This is a meditation dedicated to Mother Earth,
Mother of us all,
And to the summer solstice,
The longest day,
Which usually falls on or around June 21st in the Northern Hemisphere,
Around September 21st in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sometimes known as Midsummer in some cultures,
Though a lot of Americans think of it as the first day of summer.
Some neo-pagans like to call it litha.
And what you're hearing in the background is a recording.
It was actually made in a national park in Spain on the summer solstice.
I'd like to begin by observing the breath.
Just make sure you're seated comfortably with an erect spine and bring your attention just to lie lightly on your breath,
Just to notice how it is.
It's breathing normally.
But notice what it's like,
The characteristics of your breathing.
Notice how it's like a cycle,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Inhalation and exhalation.
Notice how we find the same cycles throughout nature if we look for them.
So we can draw an analogy to the cycle of the seasons.
We know that for half of the year,
The days get longer.
For the other half of the year,
The days get shorter.
The inhalation and the exhalation of our breath.
Drawing air in,
Letting air go.
It's similar to the rising tide of light,
Which then subsides.
And in particular,
For the solstice.
And bring our attention right to that moment where it turns around.
And bring our attention right to that moment where it turns around.
Right to that moment where the inhalation crests and the exhalation begins.
What's going on in that moment?
Can you notice the precise moment?
When the in-breath becomes the out-breath,
Comes the out-breath.
That,
Of course,
Is the analog to the solstice.
The sun seems to pause in its march across the sky and then after the solstice,
It heads in the other direction.
We might not even notice if we're not paying attention.
And if you like,
You might visualize this moment,
This mystery,
This paradox,
This thing which is also its opposite.
This moment,
Breathing in,
Becomes breathing out.
You might visualize this,
Perhaps,
As the sun.
But,
In itself,
It seems fitting.
Because the sun is something we can't look at directly.
It's too powerful.
So if we visualize it,
Just imagine what it could be.
Perhaps you might like to visualize it as a sunflower.
With fiery leaves around the perimeter,
Radiating life and light and heat.
With dark seeds at the center.
Those dark seeds,
They represent the idea that,
At this moment,
At the solstice,
The sun,
At the height of its powers,
Also begins to recede.
It begins to become less.
Darkness is born.
Even as we acknowledge this linen,
We feel also the light and love of the sun.
We feel.
Who are we?
We are the Earth.
We are Mother Earth.
We are part of the global ecosystem.
The solstice is like a love affair between Earth and sun.
Starhawk calls it the giveaway time of the sun.
The super abundance of solar energy that makes possible our ecosystem.
The radiant light that sustains Gaia.
The very web of life of which we take part.
This is a gift.
We enjoy all this richness freely.
And we are not just passive recipients.
We also participate in it.
Like the flowers,
We can flourish.
We can create something new and beautiful.
The giveaway is not just to us,
But of us.
So with gratitude to teachers like Starhawk and Glenis Livingston,
And many others,
I would like to thank the Broid,
Freesound.
Org for the beautiful background recording.
And of course all our ancestors,
Spiritual and biological.
Going back into an unbroken chain for billions of years.
Deriving all sustenance from the Earth and the life-giving energy of the sun.
Thank you for listening also,
And I wish you a happy solstice.
