Welcome.
Welcome students,
Faculty,
Staff,
Parents,
Alumni,
Community members.
Hi,
I'm Ed Porter.
I'm a Black American with African heritage.
My pronouns are he and him.
I live in Southwestern Colorado in the mountains on land that was inhabited by many Indigenous nations.
It's a place where five rivers meet.
The Navajo,
The Jew,
The Apache occupied this land.
I'm a former school teacher,
Curriculum developer,
Superintendent of schools,
And I currently practice coaching systems thinking and leadership to leaders of not-for-profits and schools.
I'm also teaching a course here called Racialized Trauma and Body-Based Justice.
My life has been dedicated to opening hearts,
Minds,
And eyes for anti-oppression,
Equity,
Inclusion,
And social justice.
We all have a learning journey and my learning journey has been learning who I am,
Not who others think I am,
Learning how to tap into my inner strength,
Learning to derive strength from my connection to family and community,
Learning to always see the intersections between my identities and my life and the life of others,
And for me,
Learning how to live a life of purpose within the context of racism and systemic oppression as a permanent condition,
And lastly,
Learning how to hold love,
Awareness,
Courage,
And vision a new way,
And taking powerful action.
This morning,
We're going to do a love meditation.
We use this meditation at Courage of Care in our healers program in our summer intensive.
So,
I'd like you to settle.
For me,
Settling is kind of noticing what's around me,
Getting in touch with myself,
And then noticing the environment I'm in,
Just noticing,
Not doing anything about it.
Then I close my eyes.
I invite you to close your eyes or narrow your gaze.
Breathe.
Ground.
However it is,
You center and ground.
We're going to begin by finding our sanctuary.
Just below your crown,
Equidistant between your temples and just inward from your forehead.
It feels like home.
Feels safe,
Calm,
Quiet,
Exclusive to you,
And inaccessible to others.
I like to decorate my sanctuary just to make it home,
To make it mine.
Bringing the elements,
Earth,
Air,
Fire,
Water.
I furnish my sanctuary.
Pictures on the walls,
Windows,
And I fill it with my own energy.
I invite all of my systems to take occupancy.
Body,
Three brains,
Head,
Heart,
And gut,
And spirit.
So,
Just sit there for a moment.
Now,
Picture or sense yourself as love.
You as love without an object.
Bring all your senses in alignment with love.
Notice where you feel your love.
Just as love,
No object.
Breathe into it.
Immerse yourself in love.
This is you.
You as love.
See yourself moving around in your love.
You and love are one.
Alone together,
Partners.
Notice how it feels.
Does your love have color?
Does it have vibration?
Does it have density?
Solid,
Spongy,
Thin,
Hollow.
Is it liquid?
Is it gaseous?
Is it warm,
Hot,
Cool?
Is it stationary or is it pulsing or oscillating?
Just sit there.
You as love,
No object.
Now,
Ask your love if it has a message for you.
What does your love need right now?
These messages can come as symbols,
Flashes of thought,
Direct knowing.
Just scenic or quiet.
Rest here a while.
Centered,
Grounded,
Sensing you as love without an object.
It feels like letting go,
Letting things happen.
It feels regenerative and energizing.
Now,
Intend to bring you as love in every situation you encounter today.
Picture how you will engage people,
Situations from you as love.
Picture what you want to happen as you engage people and situations,
You as love.
Picture yourself staying in a moment.
Fix an image of yourself as love,
No object.
Throughout the day,
Remind yourself that you are love,
Even without an object.
You can return to the state that we found here together this morning or today.
Set an intention to check back with yourself throughout the day.
Just anchor the feeling and the sense that you have in this moment.
I sometimes use a symbol or I create a switch.
Here's a prompt or a phrase.
Breathe.
Rest here a while.
And let's end here.
