Welcome to today's meditation.
In today's meditation.
We will drop into stillness.
And together explore the 11th step.
So I invite you to get super comfy wherever you are.
You might want to sit or lie down.
There's really no perfect posture.
Only the one that allows you to stay.
Present.
If it feels okay.
Allow your spine to elongate.
So your breath can move with ease.
I invite you to close your eyes.
Or simply soften your gaze.
Notice what is holding you.
The chair,
The floor.
The ground.
And allow yourself.
To be supported.
And stuff will love it.
We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with this power of our own understanding.
Praying only for the knowledge of its will for us.
And the power to carry that out.
You see,
There is no definition here.
Only connection.
So we'll begin with a simple 3 count thread.
We will inhale through the nose for three counts.
Hold for three counts and then exhale through the mouth for three counts.
So let's begin.
Inhale through your nose.
Or three.
Why?
Hold for 3,
2,
1.
And exhale through your mouth.
4,
3.
More.
And inhale for three.
Hold for three.
And exhale for three And again,
Inhale.
Home.
And exhale.
God.
Now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Step 1 is not about striving.
It's not about spiritual perfection.
After having journeyed through steps 1 through 10,
Stop loving.
Guides us to develop a practice.
To access inner or higher wisdom on a daily basis.
It is about listening.
Listening for guidance.
Listening for steadiness.
Listening for the next bright step.
Step 11 speaks of guidance that rarely shouts.
Often,
It waits.
For you to slow down enough.
To here.
So continue to breathe.
As I share with you about this ocean.
So there was once an ocean.
In the north called Rage.
It was wide and deep.
And it prided itself.
On movement.
Waves crashing.
Waves rising.
Currents shifting constantly.
Its waters were turbid.
Rage believed that power meant motion.
So if it was not moving.
It feared it would dry up and disappear.
But high above.
The moon did not crash.
Luna watched quietly.
Luna did not surge.
She did not compete with the waves.
Luna gently controlled the tide.
She simply shone in the darkness and sent down a shimmering silver light.
Night after night.
Unhurried.
But rage,
The ocean,
Restless and loud.
Rarely,
No.
Until one evening,
Exhausted from its own turbulence,
The ocean grew still for a moment.
Just long enough.
In that breathe stillness.
The ocean felt something subtle.
A pool of rhythm.
A steady influence.
That had always been there.
The tides were not chaos.
They were connected.
To the moon.
The moon had never demanded attention.
It had never forced obedience.
It had simply been present.
The ocean realize.
It did not have to create its own direction.
There was guidance available.
But it could only be felt.
When the waves soften enough.
So listen.
Notice if the story stirs anything within you.
Perhaps you relate to the ocean.
Are your internal waves turbulent?
Constantly moving?
Constantly deciding?
Perhaps you recognize the moon.
Steady light,
Quiet,
Always there.
Step 11 reminds us.
Guidance does not disappear.
Just because we are loud.
But we may miss it.
If we never slow down.
So let's drop into stillness to just listen.
We will return to the three count breath.
So let's inhale,
4,
3.
Too.
One.
Hold for 3,
2,
1.
And exhale for three.
More.
Good.
Inhale.
Home.
And exhale.
And inhale.
Home.
And next.
Continue this rhythm.
And allow your breath to feel like a tide.
Now allow your breath.
To move naturally again.
Notice what arrives in the stillness.
If your mind wanders.
That's fine.
Notice the thoughts.
And let them float away like clouds.
And then breathe.
If it feels supported.
You may say softly inside.
I am listening.
I am listening.
Aye.
I am listening.
Not forcing an answer.
Not demanding clarity.
Just opening.
I am listening … and breathe.
You may not receive a lightning flash insight.
You may simply feel a subtle settling.
A small next step.
That's enough.
Simply notice and breathe.
I am listening.
I am listening.
I am listening.
And breathe.
I am listening.
And breathe.
And I invite you to take a final deep breath.
Um.
.
.
With me.
Feeling your belly.
Fill your belly some more and release.
And trusting in knowing that you may always return.
To this stillness within.
I invite you to begin to notice the surface beneath you.
You may want to wiggle your fingers and toes.
Turn your head from side to side.
And when you are ready.
Open your eyes.
Guidance is not somewhere else.
It is connection.
A relationship.
You can return.
To again and again.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
It is always my honor and my privilege.
