This is part of our Pacha Mama guided mediation series. The meditations honor Mother Earth through Sun, Moon, Earth and Water. You can view the series here: Pacha Mama Collection.

“The moon is a loyal companion. It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do.” ~Tahereh Mafi

The moon is an amazing teacher. It circles the earth each month, waxing and waning in brightness, offering a us a living example of both change and constancy. A regular practice of meditation does the same thing. It offers us a daily ritual we can return to no matter where we are in the world, and yet it also helps us to see the way in which our hearts and minds are always changing, a continual flow of experience that is dynamic in nature.

Tracking the moon in the night sky can be a way of measuring time, witnessing the ways in which one cycle flows into the next. In the same way observing thought, sensation and emotion in our meditation practice can help us to let go of control and begin to trust in the unique rhythm of our lives.

So in our practice today we will be like the moon, embracing change and relaxing into the pulse of nature that expresses itself through our human forms.

• You may do this practice seated or reclining. Take any position that allows you to relax your body and receive the sound of my voice with ease.
• Feel all the places where you body is in contact with the support of the earth, and allow those places to relax fully, so you are not using excess effort to hold your position.
• Soften your eyes, your jaw, your shoulders and your belly. Allow your breath to move naturally through you, with no effort on your part.

Now begin to witness the flow of your breath, which is to observe it without trying to change it. Notice the way it rises and falls, comes and goes….Relax into that pulse.

Now drop down into the space of your body. Feel its weight and its warmth, and become aware of any qualities of sensation moving through it. Remain spacious as you feel into this. Try not to label or judge. Simply allow yourself to feel the way sensation shifts and changes, expands and contracts, comes and goes….see if you can relax into sensation without trying to fix it or hold onto it.

Staying with your breath now expand your awareness so that you may notice the movement of your thoughts. Let them pass across your mind in the same way that the full moon moves across the night sky, without leaving a ripple behind. Allow your mind to be as vast as the sky. Let your thoughts dance across it without resistance or attachment.

And finally come to rest in the space of your heart. Be as soft as you can so that you may experience the tidal pulse of emotion that may be moving there. Some days our emotions are strong, like a spring tide when the moon pulls the waters high. On other days our emotional experience is gentle and quiet, like still water. Allow yourself to rest in the truth of your emotional experiences as it is. Let everything move through you. No resistance, no attachment. Rising and falling, coming and going.

Like the moon.

Remain relaxed in your body ad fluid in your breath as I hold space for you
to work with this practice for one full minute of silence.

1 MINUTE SILENCE

• Now take a deep breath in and a slow breath out. Come back to the present moment slowly, and without rushing.
• As you prepare to move into the rest of your day take this awareness with you. Move through your day with quiet ease, a gentle witness to the coming and going of experience. If you find yourself getting caught up with stress or strain at any point, just close your eyes and picture the moon moving through the night sky and remember your connection to it.