Pebbles

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Zen Buddhist master, poet, and peace activist, has a knack for creating short, potent meditations that are easy to follow.  His followers address him as Thay, which means teacher.  He recently released his "pebble" meditation on Sound Cloud.  In this meditation, Nhat Hanh recommends we cultivate four qualities  to create happiness in our lives. The pebbles symbolize  the four qualities:  freshness, stability, tranquility, and freedom.

The Pebble meditation can be taught to children. It can be practiced  sitting or walking, with or without pebbles.  Here is a link to the audio recording, as you will want to receive the teaching directly. https://soundcloud.com/thichnhathanh/four-qualities-of-happiness

Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.


Inhale, Flower.
Exhale, Fresh.



Flower.
Fresh.

        Breathing in,
        I see myself as a Mountain. 

        Breathing out, I feel Stable.

        Inhale, Mountain.
        Exhale,  Stability.


         Mountain.
         Stability.

Breathing in, I see myself as Still Water
Breathing out, I reflect Tranquility.

Inhale, Still Water.

Exhale, Tranquility.

Still Water.
Tranquility.

Breathing in, I see myself as Space.
Breathing out, I feel Free.


Inhale, Space.
Exhale, Freedom.


Space.
Freedom.

Sometimes when I am walking I set an intention to focus on just one of the qualities, which ever one resonates the most with me at that moment.  Other times I repeat all four stanzas several times over.  Share your experience of this practice with me.