Welcome to the meditation.
If you feel comfortable,
Close your eyes and start to check in with yourself.
Find a sense of how you feel physically,
Emotionally and spiritually.
In each of those three realms,
Do you feel tuned in or disconnected?
Maybe even as you start to try and tune in,
You start to fidget in your seat a little bit,
Trying to find a more comfortable position with your body.
Take some time to notice and try to tune in physically,
Emotionally and spiritually.
Often people feel like they're quote failing at meditation because as soon as you sit down to meditate,
You start to notice those little aches and pains in your body or your mind starts to go to some issue you're trying to work out in your life.
That doesn't mean that you're failing.
That means that you're paying attention,
Maybe for the first time all day or all week.
So your body and mind are like,
Hey,
You're paying attention?
Great,
We want to be listened to.
The solution to this is not to continue to ignore them.
If you're able,
Give them a little space,
Listen to them and then tell them you're going to take care of it and ask them to step back so that you can sink below those physical layers and the thought layers.
I'll give you some space here to try and acknowledge that which needs to be acknowledged and then sink into this time of meditation.
I'll give you some space here to try and acknowledge that which needs to be acknowledged and then sink into this time of meditation.
Can you feel weary?
Go ahead and take a sigh.
If you need to just let some pressure out.
Life can feel relentless.
As I'm recording this,
We are in the beginning of the third year of this global pandemic.
The roller coaster of the past two years makes me feel weary.
I'm sure you can relate.
Perhaps you've experienced changes to your work situation,
Childcare,
Social events,
Travel.
We lack the ability to plan,
To look forward to things.
We have to be more calculated about all of our decisions,
Who we spend time with,
Where we go,
And it can feel heavy and tiring.
In the midst of this,
Several months ago,
I started to think about how absolutely vital for us it is to figure out how to create places of sanctuary for ourselves.
So much of our lives feels like a laundry list of endless demands.
Existing in this culture of late-stage capitalism will suck us dry of everything we have for offer and put it up for sale.
Social media can be a powerful place for connection,
And often times it drains us.
Our culture doesn't reward people who rest,
And often,
Especially for women,
Our time is seen as up for grabs to anyone who wants it.
I've reflected on the ways that I have had to fight to protect my time for myself,
And I keep coming back to this idea of creating sanctuary.
What does this mean,
To create sanctuary for ourselves?
Well,
A sanctuary is defined as a place of refuge or safety.
In the classic feminist text,
Women Who Run With The Wolves,
Clarissa Pinkola Estes says,
It is ironic that we have made wildlife refuges for all kinds of animals,
But not for ourselves and the places where we live day after day.
We fervently point out how other creatures' natural territories have become surrounded by cities,
Ranches,
Highways,
Noise,
And other dissonance as though we are not surrounded by the same,
As though we are not affected also.
We know that for creatures to live on,
They must,
At least from time to time,
Have a home place,
A place where they feel both protected and free.
Are you able to identify any places or activities or people that make you feel both protected and free?
Meditation is one for me,
And maybe that's why you're here too.
But maybe it's also a walk in nature,
A long hug with a dear friend,
Gardening,
An aimless drive,
Or waking up early to greet the day on your own terms.
Later,
Clarissa Pinkola Estes continues saying,
Where is home?
Home is where a thought or feeling can be sustained instead of being interrupted or torn away from us because something else is demanding our time and attention.
Home is a sustained mood or sense that allows us to experience feelings not necessarily sustained in the mundane world,
Wonder,
Vision,
Peace,
Freedom from worry,
And demands.
If you have small children living in your home,
That last piece probably hit you hard.
How many times have I decided it wasn't worth attempting something because I knew that I would be interrupted?
For the rest of the time in this meditation,
I want to give it to you to use however you want.
You have created this time for yourself.
Maybe you want to just try to enter into that sanctuary place within yourself.
You can repeat the affirmations,
I am safe,
I am free,
If that helps to center you.
Or if you want to ponder the idea of creating sanctuary in your own life,
Then please use this time for that.
Consider where there are places you can go and activities you can do that create sanctuary for you.
I will leave space here and then I will end the meditation with the bell.
Please take all the time that you need.
Now I will be both of you.
You you you you you
