are not naming it because we don't want you to be caught up in terminology or whether you know something or don't know something. All we want is for you to keep this practise really simple, easy restorative, supportive for you. So breathe and keep smiling. And now, as you do imagine that that breath is also going through your brow. See it like a circle, like a cycle, like a diagram with arrows, if someone were to draw this out for you. And see the breath coming in, going out, coming in.

And it's interesting to notice, that it isn't one way is it? This is part of the noticing. Did you notice that when you started just paying attention to your breath, probably not. Did you notice that it's in and out, in and out. There is rhythm rhythm to your breath? Therefore there is rhythm to your being, your existence. You are in cycle at all times in a rhythm of your own being. Now some may say, well, isn't that your heart rate or some might say, isn't that the beat of your heart? That's a rhythm. Of course it is. Your brain has a rhythm too. Most parts of your physical body have its own rhythm.

They talk about the science of the heart and the brain working together. We're not here to talk about that today, but it is there. We're talking about the rhythm of your energy, of your energetic being of your presence in this body. It is more than your breath. It is more than the physicality of that container. There is an energy of you.

So as you breathe into this part of you, this brow area of your body, start to imagine what that energy is like in you. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you know? What do you sense? What do you hear? What do you taste? When you go through all those, something will pop up and stare you in the face. You will see your energy.

Notice. Just simply notice. There is no need to analyse. There is no need to review. You simply sit with the awareness of what comes up for you. You may already know that in your way of being, you tend to have a preference for how you see things. So if you are in awareness of that, notice the way that you got the answer to that. That is perhaps for you your way. And the more you exercise, this awareness muscle in you, the more you will sense, the more you will know, the more you can be aware of your energy and what it is telling you.

So breathe. Smile. See the breath flowing in and out of your brow. And now notice in your preferred way, how is your energy? What comes up for you when you ask yourself that question? You can see it, know it, feel it, hear it, taste it, sense it. It's there. Allow it to just be there with you, the awareness, for if you try to hold it, contain it, you will chase it away. Not the energy, the awareness. It is like a timid animal, hiding, waiting for safety and trust to be built around the space. And as you hold that, you will notice it doesn't go away. Your awareness.

It's pretty magnificent. Isn't it? To be able to sit with yourself and know this in such a simple way. You know, so much more than you may ever realise, and it starts here. This is the start. Being with you. Nothing else.

Now notice something else. In this time that we have been speaking. Did you think of anything else? Did any thought come into your brain? Did you worry about life around you? Did you go through your to-do list and wonder, 'Oh, I better go do that now'? Or were you simply present in awareness of you?

Pretty amazing. Isn't it? It's such a simple exercise. It is a gift to you so that you can be a gift to others. Why? It's fairly simply obvious because when you take care of you at the most basic essential level of being you, then you are far more useful and capable to help others. The anchoring of you in your own energy, in your presence, in the world, in which you live, allows you to then reach out and offer you happily, healthily and wholly to others.

Yes. It's pretty amazing. You are pretty amazing. You are amazing. There is so much more to you than even. You can see in this moment. Just know that. It's amazing. You are a beautiful, amazing being. And take the time. Every moment you remember to sit like this and be you be with you, be the whole you, and to know you.

Now take this energy awareness and hold it in you. There is no need to talk about it. There is no need to make a big deal about any of this is what it is. And the practise of remembering is all up to you. Simply up to you. So take a moment now, to see that energy, feel that energy and see it flowing down in you all the way through your whole physical being and see that energy, however you actually imagine it going through into the earth beneath you. And allow yourself to feel the presence of the earth that you stand on. Allow yourself to feel the presence of the earth beneath you. Allow yourself to feel the presence of the earth. Know you are grounded, you are supported, you are held, you are safe at all times in that space right now. Feel the earth, feel the ground. Feel it, know it. That is an anchor to hold you so that you may be present with your energy in this world. It is your choice to be here. It is your privilege to be here is your blessing to be here. Let the earth hold you and be here to be your most magnificent and amazing self for yourself and for others. So we all may be more amazing together.