ROHAN GUNATILLAKE: During this busy and exciting time of year, we’d like to offer a meditation designed to provide extra support for any upcoming travel plans you might have. If you’re looking for one of our classic Meditative Story episodes, we encourage you to check out the rest of our library.
As the holiday season approaches, many of us will be traveling. Crossing great expanses to be with friends and loved ones during this magical time of the year. For me and my family, that means a long road trip down to my sisters. For you it might be a flight.
Flying and travel in general can be a source of stress and anxiety for many of us. With so many logistics to sort through. So many crowds and long lines. So much that feels out of our control.
It’s not how any of us would like to spend this special time.
So as you settle into your seat. Your bags safely stowed in the trunk or overhead compartment. Let’s immerse ourselves in this meditation designed specifically for your travels ahead, and do what we can to let those worries drift away. Let them take off on a journey of their own in another direction.
Scheduled travel like this is quite unusual.
Because while people might walk, cycle or drive just for the sheer joy of it.
The entire purpose of boarding a flight or booking an extended trip on the train or bus, is making it to your destination.
And from a mindfulness perspective, that makes this kind of travel particularly interesting.
Since while meditation does have destinations – in that it grows qualities in us such as awareness, insight, and kindness.
How we get there is by becoming more intimate with what is happening right now.
Letting go of the past and future. And whatever anxieties might exist in either place.
So in this meditation we are going to play a simple game.
Using the details of this journey to help us.
And before we start, we’ll take a moment to remember two names.
The first is the name of the city you departed from.
The second is the name of your destination.
For example, the two cities could be Chicago and Nashville, or Sydney and Singapore.
Or they could be Glasgow and Plymouth.
Whatever they are, remembering the names of those two places.
Being clear which one you’ve left, and which one you’re going to arrive in.
Got it? Good.
Now, let’s take some time to settle in. Letting the muscles be relaxed.
From the smile on your face.
To the soles of your feet.
Aware of the vibrations and subtle movements of the space around you.
Letting the breath be however it is.
Short.
Long.
Soft.
Labored.
Just knowing it as it is.
However it is.
If your eyes are closed, opening them now and noticing the sense of space around you.
The people.
The lights.
The movement.
And all the while letting the body stay relaxed.
Now closing the eyes.
Noticing the background noise of the space around.
The sound of the engine.
The sound of the plane, or train, or car.
The sound of your fellow passengers.
The beeps and the rumbles.
Just noticing. Acknowledging. And letting it all be.
Noticing any areas of tension in the body.
And softening these areas with your awareness if you can.
And if that’s not possible right now, being ok with that.
Noticing the sensations of the headphones in and around your ears.
The feeling of temperature on your face.
The sensations of how you’re sitting and how you’re resting your shoulders and arms.
So the meditation game we’re going to play, goes like this.
We’re going to rest our attention in the present, in the reality of being in this space.
Whether that is in the sensations of the body.
Or in the sounds around you.
Or in the feelings of the breath as you sit here.
Whatever works for you.
As long as the object of your awareness is something right here.
Something right now.
Something in the present.
And of course, our mind will become distracted and move away from where we want it to rest.
We’ve lived in a world full of distraction for many years, so it’s entirely natural for our mind to jump about.
And the game is that when you notice your mind has gone to a thought of the past.
Say the name of the city you departed, quietly to yourself.
And if you notice that your mind has gone to a thought related to the future.
Do the same, saying the name of your destination city, internally to yourself.
Resting the mind.
And when you notice being dragged to the past, naming the city of the past.
And when you notice being pulled into the future, naming the city of the future.
And always coming back to present.
The sensations, the sounds, the breath.
To the simple now-ness of what it is like to sit here, safe and secure.
Recognising that each time you notice your mind has wandered, in that very moment your awareness is actually back in the present.
And celebrating that by naming the city.
Finding whatever the most natural way you can to rest in the present.
Again, maybe using the body.
Or the breath.
Or sounds.
And when you notice the past, naming the city of the past.
And when you notice the future, naming the city of the future.
Feel free to practice in this way for as long as you want. For as long as your travel is. For as long as it is helpful.
Even a short session like this really helps grow your ability to be present. Safe and sound, in the now.
Thank you. Safe travels and happy holidays.
