You Belong (With Music)

You belong to yourself, but you are also part of many other groups. You have many other belonging relationships. You are at the center of a vast web of relationships, a vast web of belonging. In this meditation, we will seek to acknowledge all of our belonging relationships, acknowledge our feelings about belonging, and perhaps bask in the warmth of belonging.
Music by Chris Collins indiemusicbox

Transcript

Welcome. This is the belonging meditation. It is inspired by a quote from my teacher, Camille Maureen. Each atom of oxygen is immortal, Combining and releasing through living forms around our planet, Transformed but never changed. I take my place in this seamless circulation, Woven within the intricate interconnectedness of all life. The first meaning of the word belong is to be the property of, To be owned by. Those shoes belong to me. Belong also means to be a part of, To be a member of a group, To be joined with a family, A group of friends, A team, A culture, A species. It can be the joining of yoga, Our instinct to connect one thing to another, One person to another, To understand how things work, To seek out community, To seek out relationships. As we settle into this practice, I invite you simply to be with yourself. You belong only to yourself. You are only the property of yourself. Notice how your breath is flowing today. Notice how your body is feeling. Take a few breaths to move towards relaxation, To slow down, To release with each exhale, Giving back to the universe. You might imagine yourself perched in a quiet place of belonging, A sanctuary, A place where you only belong to yourself with no outside obligations, No to-do list, Your own space. Perhaps you might sit in your own company for a few minutes. You belong to yourself, But you are also part of many other groups, Many other belonging relationships. You are at the center of a vast web of relationships, A vast web of belonging. Like the atom of oxygen, You are woven into the interconnectedness of all. You might allow yourself to expand the imaginary space around you to include your family and close friends, To include those people closest to you, Perhaps those animals closest to you, Those that you love. What feelings arise when you include your very closest relationships? What feelings do their very mention engender? You share belonging with these relationships. For a time, Allow yourself to bask in their warmth. You belong. You belong. You belong. Now you might allow your awareness to gently expand to include your next circle of acquaintances, Perhaps your colleagues at work, Perhaps others you attend events with, Those who work in places you frequent. Perhaps that person with the purple backpack you always see at the same time and place every day, Even though you've never spoken to them. You may not know these individuals well or at all, But they support you and most likely you also support them. You have belonging relationships with this circle, With these people. Can you perhaps feel gratitude for this circle of belonging relationships? Can you thank them for all the things they do that let your life be possible? Can you freely give what you do to make their lives possible? You belong. You belong. You belong. Now you might let your circle of awareness expand even farther to include everyone on the Earth, All those people, People beyond counting, Far beyond your ability to know individually, But all are people who share a common humanity. You share a belonging relationship with them, With the family of humanity. Can you accept that you belong with each and every person on the Earth, That at most fundamental levels you and they are the same, That each one of them inhabits a house of belonging relationships like that you are building today, That each person sits at the center of their own web of belonging relationships? Can you accept that we are all far more alike than we are different? You might allow your space to be lit by their glow. You belong. You belong. You belong. You might continue to expand your consciousness to include our planet, The Earth and its biosphere, Minerals, Water, Gases, Plants and animals. Maybe you first see images of vast horizons, Of magnificent mountains, Deserts and rivers. Maybe you first hear the tortured cries of a ravaged planet. Can you sit for a few minutes conscious of your belonging relationship with the Earth? You belong. You belong. You belong. You belong. Maybe you feel strengthened by the quantity and the quality of your belonging relationships. Or maybe by this time you feel stretched thin and powerless. Can you find the strength and space for one final expansion? Can you acknowledge, Like the atom of oxygen, That you are part of the seamless circulation of all, That you are woven into the intricate interconnectedness of all? Can you acknowledge that you belong here? You might say to yourself, I belong. Say it as many times as you need. Let belonging be your mantra. Say it as many times as you need. From this vast space of universality, From your singular perch of belonging to yourself, To your encompassing of all, Can you bring back with you as you prepare to leave this meditation your own statement of belonging? I belong. I invite you to end this meditation by taking five long and slow breaths with me. Breathe in for yourself. Breathe out for your family and friends. Breathe in for yourself. Breathe out for all living things. Breathe in for yourself. Breathe out for the planet. Breathe in for yourself. As you release this final breath, Allow the benefits of your meditation practice to flow out into the universe, Making it a bit better place. You belong to yourself. If you would like, After a time you might wrap your arms around yourself in a hug, A gesture of belonging, A gesture of connectedness. Welcome back.