3-Minute Meditation: The Wide Horizon

This month’s 3-Minute Meditation allows us to take the time to imagine that our hearts and minds can be as open and vast as the wide horizon.

Time	Description
Preparation	Take a moment to settle completely into your chair or mat. Gently close your eyes or lower your gaze. Bring a gentle awareness to your breath. There is no need to change it or force deep inhalations – simply notice the easy, natural wave of your breath coming in and going out.
First Minute	In your mind’s eye, picture yourself standing at the edge of a wide, open landscape. Perhaps you are looking out across a calm, vast ocean, or standing atop a gentle hill looking across quiet rolling plains. Look out toward the distant horizon where the earth softly meets the sky. Notice how wide the world feels here. The sky overhead stretches endlessly in every direction—uncluttered, boundless, and bright.
Second Minute	Imagine your thoughts are like small, light clouds passing through that vast sky. You don’t need to catch them, organize them, or hold onto them. Watch them drift across the horizon until they fade from view. With every easy breath out, clear away the mental noise. Feel the space in your mind opening up—broad, quiet, and unhurried.
Third Minute	Offer this sense of space to yourself. In our everyday lives, we spend so much time planning, helping, and doing for others. Right now, in this quiet moment, give yourself permission to simply exist. You don’t need to accomplish anything. You don’t need to fix anything. You have all the space you need right here to simply be. Feel the stability below you, the open sky around you, and the peaceful space within you.
Return	When you are ready, gently bring your awareness back to the room. Feel the weight of your feet on the floor. Take a slightly deeper breath in, bringing fresh vitality into your chest, and slowly exhale it out. Gently wiggle your fingers and toes, and when you feel ready, softly open your eyes.