Welcome! You are listening to The Mindful Minute, Meditations Created for Everyday Joy. I'm your host, Meryl Arnett, and my passion is making meditation accessible and enjoyable. This podcast is recorded from my live Monday Night Meditation Class, where we have a brief discussion followed by a guided meditation. If you would like to access these
meditation practices as standalone audio files for your daily practice, please subscribe to my newsletter at merylarnett.com. It's free, and you'll receive a new mini meditation each week, along with behind-the-scenes content and bonus material for each podcast episode. All right, let's grab a cup of tea, a comfy seat, and settle in for today's practice.
Hi guys, I'm Meryl. In this practice, we listen to the sounds of melting snow. And I don't know about you, but it never really occurred to me that melting snow makes a sound. It produces a slow, smooth gurgle. No drips, just a near-constant murmur that reminds us that change is happening in every moment. The daffodils are pushing up, even with snow on the ground. The highest synth will bloom soon.
The literal and metaphorical arrival of spring is imminent. And it is time to think about what we will plant in this ripe moment. Go ahead and notice the seat that you're in. Arrange yourself so that you feel comfortable and supported. Allow your spine to be tall and upright. You might roll the shoulders back and down. Let your eyes drift closed. Together, we'll take a deep breath in through the nose. Exhale a sigh out of the mouth.
And we'll do that once again in helling deeply. Exhale in a full sigh out, let it go. Allow your breath to flow. Softening any hard edges you feel in the body. And silently to yourself, we begin just by stating, now is my time to meditate. Now is my time to meditate. And as you allow yourself to land here in this moment, in this practice, feel your ears open up. At first simply taking in the sound of melting snow.
And gradually letting your ears relax away from the sounds themselves. And instead feel into the space that these sounds create. As you breathe and listen, you might feel the sensation of melting through your body. The snow is melting. And so is any tension in your body. Allowing this sensation of melting to move through the muscles of the face. Feeling a slow, warm spread from your brow across your eyes. Along the cheeks and the jaw. The inside of the mouth. And down the sides of the neck.
And from the base of the skull down the back of the neck. As if with every breath, you can melt the tension in your body. Feeling that sense of letting go of spreading across your collarbones, your shoulders. And down the length of your arms into the center of your hands. Across the expanse of your chest. Following that melting sensation, deep enough to feel it across the muscles around the heart. The very heart itself. The melting, melting, any gripping, any clenching.
Feeling the lovely gentle flow of breath in your body. This breath carries on it just enough heat, just enough aliveness to spark that reserved energy stored away inside. Enough heat to nudge your roots a little deeper into the earth. Lapping up the nourishment that comes from the melting snow. Just enough heat to unfurl your creative energy. Pushing it up towards the light, up towards awareness. Let yourself bask in this beautiful little cycle.
The warming heat of the sun. The nourishment of the melting snow. Tension melting, creativity blooming, creativity blooming. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Feel the warm puddle of your body here. Feel the warm puddle of your body here. The easy spaciousness from which clarity and insight naturally arise.
Savoring this next breath. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes. Let's listen and feel for two more minutes.