Guided, three affirmations, and a walk through the day ahead. Music underneath
For the kitchen table with a cup of tea, before anyone needs anything from you.
About 12 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice. Perfect for the morning.
The stillness you find here is not something this meditation makes. It is always there. You just cannot see it when you are in doing mode. Then you walk the day through gently. A little extra time getting places, a pause at a door, listening to someone a beat longer than you normally would.
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 bit of the morning before anybody needs anything from you. Most of us spend it on a phone.
The stillness in this one is not something the meditation makes. It is always there. You just cannot see it while you are in doing mode.
What happens in this meditation
You settle somewhere comfortable but alert enough not to drift off, and let the body relax without doing anything to the breath.
Then you bring the day ahead to mind, not in detail, and watch yourself move through it unhurried. A little extra time to get places. A pause at a door. Listening to somebody a beat longer than you normally would.
Then kindness, towards yourself first and then towards everybody you will meet.
Three affirmations to finish. I am calm in this moment. I am kind to myself today. I bring kindness to all those I meet.
How to get the most from it
Twelve minutes, sat at the table rather than in bed. Alert is the point here, not sleepy.
The practical part is the extra time. Leave a few minutes earlier than you need to, and the pauses have somewhere to happen.
Come back to it as often as you like. The calm is always available and this is just a way of remembering that.
Questions people ask
Do affirmations actually do anything?
Said once and forgotten, not much. Felt in the body while you say them, and repeated over weeks, they work like seeds. That is why I ask you to feel them rather than recite them.
What if my morning has no quiet in it at all?
Then take the pause at the door and the extra few minutes, and leave the rest. Those two are the whole thing in miniature.
Is this a good first meditation?
It is a decent one to start with. Nothing to picture, nothing to believe, and it is tied to something you already do every morning.
Read along
The transcript
It follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.
morning · mindfulness · compassion
Read the transcript
Welcome to your morning calm. A guided meditation for starting
your day with a little peace and quiet and a little bit of awareness.
This is an ideal meditation, perhaps to be sat at the kitchen
table or sat down with your cup of tea or coffee in the morning
and just taking a little time out and just slowing down. So just
settle into a comfortable position. You can either let your
eyes just soften a few feet in front of you, or you can just gently
close them and just allow your body to find the nice sweet spot
of being really comfortable and relaxed, but also alert that
you're not going to fall asleep or you're very aware of your
surroundings and what's happening. And as you bring your
awareness to your breath, we're not going to do anything with
it. Your body knows how to breathe and your body knows how to
breathe in any given moment. It's been doing it for a long time
without you getting involved. But you are to be aware of your breath,
aware of your chest rising, aware of your body moving gently
forward and back and just breathing in calm and breathing out.
Relax. Allow the body to relax. Allow your shoulders to relax.
Your face and your eyes. Now your ears, even your nose and your
jaw, your hands, your feet. Your body knows how to relax. You
don't have to do anything with it, you just have to just invite
it. Just be aware. Simply breathing in, calm, breathing out.
Relax. And this moment here is enough. You don't need to be anywhere
else. You don't need to be doing anything else in this moment.
Just this, just breathing, just being. Notice the stillness
in this moment. And it may not feel like it, but this stillness,
this calm is always present. It's just very often when we're thinking
about other things or we're rushing around or doing something,
we're stuck in thought or we're stuck in doing mode. And that's
okay. It's just remembering that if we do need a bit of calm,
we can just become aware of our breath and just slow down just
for that moment. There is no rush. And even when your day begins
today, this calm stillness can still remain. Even in calm, even
up. Relax. And now gently bring to mind your day ahead. And
you don't have to go into detail, but just see it unfolding
before you. But see it differently. See it as if you're
moving through it calmly, unhurried. Each task, each conversation,
each moment met with the same presence you feel right now. You
have time. You are centered, you are open hearted and just ready
to respond in each given moment. And during the day you'll
give yourself just a bit of extra time, a little extra time to
get somewhere. A little pause when you go somewhere, maybe opening
a door. Just a pause and breathe in calmness. When someone
speaks or says something, you'll just listen that little bit
longer. And as you're picturing your day, just that kindness
flow through it. Your basic foundations of who you really are.
Below all the noise and the haste and the thoughts. Below all
that, just open hearted, kind, wise, non hurried. Just imagine that
kindness flowing now, that compassion first, it's flowing towards
you. May you meet yourself with kindness today, especially when
things feel difficult. And now imagine that kindness towards all
those you encounter. May your presence bring a little peace to
their day as well, as we know we all need it. Now we're going to
go through three affirmations and just imagine these as if they
are totally true. And you feel them in every part of your body as
if it's true right now, as it'll be true later and this evening
be true to your whole day. I am calm in this moment. I am kind
to myself. Today I bring kindness to all those I meet. And
just let those words settle into your heart just like little
seeds as your day go on. They'll just grow a little bit each
time. And now finally, just this awareness of gratitude for this
moment and gratitude for this day. I know it always sounds a little
bit, I don't know, I'm corny or something, but this day is a gift.
This breath is a gift. And whatever it brings, you have this
moment right now. And this moment's enough. We don't need anything
more. And in a moment I'm going to come back from five. But
just before you do that, remember this calmness can be there
all day long. Just plan your day a little with a little space
between, with little pauses, little breaths every now and again,
a little mindful breath, a little understanding and compassion
that everybody's struggling some way. And we don't have to meet
everybody with solutions. We just meet them with an open heart
and a kindness. We very often know how to remain calm and respond.
And we know what we need to do. You are the gift of space today.
You are the gift of calmness. And as we count back from five or
just gently open your eyes, three. Shake out your arms, wiggle
your fingers and toes and your ears if you can. And two, look around
the room and just stretch on one. And just, yeah, just remember
that this calmness is always there. It's always available. You
don't need guided meditation you don't need all those things.
You've got this. And with the way we cultivate it, it's just gentle
pauses every now and again. I'm Steven Webb and thank you for
your time with me today. And if you want to see my other podcast
or support my work in any way, just head over to stevenwebb.com.
