Nurturing A Sense Of Belonging

As human beings, we long to be seen and acknowledged for who we are and for the gifts we bring. Offering and receiving this kind of acknowledgment is part of what creates a sense of belonging.
This is a short embodied meditation practice that offers you the opportunity to both give and receive the acknowledgment our human hearts long for. It takes you through 5 dimensions of relationship (self, other, community, ancestors & descendants, Spirit) to honor and nourish a sense of interbeing.

Transcript

This is a being of the Earth practice to nourish our sense of belonging. As humans we long to be seen and received in who we are and with all the unique gifts that we bring. And so this short practice is a way of offering ourselves and others this acknowledgement and appreciation that we may be longing for. And in the process we weave a web of connection and support for ourselves and for each other. You can do this practice sitting, Lying down or standing and you can move and use your hands and body to make gestures, Shapes and to embody the different places that we visit during this journey. So first of all just take a few moments wherever you are to settle, To ground through your body by allowing your weight to be in contact with the Earth, With the floor. Simply take a few breaths to arrive in your body and in the place where you are. Noticing the places of connection between your body and the ground or the chair or sofa or cushion that you may be sitting or lying on. Acknowledging how you are today in this moment. How you are feeling, What is present in your body in terms of sensations and what your emotional and your mental status as you arrive here. And then I want to invite you to bring your awareness, Your attention to yourself as you are here now and from this place in the present moment to look back along the path of your life. Imagining all the younger versions of yourself. As you scan through the different periods of your life just see if you can find a younger self who could have really done with someone seeing and encouraging them and their efforts. Maybe there was a time when you were lonely, A time when you were struggling, A time when you were working on a particular project, A time of doubt or big questions. And from this place where you are now in your life to see if there's something you can offer this younger version of yourself, A perspective, A glimpse into what became of them, What happened after this period of struggle. With words spoken out loud or quietly inside, With gestures, With a movement, Just honour them for what they did that was part of the journey that took you to be the person that you are now. Perhaps you'd like to hold them in your arms and whisper some words of courage. Give them a glimpse of the goodness that awaits them in the future. You could pause the recording here and do this for a while. Look at these different places in your past, Different versions of yourself that may need this encouragement, This seeing and being received. And when you feel complete, Just coming back to your body, To your breath for a moment. And then I invite you to bring your awareness to someone that you know well, Perhaps a friend, A family member, A colleague. Really visualise them in front of you, See them as they are and let yourself open to all the gifts, The skills, The qualities that this person brings to the world and to your world. Connect to the sense of why the world is a better place for having this person in it. And your appreciation, Your gratitude, Their way into their direction with your embodied imagination. So you might do this by stretching out your hands, By whispering your gratitude into the wind. And maybe later you might even tell them in real time if you can. When you feel you have spoken and expressed what you wish to say to this person, Then expand your awareness to consider a community, A group of people. Could be a group that you are part of, A community of place where you live or community of practice that you are part of. Could also be a group of people of a past political movement, People who worked for peace or for justice, The suffragettes, People who worked for equal rights. Whatever feels relevant to your life, Your place, Your environment. Could be people who are alive, Could be a group of people who have long passed. And then again just finding a way with words, With gestures, Appreciation to let them know that their work, Their efforts, Their struggle and their presence is appreciated. That what they did, Who they were, Who they are has impacted you and as it ripples out into the world beyond what they may imagine. And again if you want to spend some time here, You can pause the recording and really offer yourself the space to reflect on all the different people who you may want to acknowledge in this way. And then let your attention come back to yourself and imagine yourself standing on this timeline where your ancestors are behind you and the descendants, All those who will come after you whether you have children or not. Your generations are standing in front of you and if you like you can physically or in your imagination turn around and appreciate those who came before your ancestors in the widest possible sense. Thank them for passing on their gifts, Their skills, Their knowledge, The miracle of being alive in a human body. And perhaps with your hands, With your whole body you'd like to send a thank you, An acknowledgement of all that it took for them to pass life on to you down through this arc of time. And when you have completed this interaction with your ancestors and turn around physically in your mind's eye and this time let yourself imagine the future generations maybe looking back at you and let them offer you some appreciation for the life that you've lived, For your quality of being, For what you've brought into the world, For your struggles, For not giving up, For the many ways in which your life made their life possible. And really let yourself receive that appreciation as an affirmation of what is good and right about your life right now. And perhaps as an encouragement to keep going, To keep trusting your path and to keep growing into your full potential. And you might like to really receive this appreciation from the future with your whole body, Opening your arms, Breathing it in, Planting the sense of being seen and received in every cell of your being. And let yourself come back into this moment between the past and the future right here, Right now in this present moment, Sensing your body, Sensing your breath, Letting yourself connect to whatever greater power or force you sense in your life, That spirit, The great mystery, God, Life, Whatever name you have for this greater energy, This greater benevolent and compassionate energy. And imagine your body with your mind's eye, With your heart, How this being, This energy, This bigger power or force is offering you acknowledgement, Acceptance, Sensing the love that's flowing towards you, Sensing the encouragement, Compassionate, Firm belief in who you are and what you have to offer as value. Perhaps you'd like to imagine leaning in to this energy, To this sense of the great spirit, Life, The mystery. And when you feel you have absorbed this acknowledgement, This being seen, This being received, Slowly coming back to yourself here now in this moment, Perhaps wrapping your arms around yourself or placing a hand, Both hands on your body, Taking a moment to receive yourself as you are now, To acknowledge and appreciate yourself as this perfect, Imperfect work in progress that is good enough as it is in this moment and that is committed to growing. And taking some time to simply rest in the echo of all the places, All the connections that you made in this practice. And when you feel ready, Opening your eyes, Letting the world around you come to you and hopefully carrying some of this sense of being seen, Being acknowledged, Being appreciated into your day as fuel for whatever it is that you're working on, Whatever it is that matters to you.