Good morning.
It's Sunday, October fourth.
The house is probably quiet.
Maybe the heat just clicked on.
Maybe someone's still asleep...
down the hall.
Let's match that.
Let the room be quiet.
And your mind a little quieter too.
Find a comfortable seat.
Back tall, but not stiff.
Hands resting in your lap.
This is six minutes for you.
No hurry in any of them.
We'll let the out-breath run longer.
Longer than the in-breath.
That's the whole trick.
Breathe in through your nose...
for four.
And out for six...
slower than you think you need.
In for four...
filling up gently.
Out for six...
like air leaving a balloon.
Once more.
In for four...
And out for six...
all the way to the end.
Now let the counting go.
Keep the exhale soft.
A little long,
if that's easy.
Picture a lake just after sunrise.
No boats.
No The wind.
water is so still...
it looks like glass.
A little mist sits on the surface.
Pine trees on the far The shore.
sky is pale pink and All gray.
of it, reflected in the water.
You're sitting at the edge.
On an old wooden dock.
The boards are cool under you.
The water taps softly on the posts.
Now notice a thought.
Any thought.
Maybe something you said on It Wednesday.
still bugs you a little.
Picture that thought as a leaf.
Watch it drift down.
It touches the water.
Small rings spread out...
from where it landed.
Watch them get wider...
and fainter...
until the surface is smooth again.
You didn't have to do a thing.
The water settled on its own.
Here comes another one.
Let it land.
Watch the rings spread...
and settle.
Sometimes the rings take a while.
That's fine.
The lake has all morning.
If you wander off after a thought...
just come back to the dock.
The boards are still cool.
The water is still there.
Leaves land on it all day long.
Underneath, the water stays calm.
A lot of people think peace means...
a blank mind.
Then the thoughts keep coming.
And they feel like they're failing.
The thoughts will keep coming.
Peace is being the water.
Not the leaves.
Thoughts come and go on top.
Underneath, something in you is steady.
It's been there the whole time.
Let these words sink in.
Like stones into still water.
I am calm underneath.
I can let my thoughts drift by.
There is quiet in me.
I can come back to it.
Just be the lake for a while.
Deep and still.
Let whatever floats by...
float by.
Listen to the water against the dock.
Small, slow sounds.
Across the lake, a bird calls once.
Then it's quiet again.
Now let the lake fade a little.
Notice the room you're in.
The chair or the bed beneath you.
Roll your neck gently.
Side to side.
One more long breath in...
And a slow, easy breath out.
Here's something for later.
Sometime this afternoon...
take one quiet pause.
Sit by a window.
Give yourself three long exhales.
That's all it takes.
You don't need a real lake.
Or a whole free hour.
The quiet will be right there.
Open your eyes when you're ready.
Have a peaceful Sunday.