Cast Away

Tashlich ("sending") is a practice of release between Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

Traditionally, we cast bread or other objects into flowing water as a way of symbolically casting away what we no longer want to carry. In this meditation, you’ll be invited again and again to bring something to mind—and let it go. A sin you regret. A transgression you haven’t made right. Procrastination. Guilt. Shame. Disappointment. A harsh word. A missed opportunity. Something you wish you had done differently.

You don’t have to justify it, solve it, or punish yourself for it. Simply bring it into awareness. Acknowledge it. Then imagine placing it in the current and watching it drift away.

Again and again, we practice the same movement: remember, release, return. Not forgetting what happened, but loosening its grip—making room for what comes next.

Transcript

Let's begin with a bell. Just joining in. Finding Yourself. We spend a lot of time distracted. And wondering about other people's opinions of us or things we have to get done or what's coming next. Or a regret about yesterday or last year. That's fine. But meditation is a chance to. . . Drop all that. To quit on the external world and to go inward, To go into a space of quiet and stillness. Which is its own kind of fun. If boredom can be its own kind of fun, Which you can learn. Just enjoying your own company. That gift to yourself. And slowing down, Slowing down, Slowing down. Getting quiet. Triggering the quiet by becoming a better listener. What do you hear? Birds, Breezes, Mechanical noises, Cars, Distant voices. Dogs in the distance, Whatever it might be. Just listen. Loud noises, Soft noises. It's a good cue to make yourself more quiet and still. To accentuate the stillness you might want to stretch. It'll help you let go of any fidgeties. Fidget a little, Get that energy out. Come into your breathing. Okay, How's your breath? Can you make it a little deeper on the inhale, A little slower on the exhale, Just a little? This isn't work. This isn't a sport. You'll get better at it by doing it just like anything else, But. There's no objective standard to being a good meditator, I've ever heard. Just let it be fun. Maybe it'll make you smile. When you breathe, See if you can make your face and jaw softer. Almost slow down time? That would be cool. Just getting steady. Relaxing, Taking this little break. Did you fall asleep? That's fine too. If your eyes aren't closed now, You could try closing your eyes. It's going inward. Unwind your face, Soften the muscles, Loosen it up. See if you can pull your face's skin towards your temples. Give yourself a micro facelift. It'd be a smile. Maybe feel your pulse. Steady thrum maybe in your throat or you can sense it in your arms or chest. Beat, That rhythm. Slowing down. Quieter and more still. Just enjoying yourself. This meditation is a practice in letting go. Ringing up and Discarding. Letting go. Not with force or violence. There's this gentleness, Generous awareness. There are things we carry like procrastination and guilt that we. . . Wanna let go of, At least temporarily. Or periodically, Or continually. Change is more iterative than all at once. So we do it again and again. This is a chance to do that. And as always, If you get distracted or you bite on something that's sour. . . Something comes up that's disagreeable. Just pause and set it aside. Back to your breath or your pulse or you can use my voice as a cue to return. Or you can stay in the distraction and dive right into it. That's your choice. But that might not be fun. That might not be comfortable. Or useful. See what comes up. Is there something you need to let go of? Paradoxically, You need to bring it up to mind. Or you can let go. So see what comes up. Maybe a resentment or an anger or a guilt or disappointment. See what comes up. Notice it. Unwrap it like a present. Open it like a music box to understand it. Words and images, Feelings and symbols, What comes up. Breathe with it. Put it in your hand and. . . Cast it away. Back to breathing. Come back to bodily attention and sensory awareness out of the cognitive. Not future nor past, Just right now, Just you. Just listening. What do you hear? What do you notice? That's all you need to do. What else comes up that you want to cast away? Let it rise up to your awareness. Could be the same thing again, As things return in cycles. It'd be a new thing. Something's in the past. Something you're grasping at right now, Just something you need to let go of. Once and again and again. Let it come up. Sense the shape and the weight of the thing. The obsession. Value. Put it in your hand and cast it aside or set it away. Letting go. Wishing it goodbye. And just returning to your seat or lying place. Your body and your breath. Isn't it nice to be with yourself? You are special and fun. I have so much to learn and it isn't that lucky. Breathing in deeply, Out slowly. Yawning or stretching if you need to. Going quiet and still. Little deeper. Let another thing come up. Nothing that's nagging at you. Could be the past, Could be the future, Could be right now, Just something that's dragging on you. Weighing on you? What comes up? Does it have a name or a sense? It doesn't even have to be that clear. It's a sensibility. Notice it. What's going on there? Desire. That you can't quit. Feel it. Notice. Seek to understand and embrace. Where is it in your body even? Where are you physically holding on to it? Gather it up. Cast it away. Just letting go. Letting go. Coming back into this moment, This feeling, This quietness, This stillness, Your body, Yourself. So blessed. Able to grow. Breathe in deeply, Out slowly. A few more times.