Overcoming Loneliness

Drawing on Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh's concept of 'interbeing', this beautiful guided meditation supports the listener through a peaceful series of images and ideas that help us to reconnect to our part in the whole web of life.

A gentle and loving support for anyone experiencing loneliness or isolation as a way of feeling into the truth of our interdependence on one another and all of sentient life.

Transcript

Welcome to today's meditation.

We're going to be meditating on the concept of interbeing,

Which is an idea that the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh conceptualized.

Interbeing is really a reminder of how connected we are to everything around us,

And it's a really beautiful way of remembering our place as part of the whole,

Feeling into the web of connection that is the whole of life on earth.

And this concept can be particularly supportive and soothing when we feel ourselves in the grip of loneliness,

Despair,

Grief,

Any kind of hurt,

Any kind of challenge that causes us to constrict and to retreat from the world.

When we go through difficulty,

It's common and easy to kind of disappear ourselves.

Maybe we don't want to see friends and family,

We find it hard to show up for people in our lives,

We find it hard even to show up for ourselves.

And it's easy to convince ourselves that that feeling of loneliness or despair is unique to us,

That we're the only people who have ever felt this way or who are feeling this way.

So my invitation today is to join in this very tender,

Heart-connecting,

Deep meditation on your part in the whole,

Your connection to everything,

Your support and all that supports you.

I hope that you come out the other side of this meditation deeply aware of the contribution that you make to the world,

As well as being thankful for all the resources,

All the people,

Ideas,

Creativity and opportunities that support your life and your wellbeing.

So let's just take a nice long breath in through the nose,

Feel the body expand,

Hold for a moment or two at the top and then exhale,

Maybe gently opening the mouth.

And let's do two more in that same way,

Inviting breath in,

Feeling yourself nourished,

Expanded and letting that breath go,

Softening the body.

One more.

And let's meet up bringing our left hand to the heart space and our right hand to the belly.

In yogic terms,

If we're to think about the chakras,

The left hand is on the Anahata chakra,

The heart chakra or the heart wheel of energy.

And the right hand is down towards the Mooladhara chakra at the base of the body.

This is our earth root lock.

That's what connects us to the earth and it connects us to a feeling of safety,

Of security,

Of being grounded.

And in fact,

Just above the hand,

We have a chakra that corresponds to our sexual organs and our sexuality and our creativity.

And I want you just with the eyes closed to feel yourself breathing.

Feel your body,

The wave of the breath and the warmth of your hands.

Feel the body connected to the floor,

The seat,

Anything that you are sitting on.

Feel that support from underneath.

And I want you to become aware of the intelligence of your body in just a simple function of the breath moving in and out.

In fact,

It's not very simple but it's not something that we give pause to think about very often.

It's a complex system and it's highly intelligent.

Your breath is oxygenating your cells and it's allowing waste product to leave the body.

And it's working in compatibility with your cardiovascular system,

Your heart and your blood.

You might just tune into that recognition that your blood is being pumped around your body as you breathe,

As you sit.

All of the veins and artery,

Those passageways,

Channels that are bringing life to all of your organs,

Nourishing you,

Supporting you.

And just remembering that the body is supporting your healing and your wholeness and seeking homeostasis,

Seeking balance all the time.

And behind the scenes it's working tirelessly to make possible all the things that you do in your life.

It's a miracle really.

One which we can give thanks for as we begin to move a little deeper into this practice.

So we've acknowledged and given thanks for this body which supports our life.

The prana,

The life force that animates us,

The breath,

The heart,

The blood,

The cells and all the systems of the body.

We see how the body supports us and we see how the earth beneath us supports us too.

And with our hands on our body,

Left hand on the heart and right hand on the belly,

We can begin to think outwards from here,

Just drawing to mind any of the people in our lives who encourage us,

Who make our work possible,

Our projects,

The relationships that nourish us and fill us with love,

Those who take care of us,

Who listen deeply to our needs and concerns.

And all of those people who feed us intellectually or creatively,

Whether we know them or not.

You might think to a writer whose recent work you've enjoyed and they've given you ideas that have changed your way of looking at the world.

You might think of a musician or a filmmaker or a teacher.

Anyone who has brought you ideas,

Ways of looking,

Ways of being that have helped you to grow and move forward with your life.

It might occur to you that some of these people are people that you've met and perhaps you met them by chance,

By random coincidence.

And had you not met them,

How different your world,

Your life might be in this moment.

And as we acknowledge the people who feed us in this way,

Let's also acknowledge the people who feed us literally.

Someone who grows fruit and vegetables somewhere else in the world so that that food can find its way through a network of transport,

Of pickers,

Of packers.

All the way to the market shelf or the supermarket shelf.

The people who sell you the food,

The people who made the packaging,

The people who made the bag.

When we begin to look in this way,

We see how deeply connected we are to everybody.

We come to see how our lives are dependent on the lives of others.

Without any of these people in the chain of cause and effect,

Within this web,

This interdependent web of life,

We wouldn't be here either.

We wouldn't be living and surviving and flourishing in the way that we do.

This is a key component of mindfulness practice.

Interconnectivity.

What Diknat Han refers to as interbeing.

We might notice as we check back in with our own bodies,

With our own selves,

A feeling of softening in the body or an expansion in the heart.

Maybe even a sense of excitement.

Remembering that we are part of a whole can restore our feelings of faith and security and belonging.

We are part of something much larger than just a singular self.

We are part of life.

Diknat Han again asks us when we look at a piece of paper.

He says if you look deeply into this piece of paper,

You'll see the wood and the woods.

You'll see the rain clouds that nourished the tree to grow.

You'll see the rain itself.

And you'll see the earth.

And you'll see the logger who felled the tree.

And you'll see the logger's wife.

And you'll see the grain because they need to eat.

And you'll see the whole system that lives around the manufacture and creation of this one sheet of paper.

The whole way through the chain of interconnected relationships.

In this way again we can see ourselves as part of this whole chain,

Part of this whole animated,

Dynamic,

Connected series of events and people and places and things that make up our world.

And looked at this way every time we appreciate something or someone we can be reminded of their place or its place also in this same network,

In the web of life.

And we know that we can return to this meditation and this way of looking any time we feel ourselves separated from the web of life,

Anxious,

Sad,

Lonely or in despair.

Remember,

You are not alone.

You are life.

Let's take a final breath in as we bring our hands together in prayer position at the heart and breathing out bow the head towards the hands giving thanks.

Namaste.

Reviews

And once again you have brought me some comfort during my journey through loneliness and grief. It still is unbearable at times; but I reflect on over 40 years of beautiful memories of a love so deep and true and am filled with gratitude. Adam was a gift that I grew to cherish. It is just so painful to be without him. I will not despair; I will always gravitate towards the light as he did. 🙏❤️‍🩹 Thank you Ellie for being here. You are so appreciated and needed.

I am feeling lonely during these holidays with some depression as well. This meditation encouraged me to see inter-connection with others. Thank you, Ellie.

There’s a good reason you’re on this complex planet miraculously flying around the Sun. Ellie will gracefully remind you here. Enjoy the ride and share your smile ! ✨

Beautifully said a ream source of comfort, thank you!

A richly textured reminder that we are never truly alone, but rather integral parts of the wondrous whole that we call life. Invites deep consideration of who we truly are as humans, whose primary purpose and privilege is caring for one another, including those who we will never meet. Namaste.

It felt very loving. I liked dropping into the mediation then having a dharna talk. Thank you

Thank you for the affirmations that we are not alone and interconnected/inter-being 💙🙏🏽

Thank you for this meditation. It helped put things into perspective 🙏🏿

A calm and relaxing meditation. I loved the slow pace and gentle guidance through our web of interconnectedness. At the end of the process I felt like I was lightly wrapped in a blanket of peace. Thank you. 🙏🏾

Amazing..you are very gifted and my favorite teacher on this platform..thank you for lending perspective to the web of life and my place in it..blessings

A smooth and soothing voice, quite lovely. Helped me to recentre and calm an anxious state. With gratitude 🙏

Such a beautiful way of looking at life. Thank you ☀️🙏🏻

This helped me a lot. The idea of interconnectivity is great. I just realized that. Thank you so much. You just help me see the world in a different way. I am not alone. We are all interdependent with each other.

Good perspective, gentle voice and pacing. Thank you.

Stunning voice and great pace. Loved it. Please create more. Namaste

Loved. The beginning of a healing journey for me so thank you for this. I will return frequently.

I feel a part of instead of alone and sad after I completed this meditation. The voice was soothing and very calming. Thank you for this reminder of I am not alone. 💕

Profoundly moving and powerful. Thank you Ellie for this wonderful meditation. I feel more connected now. Much love to you 💜 x

Very soothing and comforting! Thank you!🙏💞

Perfection! Grounding and humbling practice. Wish this was longer. Thank you!