Guided, one image, three lines to whisper. Music underneath
The lotus never asks the water to be clear before it rises. You do not need the world sorted before you open.
About 12 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice. Perfect for the morning.
Pick your flower. A lotus, a rose, a sunflower, or a wild Cornish one out of the hedgerow. You start closed in the soil with roots going down into everything that has happened to you, the hard parts included. Then the light changes and you open, one petal at a time. Nothing outside you has changed. You have.
Treat me to a coffee, keep the podcast free, and get my Weekly Calm every Sunday. It is all on stevenwebb.uk
Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
Who this is for
You wake up with the list already running, and somewhere underneath it is the idea that you have to sort yourself out before you can properly start.
The lotus rises through mud and murky water and opens anyway. It does not wait for clear water. The mud never goes.
For anybody who keeps postponing the day until conditions improve.
What happens in this meditation
You wake the body gently, a bit of stretch, hands opening and closing, and some gratitude for it.
Then you pick a flower. A lotus, a rose, a sunflower, or if you are Cornish, something wild out of the hedgerow. You start closed in the soil with roots going down into everything that has happened to you, hard parts included.
Then the light changes and you open, a petal at a time. Three lines to whisper. I open to this day with ease. I bring light into what I do. I grow exactly where I am.
How to get the most from it
Twelve minutes, and it works sat up in bed before your feet are down.
Pick the flower that actually feels like you today rather than the prettiest one. Some mornings you are the hedgerow one, and that is the honest answer.
The line worth keeping for the rest of the day is that nothing outside you changed. You did.
Questions people ask
I am not a flowery sort of person. Will this work?
Probably not if the imagery makes you wince, and that is fine. Try Peace Right Where You Are instead, which has no pictures in it at all.
Is this a Buddhist meditation?
The lotus comes out of Zen and I say why at the start. There is nothing you need to believe and no words you need to learn.
Do I have to say the three lines out loud?
No. Whisper them, or just feel them. Saying them twice helps them land, which is why I repeat them.
Read along
The transcript
It follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.
morning · zen · visualisation · nature
Read the transcript
Good morning. Welcome to the morning bloom, a meditation to open
the day. So in Zen, the lotus flower is a reminder of something
really profound. It rises from the mud through the murky water and
opens into its full beauty. Upon breaking the surface, the mud
never disappears. The lotus doesn't wait for the perfect water
or the perfect weather. It just grows right there in the mess
of life. Our mornings are a bit like that. So we wake from dreams
and sometimes are heavy, sometimes light, sometimes not. Such
a good sleep and the day ahead might already carry a list of worries
or things to do. But like the lotus, you have the power to rise,
to open, and to meet the world in full bloom. And today's meditation
is about awakening to that quiet strength. It's about opening
to the day as you are, not as you think you should be. So as you're
settling in, just sit comfortably and just feel the weight
of your body resting upon the ground. Whether you're sat up on
a seat or still lying in bed, it really doesn't matter. And just
notice your breath as it comes and goes, just soft and natural.
You don't need to do anything with your breath. Just allow your
body to breathe. Breathing in, calm, breathing out. Relax. And your
body knows how to breathe. You don't have to get involved and just
feel your body slowly waking up. But from your feet right up to
the top of your head, the quiet energy begins to move. And
you are here. You're alive in this precious moment. You don't have
to do anything in this moment. Maybe there's some stiffness in your
body, maybe you can invite a soft stretch, or just move your shoulders
around just a little bit. And whatever you do, just gently do it
really mindfully, maybe open and close your hands, move your arms
around just a little bit, move your head side to side a bit and
let your breath expand your ribs. And just feel your body slowly
coming more alive. And just feel the gratitude for your body.
And now just bring your awareness back to your breath. You're
not forcing yourself awake, you're allowing life to flow back
in. And now just imagine if you could be a lotus, a rose or a
sunflower, or if you're from Cornwall, a wild Cornish bloom from
the hedgerow. Just pick whichever feels like you are today
and see it resting in the soil, closed, waiting for the light,
and feel yourself as that flower. You're rooted and you're
grounded. Resting in the earth, your roots go deep, taking
in all the nourishment from every experience you've ever had,
even the difficult Moments you've had that have fed your strengths.
And now, just slowly, the light begins to change. And the morning
sun touches your petals. You feel the warmth on your skin and
something inside you begins to open. And with each breath, imagine
unfolding. As the petals open, Another follows. The air fills with
your quiet radiance. You don't need to try. It's all natural. And
this is your awakening this morning. And you can whisper to yourself,
I open to this day with ease. I bring light into what I do. I grow
exactly where I am. I open to this day with ease. I bring light
into what I do. I grow exactly where I am. You are the flower. You
are the stillness beneath all movement. You don't compete with
the other flowers. You don't wait for approval. You're just simply
opening and growing. And now see yourself standing in the morning
world. Maybe it's in your kitchen or your street or your workplace.
Nothing around you has changed, but you have. You are open.
You're calm, you're wise, and you're steady. The world may rush
by, but you will not. You will meet it with grace and the quiet
beauty of being fully you. And just feel your breath deepen once
more. Inhale the light. Exhale the tension. Inhale clarity. Exhale
doubt. And as you breathe, imagine the light of your flower
reaching others, not to impress, not to outshine them, but
to remind them that they can open, too. A single flower can change
the whole field. Now take a final moment. Just bow inwards silently.
Thank the earth for holding you, the light for touching you,
and the heart for opening again today. And in a moment, we're
just going to bring ourselves back to this moment. And I just want
you to remember the foundations of who you are. And just
take lessons from a flower in a field or in a hedgerow. It doesn't
wait for permission. It doesn't do anything other than just
be a flower. And today, what would your day look like if you were
just to be you? To shine through the day with a deep gratitude
for your foundations and where you've come from. Just allow that
to sink in for a moment. What does that look like? How does that
feel? And you just carry this quiet bloom into your day with the
wisdom it holds, with all your experiences. And in a moment, I'm
going to come back from 5. So 5. 4. Gently open your eyes if they
were closed. 3. Shake out your arms. Wiggle your fingers and toes.
And just as a closing thought, the lotus never asked the water to
be clear before it rises. You don't need the world to be perfect
before you shine. Open where you are bloom anyway, be that flower.
Really appreciate your support. I'm Stephen Webb and you
can find my other meditations and my other podcasts on StephenWeb.uk
and ways in which you can support me and my work. Take care.
