What Holds You Up? (With Music)

In meditation, we allow the burden of our weight to shift from our bodies to a chair, a bed, or perhaps the floor. In this meditation, we seek to become as aware as we can be of what is holding us up, and in turn what we hold up. We seek to understand who and what supports us and who and what we support. Included are two readings from The Radiance Sutras (sutras 34 & 109) translated by my teacher Lorin Roche.

Transcript

Welcome. As you settle in, Be conscious as you can be of your body settling. Be as conscious as you can be of your muscles relaxing. Maybe bit by bit over time, Or maybe all at once there's a rush of relaxation. Can you feel the burden of your weight shift as it transfers to whatever is holding you up? Allow yourself to notice the process as your body releases its weight onto furniture or the floor. Now you might take a moment to make yourself as aware as possible of what's holding you up right now. If I ask you to answer what is holding you up, What would you say? Let yourself rest with that question for a bit, Secure in the knowledge that you are not falling, But are being held up. What is holding you up? Perhaps your answer is that there are many layers of support. Perhaps you haven't noticed anything beyond the chair or couch or bed you rest upon. You might allow your attention to expand to encompass all the ways in which you are supported. All of the things, All of the beings that hold you up. The furniture on which you rest was carried to your house. It was built by women and men in factories or workshops, Carpenters, Joiners, Cabinet makers, Upholsters. It was designed. The designs were approved. Orders were made. The materials were gathered, Cut from trees, Formed from plastics. Fabrics were woven. Production was accomplished. Your furniture rests on a floor. The floor holds up what is holding you up. Orders of wood or wood and tile or wood and carpet, Perhaps concrete. The floor is held up by walls and foundations, By steel and stone and concrete, Glass and plaster. Materials that have been sourced, Mined, Cut, Formed, Carried, And processed. All brought together by the labor of women and men. Some given freely in exchange, Some stolen, Some coerced. All the materials of everything that is physically holding you up have come from the earth. All of the energy used to create those materials has come from the sun. All of that is born from the dust of stars forming and exploding and reforming over incomprehensible spans of time. The air I am breathing was exhaled in ecstasy by an ancient sun. This earth I am standing on was born of cosmic fire. The blood flowing through my veins is as salty as the primordial ocean. The space permeating my body is infinite as the space all around. Above, Below, To all sides within, The elements of the universe are engaged in their ceremony of delight. This is my religion. The attraction between suns is the same as the love pulsating in my heart. This is me. Of course, It is not only the physical that holds you up, Not just the amazing chains of events that came together to put you onto some piece of furniture and some structure. We are also supported by people, Family, Friends, Acquaintances, Untold numbers of people we don't even know. Some support us directly, Speaking truth to our fantasies, Holding us accountable, And comforting us when we fall. Most of our support comes from people we don't know, Who create, Build, Carry, And carry away. It takes so much support to make our lives possible. We each sit on top of an enormous pyramid of support, Perched on our pinnacle, Looking down at the base, Shrouded in mist. We can't do any of this alone. Can you sit for a bit, Acknowledging your base of support, Acknowledging everything that is done for you? Can you acknowledge that you stand on the shoulders of everyone who came before you, Generations of people winding back to Mother Africa? Can you sit for a bit in gratitude for the elements of the universe, Engaged in their ceremony of delight, For the fires of creation, For those same fires that burn within you? This is my religion. The attraction between suns is the same as the love pulsating in my heart. This is my religion. This is my religion. This is my religion. This is my religion. This is my religion. We can't do any of this alone, And neither can anyone else. As we are supported, So must we support. Imagine your pyramid inverted with you still at the point, But now with the base high in the sky, High above you, Shrouded in clouds. We support family and friends, Children and children, And we support the people of our country. We support family and friends, Children and partners, Parents and cousins, Colleagues, People we barely know, People we will never know. We support through our love, Through our insistence on accountability. We have support through our labor, For no one's labor is insignificant. Can you acknowledge the huge network of support that begins with you, That comes from you and radiates out in ways seen and unseen, Across distances vast and wide? Can you find gratitude here for all that you do, For your ability to support? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Can you find love here? Native of eternity, At home in infinity, Breathing in mortality, Let these words sing in every cell, Oceans of splendor, Luminous energies of creation pulsating everywhere always. Hear these astounding words continually, Each phrase an invocation, But the sounds ripple through you. Resonate with the all-pervading hum of truth and know, Every fleeting moment is supported by forever. Every fleeting moment is supported by forever. . . . . . . . . . . . You You With waves of gratitude flowing from you to all the things that support you Flowing from you to all the things that hold you up But you allow yourself right now to return to what is physically holding you up To the mundane that is also sublime The chair a sofa perhaps the floor cushions and cloth wood and fabric from the earth Created by the energy of a star Can you emerge from this meditation holding space for those countless generations to come who will stand upon your shoulders Allow yourself a slow and gentle return perhaps beginning with some small movements Perhaps noticing how your weight shifts from whatever is holding you up back to your own strength as you sit tall Welcome back You