Welcome to the meditation.
You may find this meditation helpful in the winter,
Under a new moon,
Or anytime that you feel yourself in a dark season.
Before we begin the meditation let's take some time to center ourselves by focusing on our body and breath.
Find yourself in a comfortable seated position or feel free to lie down.
If it's comfortable for you close your eyes and bring attention to your physical body.
Start to notice the weight of your body on the surface below you.
Take a few deep breaths.
Get a sense for the space that your body takes up.
As you take another breath bring in more oxygen,
Enlivening your body.
And as you exhale get a sense of relaxing more deeply.
See if you can consciously increase the lengths of your inhales in the lengths of your exhales so that you can slow down your mind and turn inward.
If it helps you to center in feel free to inhale to the count of four and exhale to the count of four.
Start to become aware of the points of contact that your body has with the surface beneath you.
Notice the support that you feel.
Remember that you are supported in this season.
Notice the weight and pressure of your body,
Any heat throughout your body.
Notice your legs against the surface beneath you.
Notice any pressure,
Any pulsing,
Heaviness or lightness.
Notice your back.
Again notice the support that you feel behind your back.
Next bring your attention to your abdominal area.
If your stomach is tense let it soften.
Let go.
You're safe.
Take a breath bringing air filling up your belly.
Bring your attention to your pelvic bowl.
Notice if you're clenching anywhere and work to release tension and send your breath there expanding.
Notice your hands.
Are they clenched?
See if you can allow them to soften.
Wiggle your fingers and relax them.
Notice your arms.
Feel any sensation in your arms.
Let your shoulders be soft and drop them away from your ears.
Notice your neck and throat and let them be soft.
Relax.
Breathe in deeply.
Soften your jaw.
Let your face and all facial muscles release.
Now notice your whole body present and at ease.
Take one more breath.
Be aware of your whole body as best as you can.
Take a few breaths here in the space you created for yourself.
I admit that every year I dread the time change when we fall back and lose an hour of daylight at the end of our days.
This year instead I tried to acknowledge my resistance to the darkness and I decided to be more open to it this year.
I'm trying not to fight the urge to get into bed by 7 p.
M.
To cancel plans,
To read more books,
To light more candles.
Throughout this meditation I will talk about some stories and metaphors from the Hebrew Scriptures and from the New Testament and I use these stories and this language because this is the language that I have to talk about the deeper aspects of life,
The transcendence of the universe.
I hope as you listen regardless of your faith or religious background that you can find resonance in this deep universal thread of truth.
As a culture we tend to fear and avoid darkness.
A verse that comes to mind for me is 1st John 1 5 which says,
God is light and in God there is no darkness at all.
It seems hard to argue with that.
Author Barbara Brown Taylor talks about this idea of a full solar spirituality.
Culturally Christians and I think in general Americans have an expectation to stay in the light of God.
We're expected to stay on the sunny side of faith,
Hope for the best,
Believe that God is on our side,
All of these things and I think a lot of times this can translate as toxic positivity,
Spiritual bypassing and on another level I honestly think it has contributed to racism within the dominant Christian culture because we so strongly associate light with goodness and dark with bad negativity.
But I don't think this is what God intended or actually what the great narrative of the scriptures tells us.
I mean in a literal sense scientific research suggests that too much exposure to artificial light can negatively affect human health increasing risks for obesity,
Depression,
Sleep disorders,
Diabetes and certain types of cancer.
So living our lives in this full solar capacity isn't good for us on a physical human level and I also don't think that it's good for us or realistic on a spiritual level either.
In the very beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters,
Hovering over the darkness like a hen brooding over her nest.
And out of this darkness,
This womb like reality,
We see God bringing forth all of creation and out of that darkness God calls it good.
Psalm 18 11 shows God taking darkness as God's hiding place and there are also countless examples of God revealing God's self in the darkness to so many of the patriarchs from the Hebrew Scriptures.
We see God revealing God's self to Job,
To Abraham,
To Moses,
To Solomon,
Even the Holy of Holies,
This place where the glory of God was said to dwell was to be completely dark.
So this is why I don't buy the whole idea that in God there is no darkness at all.
In Isaiah 45 3 God says,
I will give you hidden treasures in the darkness.
There are clearly aspects of God that are not visible by the full light of day.
I recently saw this quote from Jory Pryor and he said,
Grace is not rare.
Turn off the light and you'll bump your shin on it.
My invitation to you in this season is to sit with the darkness and resist the urge to fight against it.
Resist the urge to turn on the lights,
To distract yourself or to push yourself harder than your body wants.
Don't chase the darkness away.
What hidden treasures can you find?
If you would like to work with a breath prayer you can try this one.
Inhaling,
I will not fear the dark.
Exhaling,
God help me to see the hidden treasures.
I will leave some space here and then ring the bell to signify the end of the meditation but feel free to take the time that you need.
You you you
