Welcome to this new series of meditations.
My name is Anouk Anansi.
In the last few months has been taking me a while to slowly but very gradually and carefully read through the book The Dance written by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
I've been seeing it like my Bible.
The words really got me and taught me a lot.
Let me reflect on life and the world around me.
And in the end of each chapter there is a meditation.
I've been finding it a little bit difficult to do these meditations while reading at the same time.
And I got in touch with Oriah and asked for her permission to voice her meditations.
I'm honored that she agreed on this and that this is the first meditation of the series,
Meditations of the Dance by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
Meditation on your essential nature.
The purpose of this meditation is to gently accept your attention to the same compassionate understanding you extend to those you love.
And I hope that you will be able to do this meditation with the same compassion as you.
I hope that you will be able to do this meditation with the same compassion as you.
The purpose of this meditation is to gently expand your ability to extend to yourself the same compassionate understanding you extend to those you love.
Sit or lay down in a comfortable position and bring your attention to those you love.
Do this for a dozen breaths just following the rising and falling of your muscles release with each exhale.
Do this for a dozen breaths just following the rising and falling of your body with each breath.
Now allow someone you know and love to come to mind.
Let it be someone you know well,
Someone you have seen at their best and the worst,
Someone you deeply love.
Allow yourself a moment to imagine this person in your mind's eye feeling the love you have for them.
Then remember how this person behaves when they're not at their best and they are deeply frightened and unable to be with the fear they're experiencing.
Do they lash out at others or withdraw?
And feel how what they do does not change your love for them.
Now imagine how they would look in one of their worst moments to someone who does not know them,
Someone who might conclude that they're basically angry or needy or inconsiderable or cold and tell this new person what it is you see and love in the one you know,
Who they are in their essential nature.
Feel how you do not confuse their behavior with the essence of who they are.
See them in your mind's eye becoming the person you are describing,
The person you know them to be shining in their essential nature and then let them go.
Now turn your attention to yourself,
Seeing yourself in your mind's eye as you did the other.
Imagine yourself in one of your worst moments.
What do you do when you're frightened and not able to simply be with this fear?
Do you lash out or turn away from others?
See yourself behaving badly and imagine someone who does not know you also seeing you.
What conclusions might they reach about who you are,
Seeing you like this and not knowing or loving you?
See if you can explain to the stranger that who they are seeing is behaving badly because you are deeply frightened,
Tired or lost in this moment.
Tell them who you are in your essential nature.
Tell them what you care deeply about.
Tell them how and who you love.
Tell them how you want to contribute to the world.
Tell them how you want to be a part of the world.
As you describe your essential nature,
See yourself at your best in a moment when your actions are consistent with this nature.
Ask yourself to gently consider what if this is who I really am?
What if all I need to do is to become who I really am?
What if this is enough?
See if you can fill into this beautiful energy of you,
This beautiful energy of your essential nature.
Whenever you feel low,
In doubt or scattered,
See if you can find yourself back in this energy in this moment and remember that this is who you really are.
Love unfolds in different and difficult ways but know that it is not the truth of our being.
I hope that this meditation has been a guidance for you as it has been to me.
I hope to see you in my next meditation of the series,
Meditations of the Dance.
Thank you.
Jai Gurudev!
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