Find a comfortable seat or lying-down position.
Bring your attention to the places where your body touches the earth.
If you're sitting,
Maybe the backs of the thighs,
The sit bones,
If you're leaning back or lying down,
Perhaps the curve of the spine,
The shoulders,
The back of the head,
Imagine a little space between each vertebra,
Creating length in the spine,
Whether you're seated or lying down,
Stretching out the body in an invitation to the imagination to also stretch into new spaces.
Imagine a cave.
It's dark but perfectly safe inside.
As you take time to adjust to the temperature,
The sandy texture underfoot,
The smell,
Pay light attention to the breath.
And when you're ready,
Bring your palms to the wall of the cave.
And as they make contact,
Notice is the stone smooth or rough?
Is it warm or cool?
Just notice the texture and the temperature.
And now imagine something in your life that you feel the need to control.
Maybe it's the need for someone else to behave a certain way or an expectation you have of yourself to get something done perfectly.
Or even just a sense that you need to be different or you need something to be different from how it is.
Where does that need show up in your body?
Is it a tightness in the chest?
Anxiety in the stomach?
Maybe it's in the jaw or the forehead,
Between the eyebrows,
Even the scalp?
As you press your palms lightly into the cave wall,
Imagine receiving the wisdom that lives there.
Deep energy transmitted from within the ancient stone,
Directly into your palms,
And then into the tense part of you that needs control.
The rock you're touching has borne witness to the world over millions of years,
And accumulated the wisdom that you're absorbing now.
The wisdom of patience.
We sometimes become impatient for things to change,
To give up control,
To learn new things,
To replace old habits of thinking and being.
And we can feel so disappointed in ourselves for not doing things quicker or better,
And with other people for not reacting differently.
And with the world for being so out of control.
So just for now,
There's an invitation to stand in the cave,
And press the palms lightly into the wall,
And absorb the wisdom of patience.
Let's transmit that loving patience of the rocks into the place that feels tight,
And rushed,
And overwhelmed in its need for control.
We are sending a message to that part inside that it's okay to let things unfold,
In their own time,
Like a flower bud.
So maybe on the inhale,
Receive the deep wisdom of the rock,
And as you exhale,
Imagine releasing your need for control into the stone.
Feel the deep strength of the stone.
It can receive your energy.
It's not intimidated by your wish for control.
Its patience gives you permission to release what burdens you.
And for the next few breaths,
See if you can really take time to absorb the wisdom in the patience of the rocks.
Let time pass as it does for stone,
And feel this energy exchange with your palms touching the stone,
Receiving wisdom directly into the part of the body where you feel most intensely the need for control.
And letting the energy of that need flow out of your palms and into the stone.
Inhaling,
Receive patience.
Exhaling,
Releasing the need for control.
Gently coming back.
Invitation to bring the palms together,
So you can take the energy of the stone with you.
And imagine a gentle warmth reaching you.
The sun has followed the contours of the walls to softly light the cave.
Sculpted over thousands of years by wind and rain,
And the handprints of those who have come before you.
Lucille Clifton said,
I think that we're beginning to remember that the first poets didn't come out of a classroom.
That poetry began when somebody walked off a savannah or out of a cave,
And looked up at the sky with wonder and said,
Ah,
That was the first poem.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
Maybe as you leave the cave,
You can look up at the sky in wonder and say,
Ah.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
