In 2016,
I traveled to Thailand to complete a Vipassana meditation training program under the study of Venerable Meichi Bridget Schvoldenbacher,
An Austrian-born Buddhist nun and humanitarian.
I was drawn to her work of uplifting the very low social and economic status of nuns in patriarchal Thai Buddhist society and her work with the HIV AIDS temple Wat Phra Bat Nanphul in Lob Puri province.
Her work drew recognition from the United Nations and she was selected as an outstanding woman in Buddhism.
I traveled for days and crossed an ocean just to meet her where she was staying in the rice fields of rural Bangkok at Wat Phrayang,
Devarana.
I wanted to learn what fueled a spirit like hers and demonstrated such influential and unrelenting compassion and global community care.
I also wanted to know what spiritually protected her as an activist,
Especially when the weight of the work feels too cumbersome to bear.
Unsuspectingly,
The answer I was looking for came from an elderly nun by the name of Sister Meichi Maria.
She was staying in the kuti or hut next to mine.
She was known to have visions with intuitively powerful words to speak.
And upon completion of the 14 days of training,
Sister Maria approached me to offer a teaching on self-protection.
Two weeks of silence,
Meditative movement,
Chanting,
And temple life had heightened my senses and I feared going back to the West,
Returning like an exposed nerve and wanted to stay within the safety of the temple grounds forever.
Sister Maria offered this meditation as a means of protection and to cultivate safety within the heart and mind.
I call this practice the Lotus Meditation.
Let's begin at the sound of the bell.
The sound of the bell is heard.
I invite you to come into a comfortable seated position wherever you are.
Release the hands gently in the lap.
Close the eyes.
Lower the shoulders away from the ears.
Release pressure from the jaw.
Release the belly outward.
Begin to lengthen and deepen the breath.
As you inhale,
Expand the chest.
Expand the rib cage.
Expand the belly.
With each breath,
Sink into each and every corner of your body.
Withdraw your senses from the world around you.
See sense,
Feel,
Taste,
Touch,
Internal.
In your mind's eye,
Allow the seat below you to transform into a thousand-pedal lotus.
Each pedal fans out surrounding you as you sit calmly at the center.
Notice the fragrance.
Notice the softness of the pedals.
Notice the colors.
Rest in this feeling.
Just here,
Atop your lotus,
Sitting safely,
Securely,
Regaling.
Over so slightly,
Lift the chin.
Allow a gentle smile to curl at the corners of your lips.
And upon your floral throne,
Inhaling deeply,
Exhaling completely.
Exhaling deeply.
Exhaling deeply.
Exhaling deeply.
Exhaling deeply.
With the next inhale,
See within your mind's eye one of those thousand pedals rising to surround you with soft and fragrant protection.
As you exhale,
Release any tension within you through the crown of your head as a pure green of white light.
With each subsequent inhale,
Picture another pedal of this lotus rising to surround you with its delicate warmth.
Allow the pedal to rest gently around your shoulders.
As you exhale,
Release all tension through the crown of the head as pure,
Bright light.
Continue raising each pedal of the lotus with your breath,
Allowing each pedal to cover you and protect you with its sweetness.
You may sit here and continue for as long as you need.
Wrap yourself in the pedals of the lotus.
Acey.
You You As you sit Inside of its protective pedals You take both hands Place them over your heart Take a snapshot with your mind And note the sensations of safety and comfort You take a snapshot with your mind Slowly and gently Begin to bring awareness back into your body and sensations Place both palms together at the centre of your chest And begin to rub the palms together generating heat Continue to rub the palms together,
Increase the speed and the heat in between the palms Come to stillness and take your warm hands,
Place them over the eyes sending warm,
Healing energy to wherever it's needed in your body Take this moment to bless yourself and wish yourself well And when you're ready,
Slowly and gently open your eyes You You You
