Let's begin by attuning with the bell.
Stand,
Sit,
Or lie down,
Eyes open or closed,
In the most relaxing posture you could find.
Let the quiet find you,
And let the stillness enter and embrace you.
Take a break from what was,
Its pains,
Grief,
And struggle,
And dedicate a few minutes to what is,
And not what will be,
With its anxieties or worries.
Give yourself just this time,
In your honor,
And the honor of loved ones who you can serve,
Through being clear-headed.
Breathe deeply.
Say a private word of thanks to yourself,
For giving yourself this time,
This dedication and devotion to wholeness.
Do a check of your body,
Its particular combination of stresses and strains,
Energies and excitements,
At this very moment.
How are you feeling physically and emotionally?
You might be able to note where you feel those things in your body.
Even good and bad emotions have homes,
Perhaps we should say good and difficult emotions.
Breathe into all those difficult aspects and held spaces,
Letting yourself know that you are here and present to support yourself and your body,
All that you are.
We're going to let our mind wander over the past 12 months,
One year or so,
Without much control or structure,
And simply letting it drift across the frame of our mind,
Witnessing,
Observing,
Like a chemist in a laboratory or a watcher of the clouds,
Just drifting by.
Let your mind amble across the year that was,
Without getting connected to any particular image or sensation,
Dream-like.
If you start to fixate on a particular memory,
Image,
Sensation,
Especially if it's a thorny experience,
A difficult one,
Just breathe deeply,
Letting it go.
Maybe you use my voice or your body as a cue to return to this sensory experience,
Not delving into cognitive awareness.
Breathing,
Letting it all come up,
Drift away,
And returning to this day,
This minute,
This moment.
We're letting go of all that was and is no more,
So that we can be open to what is and what will be.
Letting thoughts and reflections drift through the past year or so,
Tumbling out,
Letting go.
And in the past year or so,
We've been wounded,
Injured,
Harmed,
Insulted.
People do it.
Whether they mean to or not,
We get stung.
You could carry grudges or resentments,
Even seek revenge,
But mostly that'll wear you down.
So if you could gently call to mind some resentment,
Doesn't have to be too focused,
You can just notice a feeling.
Maybe you could forgive,
Or begin to forgive,
Or just imagine forgiving.
Starting the process of letting go,
Just for your sake.
No one else's.
Letting go.
Forgiving,
And letting it go.
Putting it down,
So that you and we can move forward.
Maybe start to clench,
Or fixate.
Just breathe into that.
See if you can invite that thought or feeling or image to let go,
To move on.
And when your mind drifts,
Because minds drift,
Just come back.
My voice,
Your body,
Your breath,
The stillness and quiet is there for you.
Returning,
Breathing.
And we can be sure that if other people have done wrong to us,
By accident,
On purpose,
Totally unaware,
We do the same.
We have harmed,
Injured,
Insulted.
Not because we're bad people,
But because all people make mistakes.
Maybe you're ready to ask forgiveness.
Maybe not.
Maybe you're just barely ready to think about it.
Contemplate the remote possibility that you were wrong or mistaken,
And that someday you might apologize.
Doesn't have to be now,
But it's good for your soul.
Breathe into that potential,
Because asking forgiveness is also for you and your liberation.
And last,
Can you forgive yourself for all the times you violated and transgressed what is most sacred about you?
Going against your own wholeness and integrity because you're fragile and imperfect and we're all inconsistent.
Take a few moments to forgive yourself most of all.
And with these last moments,
You may want to repeat to yourself the word forgiven,
Forgiven,
And forgiven.
Breathing in and out on that word,
Forgiven.
