Guided Meditation: Light, Shadow & Stillness

Find a quiet space where you can be undisturbed for a few minutes. You don’t need anything special… just a place where you can sit or lie down comfortably. If you have a suncatcher nearby, let its light move across the room. If you have a stone or object that feels grounding, you can hold it in your hands. If not, just bring your attention to your breath.

Settling In

Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose… and let it out through your mouth.
Again. Inhale… exhale.

Notice where your body connects to the surface beneath you. Feel the weight of yourself settling, like a stone coming to rest at the bottom of a still lake. There’s nowhere to be but here. Nothing to do but breathe.

Noticing Light & Shadow

If there’s natural light in the space you’re in, notice it. The way it moves. The way it shifts, even in stillness. If your eyes are closed, picture the light behind your eyelids… the soft glow, the way it changes as you breathe.

Now, notice the shadows. The spaces where light doesn’t reach. Not as something to avoid, but as something necessary. Light doesn’t exist without shadow, and shadow isn’t empty… it’s what gives depth, contrast, and shape.

Breathe in the balance between the two.

Turn your focus to your breath. Noticing it. Not changing it. Just being aware.

Feel the air as it moves in through your nose… cool, steady, expanding.
Feel it leave through your mouth… warm, slow, releasing.

Let’s deepen it a little.
Inhale for a count of four… hold for two… exhale for six.
Again. Inhale… one, two, three, four… hold—one, two… exhale… six, five, four, three, two, one.

This pattern signals to your nervous system that you’re safe. That you can slow down. That you don’t have to hold onto tension you don’t need.

The Space Around You

Picture yourself in an open space… something simple. It could be a quiet stretch of sand, a worn wooden floor, a field just before sunset. Somewhere that feels open but not overwhelming.

The ground beneath you is solid. You don’t have to hold yourself up. You don’t have to brace for anything.

Above you, there’s sky. Maybe it’s bright and clear, maybe it’s heavy with clouds, maybe it’s shifting between day and night. There’s no right way for it to look. It just is.

You exist between these two things: the steady, grounding surface below you, and the open, expansive sky above you. You’re not pulled too far in either direction. You’re just here. Held between them.

Tuning Inward

Take a moment to scan through your body.

Start at the top of your head. Let your forehead soften. Unclench your jaw. Let your shoulders drop a little. Let your arms rest heavy, your fingers relax.

Breathe into the space between your ribs, letting them expand fully, slowly. Feel your spine settle. Your legs sink just a little deeper into the surface below you. Even your feet… let go of any tension there, letting them be heavy and steady.

Nothing to hold up. Nothing to fight against. Just presence.

Let your breath move naturally now, at whatever pace feels right.

Take in this moment… not as something you have to analyze, not as something to perfect, but just as it is. Some days, stillness is easy. Other days, it’s not. Neither one is wrong.

If your mind starts to wander, that’s fine. Just bring it back, gently. Back to the feeling of the air on your skin. Back to the light behind your eyelids. Back to the weight of yourself, held by whatever is beneath you.

Right now, nothing else is required of you.

Coming Back

Take one more slow inhale… and let it out.

If your eyes were closed, open them slowly. If you were lying down, start to wiggle your fingers, your toes. Maybe roll your shoulders. Take your time.

Look around the space you’re in. Notice what’s different… not in the room, but in how you feel inside it. Maybe it’s just a small shift. Maybe it’s a little more steadiness, a little more quiet. Whatever it is, it’s enough.

Carry this feeling forward. You don’t have to hold onto it tightly… you can just trust that it’s there when you need it.

And when you do, you’ll know exactly how to return to it.