Welcome to the Health Rebellion Meditations.
This meditation is for anyone who feels awake enough to see the damage being done to the world around us,
And sensitive enough to feel the responsibility and the grief that comes with it.
It's for anyone who feels driven to help,
Yet sometimes powerless,
And truthfully,
I've recorded this for myself too,
Because these are the words that I needed to hear.
If you're able to,
Find an outdoor space for this meditation.
If not,
That's perfectly fine,
Because nature isn't something separate from you.
Nature exists in every breath you take,
And in every sensation that you feel.
So let's begin by getting comfortable.
You can sit,
You can lay down,
You can stand or walk,
Do whatever feels good for your body.
For the next few minutes,
See if you can allow yourself to let go.
Let go of the chaos outside.
Let go of the unknown future.
Give yourself space to find peace and solace in the world you care so deeply about.
Next,
We're going to practice the skill of choosing where we direct our attention.
Follow along with my suggestions,
And when your mind inevitably wanders,
Because it will,
Just notice it,
And then return to your focus.
Each time you do this,
You strengthen your ability to come back.
So begin by turning your attention to your sense of sight.
Look around and notice five things you can see.
Colors,
Shapes,
Shadows,
Light.
Try to let go of judgments.
You don't need to judge them as good or bad,
Beautiful or ugly.
Just observe.
Let things be as they are.
Now bring your attention to your sense of sound.
Listen if you can spot four different sounds.
Some might be internal,
Like your breath or your heartbeat.
Others might be external,
Like birds or cars or wind.
Again,
Don't judge them as good or bad,
Pleasant or unpleasant.
You can just receive them.
Now turn your attention to your sense of touch.
Notice three sensations against your skin.
It could be the ground beneath you,
The clothes you're wearing,
The air brushing against your skin.
Feel the textures,
The temperature,
The contact.
Next,
Notice any scents.
Can you identify two different smells?
They might be subtle or difficult to describe,
And that's okay.
Just observe whatever arises.
And lastly,
Your sense of taste.
Can you detect any flavors still lingering in your mouth?
And again,
We're just noticing here there's no judgment.
Now let your gaze soften or gently close your eyes.
Bring your attention inwards to the sensations within your body.
If you're feeling anxious,
If you're feeling grief or loss or sadness,
Where do you feel it?
And what does it feel like?
Again,
It might be difficult to describe.
That's fine.
You don't need to describe it perfectly.
Just notice it.
Perhaps it feels like a knot in your stomach or tension in your shoulders or restlessness in your legs.
Scan your body.
Let your attention move slowly and rest gently wherever you notice sensations.
Notice how the sensations change over time.
How they shift and move.
How they soften.
Your emotions are not thoughts.
They are feelings and they are felt in the body.
Now become aware of your breath.
Is it shallow or deep?
Is it fast or slow?
Keep watching it.
Your breath is your anchor.
It's accessible to you always.
And it's the one part of your nervous system that you can consciously control.
So let's breathe.
In through the nose.
Out through the mouth.
And gently lengthen your exhale.
Inhale for a count of four.
And exhale for a count of six.
See if you can follow the journey of the breath.
From the moment it enters your nose,
Down your throat,
Into your lungs,
Into the tiny alveoli where the oxygen enters your bloodstream,
And then all the way back out again.
And with every inhale,
Imagine that you're drawing in a glowing light,
An energy,
Let it be absorbed into your body,
Carried by your blood to every single cell.
Visualize it spreading this warm,
Radiant glow spreading through your veins,
Your organs,
Your bones.
With every breath,
Let it grow brighter.
This energy is not just oxygen.
This is love.
This is peace.
It is strength.
Let yourself receive it.
Let yourself be filled.
Now imagine that glow growing brighter and brighter.
Let yourself bask in its radiance.
Feel it warming every part of your body.
And then see that glow begin to expand,
Radiating out from you,
Creating an aura that grows until it fills the room you're in.
And then keeps growing.
It fills your home.
It fills your neighborhood.
It spreads out through your town,
Your country,
Your continent,
Until it envelops the entire world.
Everything is glowing now.
Let that light remain in the world and in you.
Visualize now the qualities of nature that you admire.
The wisdom of the trees.
The adaptability of the clouds.
The strength of the sun.
The ancient resilience of the earth itself.
Let those qualities soak into you.
Let them nourish you.
When the time comes to act,
To protect,
To nurture,
Or to fight,
You will have the strength to do so.
You can only offer your light when your flame is tended.
We each carry a quiet responsibility to do what we can within the limits of our control.
We cannot do everything,
But we can do something.
And we get to choose what that is.
So,
Unburden yourself.
You were never meant to carry the whole world.
And remember,
This planet is bigger than all of us.
We came from it.
Our bodies,
Our breath,
Our energy,
All borrowed from the sun and the soil.
We were never meant to survive forever.
That was never the game.
The goal has always been to live fully,
To love deeply,
And to feel completely.
Not to wait for the storm to pass,
But to learn to dance in the rain.
And if we are faced with more rain than previous generations,
Then maybe that means that we are here to dance more fiercely,
To honour every flower,
To cherish every creature,
To lay in the grass,
And to breathe deeply like the rolling tide.
Allow yourself to feel the awe,
The wonder,
And the appreciation.
Let this glow inside you radiate light,
Warmth,
And love into the world everywhere you go.
Let yourself be alive here,
In this breath,
In this moment.
And breathe when the next moment comes,
Meet that fully too.
Begin to bring your attention back to your breath.
Be the silent witness,
Observing as the breath moves in and out,
As the waves roll to and from the shore.
Then bring your awareness back to your body,
To the sensations in your skin,
In your limbs,
In your spine.
And then notice any taste in your mouth,
Any scent in the air,
Any sounds in the world around you.
When you feel ready,
Slowly let your eyes flicker open and look around through this new lens,
Through a lens of awe and appreciation,
A lens lit by your own glow.
See how long you can hold on to it.
And when you lose it,
Just know that all you have to do is close your eyes and come back to your breath and this light,
This glow,
Will be here waiting.
I hope you carry it with you for the rest of your day.
I hope it reminds you of all the beauty that still exists.
And I wish you all the strength and all the love in the world.
