Summer Meditations
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Illustration by Marek Raczkowski
Breathe In

Summer Meditations

Julia E. Wahl
Reading
time 3 minutes

Allow yourself free exploration, lightness and a sense of humour. At the same time, this moment of reflection should allow you some space – without the need to do, experience or achieve anything.

Hot meditation

Think about what you associate with heat, not only in terms of physical, sensory sensations, but also the emotions you experience and even the motivation it can give you.

First, let yourself experience what it’s like to feel heat on your body – rays of sunshine caressing your skin, the warm air that you breathe. Feel it in your mouth, hear the sounds you associate with heat, see the colours, shapes and objects associated with warmth. For a while, fully embrace these sensual impressions. Try to also focus on your body and its feelings. Observe how they change – when are they pleasant, unpleasant, and when are they simply neutral.

Next, focus on the emotions associated with what you are experiencing right now. Take notice of your emotions as they appear – whether they are uniform, or change and permeate one another. Do not force anything. Simply perceive what appears in connection with feeling and thinking about heat and its manifestations.

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Finally, think about what this physical and emotional feeling of warmth gives you, what it helps you with, how it supports you. Remember that you can always return to this feeling.

Reflections on water and flow

You can go near water or simply imagine it again in the form of a river, a flow; a river that moves, whose current changes. Watch or imagine how water passes through different places, how it touches different surfaces, how it fluctuates under the influence of air, but always remains in motion.

What feelings and reflections does this bring? Ask yourself this, but without the need to come to any concrete conclusions or to achieve anything. Again, simply allow yourself to experience what is there, what is coming and what is going.

Ask yourself what it means to you to be honest and authentic – towards yourself, your loved ones, acquaintances, people who may be complete strangers, or maybe even something as abstract as buildings, the urban space you inhabit, the flora and fauna.

Ask yourself (or remember) how you recognize sincerity in yourself – in your facial expression, body language and movement, your gaze, the tone of your voice. What happens to you then – physically, mentally, emotionally? How does it affect these different relationships? How does it influence your functioning? How do others react to it? Must this feeling be expressed as speech or silence, behaviour or non-participation? See what your world is like then, what changes, and how.

Ask yourself (or, again, remember) what it means to you to be honest with others, how you react to it, how you can recognize this in others, how it affects you – physically, mentally, emotionally, in your ways of being – to be with those whom you recognize as sincere.

The bareness and lightness of being

Think about what it’s like to be naked in an emotionally and physically safe place conveying a sense of space, lightness, freedom and relaxation. Such nudity doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with sexuality – yes, it can mean something erotic, but can also be innocent, free, unrelated to anything and anyone, just like a deep breath; unrestricted and delicate. Contemplate your nudity when you have a bath, when you shower, or go for a swim. Let yourself think about how you feel when your body is unrestricted – physically (clothing), mentally (stress, tension) and emotionally (feeling embarrassed or judged). Be, just for a moment, in a state of nudity, lightness and freedom.

Abundance

When the summer comes, take a walk – be it real or imaginary. See where you can find such abundance, in what you see, smell or touch. See what it’s like to find summer lushness –what kinds of associations appear here? Perhaps it can be found in a committed or a slow movement; vivacity, vitality or sound. Maybe it can manifest itself in nature, or perhaps in noticing another.

During these explorations, see how you react, and whether your reactions translate into an inner sense of vitality, in terms of body, breath and emotions. How do these feelings affect your actions?

Translated by Joanna Figiel

Also read:

Five Spring Meditations
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Photo by Aaron Burden/Unsplash
Wellbeing

Five Spring Meditations

Julia E. Wahl

Sit in the sun or in the shade; look at the sky or close your eyes. Perhaps do some work in the garden. Allow your mind to contemplate without reservation.

Finding your breath

First, just observe how your body breathes. Is your breath deep or shallow? Fast or slow? Where in your body do you feel your breath the most? Is it around your nose or mouth? Maybe in the chest or abdomen? Consider what’s impeding your breathing. Maybe your clothes are too tight, or maybe you unconsciously hold your breath? Perhaps a certain thought makes you halt your breathing?

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