Guided, stones in a stream, one intention. Music underneath
Overwhelm is usually you reaching too far forward, trying to hold the entire day at once before any of it has happened.
About 10 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice. Perfect for the morning.
So we shrink it. Each task becomes a stone in a stream, and you only meet the one in front of you. I will approach this day with calm and ease, handling one thing at a time. I am enough. When the overwhelm creeps back in, you thank it for the reminder and go back to the stone you are stood on.
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
The day ahead is full and you are already tired of it, and none of it has happened yet.
Overwhelm is usually you reaching too far forward, trying to hold the entire day at once. So we shrink it.
What happens in this meditation
You settle, and hold everything gently. The noise in the room, whatever the mind is doing, the breath.
Then one idea. Overwhelm is the body reminding you to come back to the moment you are actually in. You only ever have to answer the one in front of you.
Then you walk the day through in your mind, and each task becomes a stone in a stream. You do not need to see the whole crossing. Just notice each stone as it appears.
One intention to take with you. I will approach this day with calm and ease, handling one thing at a time. I am enough. I will meet each moment as it comes.
When the overwhelm creeps back, you thank it for the reminder and go back to the stone you are stood on.
How to get the most from it
Ten minutes, and stay alert rather than drifting. This is a morning one and it is meant to send you into the day, not back to sleep.
Do not try to picture the day accurately. The stones are for the shape of it, not the schedule.
Thanking the overwhelm rather than fighting it is the part that does the work, and it is the part people skip.
Questions people ask
What if the day genuinely is too much?
It may well be, and this does not make the list shorter. It stops you carrying all of it at once, which is the part that actually exhausts people.
Does it work for a home day rather than work?
Yes. Work, family or home, it makes no difference. A day full of small things overwhelms exactly the same way.
What if I keep drifting off?
Sit up rather than lying down, and do not worry about missing the odd word. Being gentle with yourself about it is rather the point of this one.
Read along
The transcript
It follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.
morning · stress · visualisation · affirmations
Read the transcript
Good morning and welcome to the meditation that will just help you to face calmly an overwhelming day or just
a busy day that perhaps we're not really looking forward to or perhaps we just have a lot on. And
it doesn't matter whether it's work or family or just home.
So make yourself comfortable. Just settle into your current position if you haven't done already.
Allow your shoulders to relax.
Allow your body to relax.
And just bring your awareness to your breath.
You don't need to do anything with your breath. Your body knows how to breathe.
The same with relaxing. You don't need to actually do anything to relax. You just allow your body to do
it
to allow your whole body to relax into this moment.
And although this is the morning and you may be feeling a little sleepy, the whole idea is to stay
alert but relaxed.
If you miss the odd word or anything, that really doesn't matter. This
is about being gentle on ourselves.
Breathing in calm. Breathing out relax
And as you open your awareness to this whole moment, to
how your body's feeling, the
thin noise in the room,
what's going on in your mind, to what your breath's doing,
hold everything gently.
Just breathing in calm. Breathing out relax
And Just allow this morning to be exactly what it is.
Just let yourself be here, just as you are.
And now as you settle into this, Moment of Stillness. Consider this wiseful insight.
When
we feel overwhelmed, it's often because we're reaching too far forward
imagining every task and outcome all at once.
Overwhelm is the body's way of reminding us to return to this present moment. To let go
of what isn't here right now.
And just focus on what's in front of us.
Right now, there's nothing else you can do but just be here.
The mind might believe we have to handle it all right here and now, but
the truth is much simpler than that. We only need to respond to the moment we're in. And
when the day feels heavy, we can bring our awareness back to the body and the breath.
Remember, we don't need to conquer everything at once.
You can only do what we can do now.
So in this moment, let yourself rest in this awareness. All
you need to do right now is be here with this breath,
in this body,
right now.
And as you continue breathing, just imagine yourself gently moving through the day ahead
And just visualize each moment as a step along the path.
With each task you encounter, imagine it as a stone along a stream.
You don't need to see the entire day at once. Just notice each stone as it appears.
Trust that you'll meet each one, calmly, one
at a time, without the rush or force.
And in your mind you can say this intention to yourself.
I will approach this day with calm and ease,
handling one thing at a time.
I am enough. I
will meet each moment as it comes.
I will approach this day with calm and ease,
handling one thing at a time. I
am enough. And I will meet each moment as it comes.
And if feelings of overwhelm start to creep in, just acknowledge them kindly and thank you for
the wonderful reminder. And
just bring your focus back to the present moment
And just visualize any overwhelmed thoughts as leaves floating away.
I recognise the overwhelm. I
feel it fading away. And
what task can I do right now?
As much as the mind and the body thinks we can do everything, It's just simply not possible.
And as you remain calm and wise, you know you've got this day.
And remember you don't have to follow those thoughts. You
can respond. There is no rush. Thoughts
are just thoughts. They come and go. The
thought itself might think it's important, but it's just a thought. You
have thoughts, but you are not those thoughts.
You have feelings, but you're not those feelings.
And the wisest thing we can do is recognise that we don't have to do anything with them.
So when that overwhelm comes over and we feel like running away or turning our backs, we can say, no,
I'm
okay. Thank you for the reminder.
With a breath of pure awareness, we can just return into the current task.
And in a moment, we're going to bring our awareness back to the room. Now
just take a deep breath in, feeling a sense of calm, filling your body. And
exhale slowly.
Releasing any last bits of tension.
And just before you open your eyes, thank
your body and thank your mind for this moment.
And just know that you've got this. You have a deeper wisdom. There's been many days when you've got through
a busy day
wisely and calmly. There's been many days when you felt overwhelmed and you've dealt with it brilliantly. You're
more than capable. You have everything. You are enough.
So as you open your eyes, just gently looking around the room, shake out your arms and just feel a
sense of calmness that you're going to take through the day. Take each moment as it comes, knowing that you
are enough and you have that deep wisdom to deal with it with peace and ease in a calm way.
I'm Steven Webb and thank you for meditating with me. Just a reminder that this podcast is completely free and...
I don't want to put adverts into it and I enjoy doing it. And I know many people around the
world really get a sense of peaceful and calm mind from it. So I want to thank all those that
do treat me to a coffee and keep the meditation free and those that leave a review and those that
just come back every day. Thank you. I'm deeply grateful to you all. Have a wonderful day. You can find
out more about... My other podcast and all the things I do, including a lovely course, Stillness in the Storms,
