ZSIII Metal Meditation
Begin lying down on the floor, on your back, with a comfortable distance between your legs, and your arms down to the sides of the body, with the palms facing up.
Gently close your eyes. (Pause). There is nowhere to go, there is nothing to do. (Pause). Gently allow yourself to be fully present in your breath, your body, your mind and your spirit in this moment.
Feel the pull of gravity inviting the body to soften and surrender more fully into the embrace of Mother Earth. (Pause) Now bring your awareness to your breath.
Simply watch your breath. (Long Pause – 1 minute) The rhythm of the breath is the most dependable occurrence in our lives. Even though our experiences change, the rhythm of the breath is our constant connection with our presence in the here and now.
Without breath, there is no life. Our breath is precious, as we are precious. Our lungs take in the purest, most valuable component of the world outside, the Ki of the Universe.
Our breath is one of our mediums of exchange with the environment around us. We are literally “inspired” with the breath. There is a saying in the ancient texts, “The intelligence (Qi), rides on the breath.” We take it in and give it back.
The Metal Phase forms the boundaries of our life on Earth, with our first and last breaths.
Now bring your awareness to the surface area of the body, your skin. Feel the skin covering the entirety of your body. Now begin to breathe into your skin. (Pause)
As you continue to breathe deeply, feel how the skin expands with the in breath and contracts with the out breath. (Pause) Your skin is breathing. (Pause) Your body hair keeps a touch of breath close to your skin, and your breath is abundant and everywhere present. (Pause)
Now imagine with each breath, that the surface area of the body continues expanding as if you were literally being blown up like a balloon, growing in size. You become lighter as you are filled with more breath, more internal space. (Pause) Now imagine that you are lying under a giant tree. (Pause) With each in-breath, the leaves gently move. As you breathe in, you are the breath moving in from the leaves into your body. As you breathe out, you are the breath moving out of your body to rustle the leaves again.
You are one with the space around you. And yet, you retain your unique, essential self. Your essence is eternal, shining, pure, and untarnished, like Gold.
Indeed, just as Gold can change its state (liquid, molded, solid) and retain its essential nature, you, too, can change your state and retain your essential nature – the core of you, which is pure, eternal, and of great value. Allow yourself to feel your worth, your value, your preciousness. (Long Pause).
Now bring your awareness back to the surface area of the body, your skin. Feel the temperature of your skin, feel the touch of your clothes, and feel this boundary which separates you from the external world.
Your skin creates a structure for all of the other tissues of your body – a precise boundary between the internal environment of your body and the external world. Your mucous membrane creates boundaries to clearly delineate organs, blood vessels, orifices, and body cavities. It lubricates the sinuses and intestines for easy elimination of collected debris. It allows for easy exchange of energy between our internal environment and the environment around us. These boundaries allow us to receive the energy from heaven, the breath of life, the gift of life and to give our treasures back to heaven to enrich it.
You are unique, one of a kind, precious, and valuable. Feel the beautiful, powerful, unchanging, shining and untarnished core of your being – your essential self. This preciousness is the gift of the Metal element.