The Wind Moves. I Stay: Grounding Through Fear Like A Tree

This guided meditation helps you develop the inner resource to ground yourself during the intensity of fear by linking the image of a tree with the breath. Drawing upon the image of the tree as a grounded, rooted ecosystem, the meditation embraces this core practice: “Like a tree rooted. The wind moves, I stay.”

Transcript

Hello and welcome. My name is PJ and today I'm going to share a practice with you that I developed to ground myself when I'm experiencing intense fear. Not too long ago, A devastating hurricane impacted where I live, Specifically my mountain community here in the mountains of North Carolina. It was huge. People lost their lives, Their homes, Entire communities were devastated. Electricity and phone service was wiped out. People were stranded for weeks without access to electricity or needed goods. Roads were destroyed. Communities were left isolated and without resources. Local schools were closed for weeks. And while my family remained safe, During the aftermath of that hurricane, I found myself having an intense fear-based stress response. I was worried about my community. I was worried about people all around me. And I needed to help and I needed to do something. So I volunteered for weeks to support people in my local community. And while that helped, I found that my inner world remained a mess. It kind of reflected the storm damage landscape I was seeing around me every day. And honestly, We still see remnants of. So one effect was that I was unable to close my eyes to meditate in the weeks following the hurricane. So I found myself using the very advice I had been passing along to students for a long time. If it doesn't feel right, If it doesn't feel safe to meditate with your eyes closed, Try meditating with your eyes open. In doing that, I found myself staring at a large tree in my backyard. And to be honest, This isn't the most attractive, Aesthetically pleasing tree. It wouldn't make a tree guide for the epitome of this type of tree. It's an oak tree and it's an old, Tall, Thick, Gnarled one. It's filled with disjointed angles and old broken limbs. And you know what? That tree, That gnarled old tree became my friend. It became a symbol for me, A reminder of our human resilience and of our capacity to be with the storms in our lives, To be with fear, And to still stand. So I developed a meditative practice, Just watching my tree. And while I can meditate with my eyes closed now, Even now, Over a year later, When I'm experiencing fear, I still meditate with that tree. And I learned this, That like a tree rooted, The winds of my life can move, I can stay. So today, I'm going to share that personal practice with you. I offer it as a way to ground yourself when you're feeling overwhelmed with stress and fear. So let's begin. I suggest you either practice sitting or standing up for this one. Your eyes might be closed or it might be open, And perhaps you're looking at a tree, But that's not even necessary. Feeling the connection of whatever you're sitting or standing on, Rooting down, Allowing yourself to feel what's holding you up right now. I invite you to envision a tree, Any tree. Maybe there's one you can see right now, Or maybe it's an oak, An evergreen, Or, You know, Perhaps it's a tree from your past, Someplace you've been, Or just one that calls to you from your mind. Notice how trees stand tall. They're flexible and firm. So can you imagine yourself embodying those qualities like a tree right now? However you are, Sitting or standing, Not rigid, But firm, Reaching tall. Imagine yourself like a tree, Connecting to roots, Securing you in the ground beneath you. Keeping that tree in mind, Breathe gently down, Arriving here. Breathing in, Bringing air from outside you into your ecosystem and down into the ground beneath you, And then breathing out in order to ready yourself to take in that life-giving breath again. Take your time here, Breathing as you are, Keeping in mind the image of a rooted tree. Let's breathe here, The wind moving, You stay. So let's keep breathing here, And I want to point out that sometimes in life, Hurricanes come through both literal and metaphorical ones. Big things happen to us. Overwhelming things that bring up lots and lots of fear. So I invite you to connect right now, If it feels right to you, With some place where fear is, Where fear is showing up in your life. Maybe it's something that's present to you right now, Or maybe it's a pattern you're fearing that will reappear. Whatever it is, Let's take a moment and find the fear that brought you here today. And let's begin to notice it in your body. Is it in your shoulders? Your chest? Your stomach? Where is it? And as you find it, If you could imagine this fear like a weather pattern, How would you describe it? Maybe it's dark and cloudy. Maybe it's intense. You're feeling the hurricane winds right now. Without trying to change it, Just notice it. Notice how it impacts your body. But remember that, That you are this tree. So as we're watching this weather, Stay connected to your tree, Standing in the midst of the weather, Maybe swaying in response to it, But still rooted, Still grounded. Let's bring some of your attention back to your grounding and breathe. Breathe into the tops of your legs and down through your feet. And as you do this, Let your exhales be longer than your inhales, Not forcing, Just being. Not to make the fear go away, But to breathe with it, To show it the ground beneath you. Like a tree rooted, The wind moves and you stay. Drawing from the strength of your spine, Let's move around to the stomach and relax the muscles there. See if you can feel the natural rising and falling. Imagine your body is breathing itself, Breathing into your core. Move your awareness up to your chest. As you inhale, Tune into how your chest rises and falls, Just allowing, Not forcing anything here, Allowing, Noticing. And if any fear is here, Invite it to be with your breath. Not to make it go away, But to breathe into the support of your core, To be held with your strength. Like a tree breathing, Fear being held with care. And try offering these words to your fear as it breathes with your core. You're welcome here. Breathe. And you may notice that at the core, At the center of your tree, There's space. There may be space to be with the feeling of fear, A place to pause and notice it for a moment. So in that core, In that space at the center of your tree, Gently, Without trying to change it, Connect to what the fear is and ask it what it is wanting us to understand, Asking you to understand. What does your fear want you to understand? Breathing. Just listening. And a lot of that time, That fear, It wants you to feel safe, To be safe. It wants to protect you in some way. So let's pause here. Without fixing it, Be with that desire for safety, For trust, Or whatever else your fear wants you to understand in this moment. As you breathe, I ask you to consider this. Your tree already possesses the ability to tap into the nutrients that you need. So let's thank this fear for what it's wanting. Perhaps it's safety. Perhaps it's trust. This longing is a human need, A nutrient. A nutrient like safety or trust. We all need these. And as you breathe, I invite you to put your hand over your heart and help yourself connect to those nutrients within. Offer yourself what you need to hear right now. Perhaps it is, You are safe. You are safe. You are safe. Imagine yourself like a tree swaying in the wind, Like a tree rooted. The weather, The wind moves, You stay. Imagining your body is flexible, Still connecting to your needs, And also moving with the external winds, Both possible at the same time. And if it feels accessible, Explore allowing your body to move, Literally move, Now. Maybe swaying side to side, Back and forth, Or just a gentle circular pattern. Connecting your breath to your core, To your trunk. Bringing your attention to the top of your head, Like the top of a tree, Its outermost branches, And breathe from the very utmost top, The top of your head, And allow that breath through your branches, Down into your core, Your trunk, And into your legs, Your roots, And out your feet. Grounding. Hear. Breathing. Let's explore this in silence for a few minutes. When your mind wanders, Bring your attention back into breathing through your core, And down into your legs, Into the ground beneath you. Rooted and breathing. Grounding. Present. Breathing. The wind moves. You stay. All right. Let's take a moment now to reflect on your weather system. What's your internal weather like now? Perhaps nothing shifted, Or perhaps there's some blue sky or some clouds drifting apart. No right or wrong there. Let's breathe into that, Whatever's here now. Let's take three deep breaths together to be with it. Once again, Moving from the top of our systems, Through our core, And breathing through our legs to the ground. Let's take three deep breaths. Once more. Breathing in. In here, As we transition from this meditation, And as you move through your day, I invite you to remember, If you found something like safety or trust, Remember to pause in your day and ask yourself, What is one thing I can do to help myself meet this need? Help yourself tap into the nutrients that are deep in your core already. Perhaps you sit with your hand in your chest for just a moment and repeat, Like a tree rooted, The wind moves, I stay. And please, Let me know what your weather report was like or how this meditation landed for you. I'd love to hear about what you experienced here. Thank you, And I hope to be with you again soon.