Floating on a Peaceful Lake

Find a quiet place where you can sit or lie down comfortably without being disturbed. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, letting your body relax with each exhalation. Let go of any tension you may be holding in your face, jaw, shoulders, and the rest of your body. With your eyes still closed, imagine that you are floating effortlessly on your back in the center of a beautiful, peaceful lake.

The water is the perfect temperature - not too warm, not too cool. You feel completely safe and supported by the water, which easily holds the weight of your body. Notice how your body rises and falls gently with each breath. As you inhale, your body rises slightly. As you exhale, you settle a little deeper into the water's embrace.

As you float weightlessly, you gaze up at the vast expanse of blue sky above you. Wisps of white clouds drift slowly across the sky. If any anxious thoughts or feelings arise, imagine them being placed on one of those passing clouds. Watch the thought-cloud float across the sky and out of view, carrying that anxiety away from you. Then return your awareness to the sensation of floating peacefully on the lake.

No matter how many anxious thoughts appear, there is always another cloud drifting by to place them on. The sky has endless room for those clouds. Yet no matter how many clouds fill the sky, the sky itself remains unchanged - vast, open and serene. In the same way, your awareness is always there, underneath the coming and going of anxious thoughts.

Your awareness, your essence, is like the lake - tranquil, calm and supportive. It easily holds any feelings, sensations, worries or concerns that arise. It welcomes them in, and lets them go, without being disturbed. Just as the surface of the lake becomes still again after a fish leaps out and splashes down, your inner stillness returns when you let anxious thoughts simply drift away, without fighting them.

As you continue floating peacefully, let your attention sink down from the surface of the lake, into the quiet depths. Here, all is perfectly still. Anxiety may ripple the surface of your mind from time to time, but deep down, there is an unbroken calm and peace that nothing can touch. Let yourself descend into this inner sanctuary of tranquility. Rest here for as long as you like, soaking in the profound silence.

When you're ready to conclude your meditation, take a slow, deep breath and gently open your eyes. Carry the inner calm and stillness of the lake with you as you return to your day. Remember, no matter how many anxious thoughts or feelings arise, you can always let them float away across the vast, spacious sky of your awareness. Deep down, your true self remains forever at peace, like the serene depths of the lake.