Welcome to the Shared Story series.
The goal of this particular series is to remind us that meditation is not about denying or eliminating our feelings.
Every emotion is a part of the human experience.
No person,
No life,
No matter how zen or wonderful,
Is immune to the experience of feeling.
And so meditation is really about acknowledging and honoring emotions in order to create space to observe them from a place of acceptance and peace.
And so this recording is the shared story of uncertainty.
And allow yourself to settle as we share this space and this story together of uncertainty.
Breathing nice and easy.
Allowing your body to relax.
Relaxing your eyes and coming fully present into this moment.
Into your body.
Nice,
Easy breaths.
I am here with you relaxing into this moment.
Also fully present.
And just for this moment,
Can you allow for the possibility that uncertainty,
This unknown,
Is actually a realm of possibility and it is not outside of you.
It is not outside of us.
It is within us.
And it is a place of power and magic.
This unknown,
This uncertainty,
Is a realm of possibility and it is quiet and sweet.
And it has a weight and energy that tells us that life is happening.
That energy is moving and shifting and creating on our behalf.
And what if our souls know this place?
This quiet,
Dark place of the unknown.
And so lets you and I welcome this dark unknown.
Here,
Now,
You and I together.
Open your heart as I open mine.
And could we even find in our hearts the ability to feel love for this unknown,
This uncertain place?
Because if we could,
That love will ground us and it will connect us and it will absolutely guide us safely into and through all this chaos and confusion.
You and me and our new friend,
The unknown,
Together.
And so here we are,
Walking in the shadow of uncertainty.
You and I.
We are walking in the dark.
We cannot see.
This is uncertainty.
This is the shadow of unknown.
And I understand that it is temporary.
Can you feel that too?
That all this uncertainty and chaos and confusion is just temporary.
And can you trust,
As I do,
That the light awaits us?
And even as I say that,
I honor that fear hovers at the edge of my senses.
I breathe in faith and exhale tension.
Faith.
Releasing tension,
First from my shoulders,
Because that is where it sits,
Coiled and thick,
Winding up the back of my neck,
Pulsing at the base of my skull.
Breathe.
Where does tension sit in your body?
Acknowledge it and exhale.
As I breathe,
I feel my shoulders relax.
I feel that tension unfurl,
Uncoil,
Unwind and slide away.
And that every breath is like soft hands gently smoothing away that pain and tension.
Being in the dark,
Here with you,
Together,
Each of us aware of the tension of uncertainty in our own unique way,
And still completely connected by this shared human experience.
And I realize in this moment it is important for me to say that I am not lost.
You are not lost.
We are here,
Together,
In the darkness of this unknown,
Yes,
But imagine that we are walking together in this darkness.
That we move slowly.
With each step our arms are outstretched to feel for any guidance.
Reaching out for something familiar by which to identify where we are or what's around us.
Each of us reaching out into the darkness to feel something so that we can know something.
And then what if,
In this uncertainty,
This chaos or darkness or limbo and confusion,
What if we can sense each other and know that we are not alone?
I am here.
You are here.
And somehow the darkness of uncertainty feels a little more familiar.
And all this unknown is a little more okay.
And now imagine that with each step it is a slow process of inching one foot forward,
Tentatively sliding toes forward,
Feeling our way along in the dark.
Searching for whatever might be in front of us to bear our weight.
Each step seeking contact with a surface that is solid and all the while we are wondering if we are stepping out into an abyss.
You and I together.
And somehow it begins to feel more like an adventure with a little less fear and confusion.
I am beginning to realize that there is a strange comfort in moving so slowly,
Easing forward with so much focus,
Fully present in this moment without distraction.
I can sense that we are moving together in the same direction and there is comfort there.
And you feel that too.
And there is even a sense of growing confidence.
I am feeling steadier and stronger in the darkness.
And gradually the darkness surrounding us begins to feel kinder,
Gentler.
Breathe.
We are safe.
We are safe.
I stop moving.
I sense you with me.
I relax my arms down to my sides,
No longer efforting or reaching or grasping in the emptiness.
Relax.
Breathe.
Hold still and listen.
Listen.
Can you hear your own breath?
Can you hear your heart beating?
Can you hear mine?
Feel your whole body let go.
We are safe.
And even though the unknown is different for us all,
We are together.
Because eventually we are all travelers in the land of uncertainty.
Eventually we all learn that everything we need to know is within us if we listen.
And as we listen,
If we pause long enough,
We realize that we are not alone and that all that is meant to be known is within us and guides us safely out of the dark and into the light.
Confident,
The uncertainty feeling familiar and more like an adventure,
We step forward.
Together.
Knowing that there is something solid and real there to bear our weight,
Support us completely and guide us,
You and I,
Into the light.
And as we listen,
We are all travelers in the land of uncertainty.
And as we listen,
We are all travelers in the land of uncertainty.
