Welcome to the meditation.
Before we begin,
I want to briefly explore this idea that we're going to be focusing on to give some background on why it's important for us to practice this,
Particularly for those of us who have grown up in the Christian tradition.
In the Bible,
The Apostle Paul uses this word,
The flesh,
And there's this infamous passage in Galatians 5 where Paul says,
So I say,
Walk by the Spirit,
And you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
And the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other,
So that you are not to do whatever you want.
This verse,
And a handful of other verses,
Have contributed to this negative view of the body that many Christians have been raised to hold.
The issue is with this word flesh isn't referring to our actual physical bodies.
It's referring to what we might call our ego,
Or in spiritual terms,
Our false self.
It's this part of you that feels separate from God,
And feels separate from others,
And anything that interrupts this divine connection that humans are able to experience at all times,
But because of what we call sin,
We are taken out of that connection.
This ego is a part of you,
But it's not the essence of you.
It's not your true self,
And many religious traditions have this concept of a higher self,
Or a true self,
And this is ultimately the place where we want to be living from,
Not living from the desires of our ego or our false self.
In the Internal Family Systems Therapy model,
They have something called the 8 C's,
Which I find very helpful for me in terms of trying to discern when I am operating from a more self-led space,
Verse leading from an ego or false self place.
The 8 C's are clarity,
Curiosity,
Confidence,
Connectedness,
Courage,
Creativity,
Calmness,
And compassion.
In this meditation,
We'll embrace our bodies as a tool to move beyond operating out of the ego,
Or the flesh,
The false self,
And we'll gently explore how to release the grip of the flesh and to connect with this deeper,
Truer self,
One that's more loving,
Compassionate,
And connected to the world around us,
And also to God.
Start by bringing your awareness to your breath.
No need to change the breath,
Just simply tune into the sensation of air entering and leaving your body.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest,
Or perhaps the expansion and then contraction of your abdomen.
The breath is always available to anchor you in the present moment and to ground you in your physical body.
It might feel nice to just slowly mentally scan your body from head to toe as you're taking in these inhales and exhales,
Noticing any areas of tension or discomfort,
And seeing if just simply by turning your attention to these sensations,
You can find some relaxation and ease,
Some softening,
Some release.
As you scan your body,
You're noticing physical sense,
And emotions,
And maybe thoughts are coming up for you.
So while you do that,
Just continue to pay attention,
And I'm going to list off a few attributes that may be coming up as a result of your false self or your flesh.
Those could be feelings of guilt,
Of anxiety,
Of fear,
Of confusion,
Of rigidity,
Of insecurity,
Of disconnection,
Of fear,
Of stuckness,
Of anxiousness,
And judgment.
As you continue to deeply embody through your breath and through your attention,
See if you can notice any tension,
Discomfort,
Or constriction that might be related to your ego or false self.
Again,
Observing these sensations without judgment,
Trying to hold space for them and welcome them in instead of pushing them away,
Offering compassion,
Offering understanding,
And then as you continue to breathe,
And if it feels right,
You can ask any of those parts of you if they can soften.
You can ask them if they can give you a little bit more space,
And you can also tell them that you're in this practice of embodying more self-led energy,
More true self energy.
If it helps,
You can visualize these physical sensations attached to your ego and then notice how they can give you space,
They can kind of back off and create a little more spaciousness within your body.
Now,
With the ego's grip,
Perhaps loosened,
Allow yourself to feel into the embodiment of your true self in a more full way.
Feel a sense of expansiveness,
Love,
And compassion,
Sensing this unity between your body and your true self,
And remembering again those eight C's that are not qualities that you need to work to cultivate.
These are qualities that are inherent to the true self and they can act as signposts to when you are operating from a place of true self energy.
And again,
Those eight C's are clarity,
Curiosity,
Confidence,
Connectedness,
Courage,
Creativity,
Calmness,
And compassion.
As you stay in this place of connection,
Just expand your awareness beyond the confines of your physical body to try to embrace the interconnectedness of all of humanity,
All of the created world,
Your connection with the moon and her cycles,
The ocean,
The earth,
The food that you eat,
The seasons.
Feel how the earth sustains your body and your body is part of this greater whole,
And love and compassion can flow between you and other living beings.
When you're ready,
You're going to slowly begin to bring your awareness back to the present moment,
Maybe grounding yourself back into your body with some gentle movement,
Or maybe placing a hand on your heart,
Thanking yourself for taking the time to explore this idea and to practice using embodiment to transcend the ego.
Remember that you carry this practice with you in your body and that your practice in meditation can transfer into the rest of your day.
