Hello everyone,
And welcome to today's meditation practice.
I'm your host,
Cain Embracey,
And today we have a very special practice to undertake today.
I say this with both a smile and a tear from my heart,
If that's possible,
Because today's practice is centered on the recent loss of life that we have encountered with the death of George Floyd,
Ahmaud Arbery,
Breonna Taylor,
And many others,
I am sure.
And how we ourselves can move through a world with so much pain and so much grief,
Loss of life,
People that commit heinous crimes and do violent things,
And how we can find peace,
Compassion,
Love,
And hopefully forgiveness through this.
So it's kind of a massive undertaking,
I understand that,
But if we can just start with closing the eyes wherever we are,
Coming into this body,
And either having the hand over the heart space or just sending your direction or sending your intention there,
Rather.
I'd like you to choose someone or a group or community or even an idea or cause to dedicate this practice to.
Maybe we're dedicating this practice to George Floyd or his family members,
Or we're dedicating this practice to the end of racism in this country or in other countries,
Depending on where you are.
Maybe we're dedicating it to the simple wish of freedom of suffering across all races,
Religions,
Cultural backgrounds.
But when we have this intention,
Breathing in a nice gentle breath in to the heart space,
And as we exhale,
Sending it out to this intended person,
Cause,
Or people.
Exhaling once more.
Exhaling once again.
Now releasing that,
Coming back into this body,
Asking ourselves,
How do we currently feel,
What feelings are arising?
Are we feeling grief,
Sadness,
Anger,
Frustration,
Confusion,
Loss of hope?
Do we feel neutral?
Do we feel numb?
Notice whatever's there,
Whatever adjectives you'd like to use,
That's true for what you are currently feeling.
What is happening now in this body?
Not how you felt for the past two weeks or past month,
Perhaps.
Not how you think you'll feel in the future.
But right now,
This heart,
This mind,
This body.
And I'm going to ask that you do nothing at all for these feelings today.
For the purpose of this meditation,
I'd like you to just let them be,
Allow them to be,
Welcome these emotions in,
And let go of any judgment you may be attributing to them.
So letting go of any fear that we may not be feeling enough,
Or that we're feeling too much,
Or that I'm not allowed to feel these emotions,
Let them be.
They are part of your current experience.
And if it begins to be too much,
You can hold your hand on your heart,
Or just send your mind to an anchor point in the body that feels safe and grounding.
Otherwise,
Continue to just be with this raw emotion,
The pure force of it.
In acknowledging these feelings,
We will now move into a form of pranayama practice,
Which simply means breath work in most translations,
Known as nadi shodhana.
And so,
Still with the eyes closed,
I'd like you to raise your palm and bring your index finger and your middle finger into your palm center so that the pinky ring finger and thumb are still extended.
And bringing the thumb on the right nostril,
Plugging the right nostril,
Breathing in through the left nostril.
And as we exhale,
Plugging the left nostril with our ring finger or pinky,
And then exhaling out of the right nostril.
Inhaling through the right nostril.
Exhaling,
Switching sides again.
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
Switching sides,
Exhaling on the right side.
Perhaps incorporating ology breath or ocean breath is like constriction of the throat,
Continuing at your own pace,
Switching and breathing on your own.
Your breath doesn't have to sound like mine or go at the same pace.
Inhaling through the left nostril.
One more round of breath,
Allowing the breath to come back to normal,
Where we are no longer influencing with purpose the breath.
And just noticing in this body if we feel a sense of balance or safety or groundedness that was not there before.
And if not,
Accepting this with kindness and compassion.
Still with the eyes closed,
We will now do a modified form of loving-kindness meditation,
In which we imagine someone or group of people that we find quite easy to love,
To be compassionate for,
To be sympathetic towards.
And usually this would be a friend or relative,
Maybe your dog,
But I'd like to encourage you this meditation to think of the families and friends that were affected by the deaths of George Floyd,
Ahmaud Arbery,
Breonna Taylor,
Or other people that you may know and think of,
And just bring their faces to mind.
Are they smiling?
Are they crying?
How is their emotional and mental state?
What do their eyes look like?
Where's the kindness in their face?
As you look at them,
You realize that they are looking at you as well,
And that there is a connection here.
And so I'd like you to,
Either aloud or within your own mind,
Or rather from your heart,
Speak,
I see you.
I love you.
Or even better,
You are seen.
You are loved.
You are protected.
You are safe.
You are supported.
You are strong.
Just see how those words land on them.
Is there a softening in their gaze?
Are there more tears coming?
And if you'd like to,
You may say a phrase or many phrases in your own words to these affected people.
Maybe it's a simple sentence.
Maybe it's not a mantra.
Maybe it's just a conversation.
Maybe it's something that you would like for this person or these people,
These affected families and friends to know.
And if not,
Still holding their gaze.
And now,
If you'd like,
You may bow gently to these people or this person,
But if it feels right,
You may embrace them with a hug,
With a nice,
Authentic,
Heart-based bear hug that encapsulates your empathy towards this person or people and your recognition of their humanity.
That this person or these persons want to be free of suffering,
Just like I do.
That these people want to avoid pain and suffering as I do.
And just knowing this truth,
Giving them one last tight squeeze if you're still embracing them,
Watch them either disappear or walk away.
And just for a moment,
Notice how you have changed.
Have any feelings or thoughts shifted within you?
Has your vibration shifted from your heart center down to your sacral or root or lower or higher even?
Or if you are more or less the same,
This is fine too.
Now the next step might be difficult for some people,
And I ask that you love yourself through this process.
And just know how far you are able to go today.
And just be with that.
Welcome that.
And so if at any point during this meditation you find that it is too hard on you or that you cannot go further,
I ask that you simply return to your breath or recall the kind gaze of the family members before or friends.
Or that you remember a loved one close to you that you can breathe with and share a gaze with.
Or any other form of meditation that you find calming and reassuring.
Still with the eyes closed,
I'd like to welcome you to think of the cops and people,
Citizens,
That were responsible for the deaths of either or all affected peoples that I mentioned earlier.
George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor,
Ahmaud Arbery,
Or another case if you know of it.
If you find that it's a bit overwhelming,
You can just choose one cop or one responsible party.
Or if you'd like,
You can imagine the cops that were responsible for the killing of George Floyd,
The citizens that were responsible for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery,
And the party responsible for the death of Breonna Taylor.
Really imagine these people.
Are they in uniform?
What are they wearing?
What does their gaze look like?
How is it different from the family before?
How are they standing?
How are they sitting?
And more importantly,
How do you feel towards them?
Looking deep within your heart space,
What emotions arise?
What's happening subconsciously with your facial muscles?
Being aware of that,
Still gazing at this one person or many people.
I'd like you to recall that all humans are made of space dust.
We are all made from the same atoms,
Molecules,
Cells,
And so on that make us who we are as a species.
And that biologically,
You and this person or these people are the same.
We can also note that you and this person also share the same mind,
The same ability to think,
To overthink,
To not think clearly enough.
To feel more than is necessary or to not feel at all.
Just like this person,
You have probably worried about getting bills paid on time or protecting your family or friends.
Just like you,
This person has experienced deep pain in their life at some point.
Deep happiness too.
Just like you,
This person just wants to be free from suffering.
And through their own pain that they've experienced in their life,
I've unfortunately felt that the only way to come to power or to come to a sense of peace is to use their authority or guns or weapons to bring a man or woman to their knees.
And this is unfortunate that this is how their pain has expressed themselves.
But this is the truth nonetheless.
And so looking at this person,
Looking in their eyes,
Not asking you to forgive them at all or even sympathize with their predicament or excuse their behavior.
But to simply see the shared humanity.
Can you find the humanness in them?
Not necessarily the humaneness,
But the quality of being human.
And how does that feel when we find that?
Are we able to find that today?
Just notice.
Notice that there is a high aversion to comparing oneself with these people.
If we are able to step into it.
Now,
Having this insight,
I'd like you to say either aloud or from your heart silently.
I recognize that you are human like me.
I recognize that you long to be free of suffering like me.
I accept that I cannot understand all of your pain.
I accept that I cannot understand why you cause pain.
But I can accept that you are human as I am.
I wish that you unlearn the violent tendencies that have been bestowed upon you.
That you have either learned from others.
Or that you have taught yourself.
And you have my sympathies for being in such a deep state of pain.
That you find the only way to relieve it is through inflicting it upon others.
And just notice how that feels within your body.
Notice if anything shifted.
Notice if anything shifted with them.
If anything is undeniable,
It is that they are feeling quite a bit of pain right now.
And quite a bit of suffering.
Perhaps even more than when they were held responsible for those killings.
And it's up to us to see if we are able to be compassionate in these situations.
Not of excusing behavior,
But of opening our hearts and opening our capacity to love and receive love.
If it feels right,
You may bow gently to this person or people.
If you are feeling extra brave today,
You may even give them a handshake or give them a hug.
In fact,
If that thought brings you mild discomfort,
