Communities Of Communities

Consider all of the circles of trust in which you exist. Meditate on the support you give and receive from your body, your family, your community, and your world. Then, go forward in the deep sense of connection that you visualize.

Transcript

Begin in your spot, Standing, Seated, Or lying down, Just where you find yourself at this moment. You don't need to be special or gifted to meditate. It doesn't require any unique training or travel or classes. It just requires you to admit into yourself the quiet. Allow yourself to settle into a stillness. Feel your body, To notice your breath, To experience boredom and the periodic flightiness of thought. Listen to my voice. Attend to your breath if you get distracted, Because that's the nature of human experience, To be distracted, To wander and wonder, To have our thoughts unspool beyond our control as neurons fire, Sometimes at random. Accept all of those things as you enter into the space and time of meditation. Your body is your sanctuary in this moment. Embrace its density. Enjoy the pull of gravity settling you in. Let yourself slump. Relax any tight muscles. Breathe into any constricted spaces. And then slow your processes down. You are fine just the way you are, And because you are sentient, You can control some aspects of your experience. You can inhale more deeply, Exhale more slowly. Try it without pressure or obligation. Just experiment. Use your sense of self to notice the boundaries of your body, The outermost layers of tissue and skin that contain the volume of yourself, Your mass and inertia, And the quiet space of your heart. The movement of your molecules, The working of your cells and organs, The processes of your mind. Those are your first community, Your earliest home. Feel the natural embrace of that community, The ways in which your body is interdependent and supports you, Brings you grace. Breathe into that support and support it in turn, Settling down, Finding a truer quiet and a deeper breath. You are also embedded in the community of family. Family can bring wounds and heal them. Family can support you loyally. Family can make mistakes, But in many ways, It's a richer life than being alone. As you breathe, Feel the support of loved ones, Loved ones by biology and by choice. And as you exhale, Show them your support. Send out your love and faithfulness, Breathing into that community and out with it. When your mind gets distracted, As it has to, Through the regular functioning of neurons, Just return to my voice, Settle into your body, Space, And context. Use your breath or some other gentle reminder to bring yourself back to this time of meditation. There are larger communities, A faith community, A civic community, A learning community, An athletic community, A creative community, Or more immediately, The community of people meditating at any time. We support each other in a web of mutuality, In a healthy interdependence, Relying one on the other and back. We give each other meaning and love and grace at our best. Breathe in that support and breathe out your support of the precious communities in which you are embedded. Accept with gratitude that you need each other, That you serve each other, That you exist with each other. Breathe into that awareness and as you breathe out, Send out that gratitude. Over the course of this meditation, You surely become distracted periodically, As is expected and normal. When you notice you're distracted, That's the excellent moment to return. Come back to my voice, Your body, And breath, The sensations of your context returning to this present moment. Here like a gift, This moment unfolding before you. We are all of us and each of us, Part of the even broader community of humankind. The strivings of this broken world are individual and collective efforts at repair and healing, Sometimes fragile and delicate and even seemingly ineffective. Yet, We reach out to each other, Even the stranger in our midst. As you breathe in, Acknowledge the kindness and grace of all humanity and as you breathe out, Breathe out gratitude and grace towards them and us. So many experiences of us, From the personal to the home, To the local, To the global. Breathing in an awareness of being in a network of shared responsibility, Breathing out a gratitude that you are part of the community of humankind. Continuing to breathe, Blessings.