Welcome to this meditation that will give you space to explore your emotions for today.
A practice that you can return back to anytime you're starting to feel overwhelmed by an emotion.
Let's begin.
My favorite kind of meditation happens on the rare and lucky days when I can head down to the beach at sunrise.
It's a fully immersed sensory experience,
Gazing at the waves,
Hearing them crash against the shore,
Smelling the salty air,
Even feeling the power of a low rumble as water meets the sand and then pulls back again.
There's a certain beach that I go to that has a ton of little rocks all along the shore,
And I love the sound when the waves pull back into the sea.
It sounds like a large audience clapping.
In my meditation practice,
There are several ways that I like to work with the ocean as a focal point.
Today,
I'd like to use the ocean waves and tides as a metaphor for our emotions.
When I spend time contemplating the ocean,
I'm struck again by the fact that I don't know how to not believe in God.
Even in my times of deepest deconstruction and confusion around faith,
The thought of an existence without belief in some version of God made no sense to me.
When I see something this amazing and think about the complexities of the ocean and the tides,
The moon,
My body as a woman,
I can't fathom any other reality other than the existence of something way beyond humanity.
Job 26,
6-14 says,
God spreads the skies over unformed space,
Hangs the earth out in empty space.
God pours water into cumulus cloud bags and the bags don't burst.
God makes the moon wax and wane,
Putting it through its phases.
God draws the horizon out over the ocean,
Sets a boundary between light and darkness.
Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies.
Listen,
It's God raising God's voice.
By God's power,
Sea storms are stilled.
By God's wisdom,
Sea monsters are tamed.
With one breath,
God clears the sky.
With one finger,
God crushes the sea serpent.
And this is only the beginning,
A mere whisper of God's power.
Job 27,
7-8 says,
If you're willing,
I want you to meet me there in your imagination.
Let's begin by closing your eyes if you feel comfortable.
Start to unclench your jaw,
Soften your eyes.
You can raise your eyebrows and then allow them to settle,
Softening your forehead.
Scrunch your shoulders up by your ears and allow them to rest down your back.
Adjust your posture and body position to find ease.
Wiggle your toes and enter the moment.
In your mind's eye,
Paint the scene.
Maybe you find yourself at a beach that you've been to or a beach that you've seen in a picture.
The sun is getting ready to rise,
So it's still dark with that hint of light and color arriving at the edge where the sky and the sea meet.
Inhale the salty air.
You feel the weight of the water in the air on your skin like a subtle hug.
Take some time to really find yourself there.
Throughout this meditation,
When your mind starts to wander,
Bring yourself back to your spot on the beach.
Bring yourself back to that steady rhythmic motion of the waves crashing on the sand and being pulled out to the sea.
As you reflect on the ocean,
Notice how it's rarely still and I would say it's never static.
And in the same way,
Your mind is rarely still and your emotions are rarely or never static.
Just as you wouldn't want the ocean waves to cease,
Your goal is not for your emotions to cease.
Emotions are information that point you toward your deepest values.
So when you experience an emotion,
You can remember that you don't experience emotion over something that you don't care about.
Imagine yourself trying to push back and stop the ocean waves.
Similarly,
It's a fruitless endeavor to try and push back your emotions.
You may be successful for a period of time in pushing them down,
But eventually they have to come out.
And the longer you hold them in,
The more unhealthy and dysfunctional you'll become.
And those emotions will come leaking out in destructive ways.
Emotions have to be dealt with.
The longer that we try to avoid them,
The more of a problem they become.
The next time you feel threatened by an overwhelming emotion,
Can you try to just give it space?
Can you try to say thank you,
Fear,
Thank you,
Grief,
Thank you for showing up and reminding me that I care?
Let the emotion crash over you and trust that you will not drown.
Give yourself the support you need when you're in the middle of a wave.
Maybe it's a few minutes of intentional breathing or journaling.
Maybe it's a walk in the sunshine,
Maybe a call with a friend.
Even just saying out loud,
For example,
I'm feeling anxious today,
Can help to loosen its grip on you.
It needs to be acknowledged.
And then in the same breath,
You can remind yourself that you're safe and you're held.
You can find yourself back up high on that beach,
Observing the waves,
But not being caught in them.
In Job 38,
8 through 11,
God says,
Who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me.
I wrapped it in soft clouds and tucked it in safely at night.
And then I made a playpen for it,
A strong playpen,
So it couldn't run loose and said,
Stay here.
This is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.
I'll leave some time here at the end of the meditation for you to practice breathing with the sound of the ocean,
And then the bell will signify the end of the meditation.
I hope you can take this piece with you throughout your day.
