🌿 The Season of Change: A Meditation on Renewal
Every season asks something of us.Autumn, in particular, invites a sense of release. It reminds us that letting go isn’t loss—it’s preparation. In this week’s guided meditation, I explore how the transitions of nature mirror our own inner cycles. Through the body, the breath, and awareness, we practice softening into change and remembering that renewal begins with paying attention.Lately, I’ve been feeling the subtle shift in the air—the way mornings are quieter, how the light hits differently through the window. Nature is changing clothes again. And like it or not, we’re asked to do the same.As I guided this week’s practice, I kept returning to the theme of renewal through awareness.Before we can begin again, we need to acknowledge what we’re still holding on to.We opened with the idea of setting a wise intention—a clear understanding of why we’re here. In a world full of notifications and noise, wise intention is a kind of compass. It’s what helps us decide how we want to meet the day, the season, the moment.In my own life, I see how intention changes everything. When I walk into a conversation already defending my point, I close the door on curiosity. But when I enter with the intention to understand, something softens. The same thing happens in traffic when someone cuts me off—if I can shift from reaction to awareness, even that small moment becomes a practice of renewal.From intention, we moved into the body scan—a journey through sensation. The right side, the left, front, and back. What I love about this is that it teaches us to befriend change in the smallest way possible. One second, your shoulder feels tight; the next, it releases. The body is a classroom for impermanence. It shows us, over and over again, that no experience—pleasant or unpleasant—lasts forever.I thought of how this translates beyond the mat or cushion.When we’re parenting, the house feels chaotic.When a project at work keeps shifting direction.When we’re lying awake replaying the same thought on loop.Each is an invitation to pause, breathe, and scan what’s really happening—not to fix it, but to feel it fully.Then, we touched the breath—that constant reminder of rhythm and reciprocity. Every inhale gathers, every exhale releases. Like the trees, we’re always taking in and giving back. Breath becomes a rehearsal for trust: that what leaves will return in another form.As the meditation deepened, we explored thoughts and opposites—how worry and ease, tension and rest, co-exist. When I notice anxiety, I also look for where I still feel grounded. When I feel unappreciated, I can also find small evidence of care. These contrasts are not contradictions; they’re coordinates that keep us oriented in the middle of real life.And then we arrived at the witness—the space of awareness itself.The quiet place in us that watches everything rise and fall without needing to control it.This, to me, is where renewal truly begins—not by changing what’s happening, but by remembering there’s a space in us big enough to hold it all.In daily life, this looks like remembering that there’s room for both fatigue and gratitude, both uncertainty and hope. You’re not too much. You’re simply in motion, like the seasons themselves.When the meditation ended, I sat for a moment longer, breathing in the fullness of it all. The falling away. The newness is already beginning underneath.That’s renewal—not a return to what was, but a reintroduction to what’s still here.🕰️ Timestamp Breakdown + Real-Life Reflections00:01:06 — Setting the Theme: The Season of Change🪶 Reflection: Notice what’s changing around you—light, temperature, mood—and let it mirror what’s shifting within you.00:06:18 — Wise Intention💡 Application: Before starting your day, pause and ask: What’s my intention for this next moment? Meetings, conversations, even commutes feel different when guided by awareness rather than autopilot.00:08:20 — Grounding & Inner Resource🌳 Application: Recall a time or place you felt completely safe. Let that memory become an anchor during stressful situations—a body-based reminder that steadiness lives within you.00:12:10 — Body Scan🫀 Application: When caught in tension (physical or emotional), scan the body. See if you can meet each sensation with curiosity rather than control.00:23:01 — Breath as Release🌬️ Application: Use exhaling as a daily ritual of letting go. Stuck in traffic? Exhale. Waiting for news? Exhale. The body knows what the mind resists.00:29:13 — Working with Thoughts & Opposites⚖️ Application: When a thought feels heavy, name its opposite. Anxiety ↔ Calm. Frustration ↔ Patience. Both can exist—and both can teach you.00:36:09 — Gratitude & Joy💛 Application: Notice one simple joy that arises uninvited—the sound of leaves, a sip of coffee, your body doing its quiet work. Gratitude often hides in plain sight.00:43:13 — The Witness & Spacious Awareness🌌 Application: Practice noticing the space between experiences. Between thoughts, between breaths, between tasks. That’s where renewal lives.00:54:36 — Gentle Closing & Integration🤲 Application: Transition slowly. Don’t rush to the next thing. Carry the residue of awareness into your day, like embers that keep warmth alive.💬 Let’s Reflect Together* What are you being invited to release this season?* How does your body tell you when it’s time to rest or renew?* Can you recall a moment recently where your breath helped shift your mood?* What small joy reminds you that you’re still growing?* Where in your life do you need more spaciousness—more room to simply be?* How might your “wise intention” guide you through this next chapter?Share your reflections in the comments—I’d love to hear how impermance is alive in your practice.Follow me on all the socials* Substack* Website* Instagram* Facebook* YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sitwalkwork.substack.com
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