Heeding The Call Home

This is a 15-minute discourse and guided meditation on how we become disconnected from our selves, from our deepest knowing and sense of belonging, and how to find our way back home. It is based on Buddhist philosophy, and employs the holistic healing practice of guided visualization. The guided visualization is integrated with breath awareness and body scan elements.
Music by John Bartmann (Interstellar Space), Shady Dave (Mystical Glade, Feelings of Twilight, Under the Stars), and Alan Spiljak (Flash Piano Ambient). Photo by Lecreusois of Pixabay

Transcript

Meditations for Deep Living Meditations for Deep Living Today Heating the Call Home Some years ago,

During a Dharma talk at the Spirit Rock Center in California,

I was touched by the simple truth of something the teacher said.

We are each of us sacred and possess a palace filled with the world's greatest riches.

Yet all too often we leave the palace and wander,

As though lost,

Through streets and alleyways,

Begging for scraps when all we need to do is come home.

The palace he referred to was,

Of course,

The present moment,

Though it could just as well refer to our physical being.

Our experience of the present moment through our senses,

Our awareness of what is,

Is our true home.

And regardless of the chaos that may surround us in the physical world,

It can be a place of serenity and gratitude.

In this life,

Our minds often take us on journeys far from this place of belonging.

Blurred by promises of excitement and pleasure,

Or perhaps driven by fears,

Our minds too often create pathways that we hope will lead to happiness,

To success in some way or another,

Or to safety.

There's a reason for this,

Of course,

It is in the very nature of our busy,

Doing minds,

Our problem-solving minds,

To detect danger and avoid it,

To anticipate our needs and create strategies to meet them.

When accurately informed by real dangers and needs,

This aspect of our mind,

This player in our internal community,

Has a very strong sense of purpose.

Player in our internal community has an essential and positive role in our lives.

All too often,

However,

It becomes disconnected from our deepest knowing,

And from the world as it really is.

When that happens,

It can fall under the influence of what others think we should do or require,

Under the influence of our fears,

Or become caught up in addictive grasping for immediate gratification or relief from pain and displeasure.

When this happens,

The strategies and pathways it creates leads us further and further away from our true selves,

Our true home.

When we then wander too far from our home ground,

We can easily become lost in the chaos of our experiences of this overstimulating world,

And among the many consequences of this are feelings of emptiness and wanting.

If we're not careful to pause,

Reflect,

And find our way home,

We may fall prey to generating further plans and strategies for filling the void.

Then,

Like a person lost in the woods,

Scrambling in this direction and that,

We only become more profoundly lost and empty.

Yet,

No matter how lost we become,

We are as little as a mindful breath away from beginning our journey home,

From accessing our deepest knowing and wisdom,

Our only source of authentic well-being.

Injury,

Pain,

And loss are an inevitable part of life,

But suffering is optional.

Our suffering is often the soul's call to come home,

Come home to ground,

And embrace what has been patiently waiting for us.

So if,

Dear friend,

You find your life empty,

You find yourself caught up in unhappiness or addiction,

If your life has lost its meaning and purpose,

Or if it's just been too long since feeling grounded in your being,

Then perhaps it's time to quit wandering the wastelands and come home to your source.

All that you need to feed your heart and spirit,

To experience joy and satisfaction,

To find peace of mind,

All that you yearn for at your deepest level,

Awaits you.

So,

If you please,

Sit or lie in a comfortable position,

Close your eyes,

And relax.

It is time to be present,

Here,

And now.

This short guided meditation borrows a venue from the Western tradition.

In it,

You will be asked to create a place of refuge in your mind.

Creating an idyllic place in your imagination that helps you feel safe and content is simply an aid to finding your way back to your true home.

As you practice using this image,

As you become more deeply grounded in the moment and connected to your true self through daily meditation,

This visual tool will lose its meaning and purpose,

And will eventually fade on its own.

Even so,

After many decades of meditation,

I still enjoy a journey back to my own special refuge from time to time.

Now,

Bring your awareness to the breath.

Breathing is one of the natural rhythms of our bodies,

A process that will occur without thought,

Without effort.

This natural rhythm is,

And can only be present in the now,

And as such,

It can help you anchor your awareness to the same.

When you are ready,

Take in a long deep breath to the count of five,

And breathe out to the count of five.

Taking in another full breath,

Become aware of the subtle tension in your chest as your muscles work to draw in the air.

Then releasing the breath,

Be aware of any changes in physical sensation in your chest or elsewhere.

Continue this for several more breaths,

Directing your awareness to the subtle body sensations that accompany this natural rhythm.

Our bodies are always present in the now,

And whenever you find your mind wandering in meditation,

You can direct your attention to your breathing,

Or to other body sensations to help you find ground again.

Now release any control of your breathing,

And allow it to fall back into its natural rhythm without effort or judgment.

Simply be aware of the tidal flow of your breathing.

Take a moment now to identify a favorite landscape.

It may be a forest,

A woodland lake,

A mountain setting,

Or perhaps a place near the ocean or the desert.

Any setting that you find pleasing and would love to spend time in.

Now imagine a small dwelling in this place,

Situated however and wherever you want it to be.

It can be of any design that is appealing,

Something as simple as a wood cabin,

Or perhaps something modern or futuristic.

For now,

The place can just be large enough to be comfortable and cozy.

Once you have decided what the outside of this building looks like,

And where it sits in your preferred landscape,

Enter into it and decide how you want it to look on the inside.

How is it to be furnished?

The inside of this special place can be anything your imagination can come up with,

But make certain that it feels warm,

Inviting,

And secure.

The sort of place where you would love to spend a weekend away from everything.

Your refuge can change form and location anytime you wish,

And its interior can be whatever you want it to be.

But for now,

Decide upon something simple and pleasing.

When you've decided upon just enough detail to give you a sense of what this refuge is like,

And how it feels to be in it,

Create a comfortable place to sit and enjoy it for a short time.

Are you aware of any pleasant odors?

Are you aware of any sounds in or around the house?

Now,

Remaining in this special place,

Take a deep breath to the count of five.

Then release it to a count of five.

Now bring your attention to your hands,

Taking note of any sensations you feel in them.

Direct your attention to your left thumb,

Your right thumb,

Your left thumb,

Your right thumb,

Your left index finger,

Your right index finger,

Your left little finger,

Your right little finger.

Now the whole surface of your left palm,

The whole surface of your right palm.

Now reflect for a moment on this special place you've created for yourself,

And where it is situated.

How does it feel to be there?

Do you feel at home and secure?

If not,

What do you need to add to make it so?

Now direct your attention to the bottom of your left foot,

The bottom of your right foot,

The heel of your left foot,

The heel of your right foot,

Your left big toe,

Your right big toe,

The whole of your left foot,

The whole of your right foot.

Now sit back in this very special place and relax,

Allowing your focus to dance as it will,

Between experiencing this place in your imagination and briefly grounding your awareness in body sensations.

When you are ready,

You can leave this place of refuge in whatever manner you wish,

Knowing that you can return to it anytime you want or need to take a break during your day.

When you do leave your refuge,

It's a good idea to stand and stretch and fully return to physical reality.

To gain the greatest benefit from this meditative exercise,

Regular practice,

Even if only for a few brief minutes,

Will help you make this special place and the grounded state you experience in it more readily available to you.

Spending progressively more time in this place,

Focusing on the breath or other grounding body sensations,

Will help you develop your meditative practice and that will lead you back home.

Thank you for taking the time to meditate with me today.

May you be warm and safe,

And may you live in peace and happiness.

Reviews

Amazing, where this meditation took me, was nowhere that I was expecting! Peaceful, blissful, and focused acceptance of the present moment! Thank you.

An EXCELLENT lesson and then meditation. Thank you VERY much!💐

Healing
Almost a year to the day! Thank you for bringing this wonderful meditation my way again....perfect timing💖

Fabulous, so calming. Thank you

Eloquent and soothing thank you for sharing new techniques, will return and share with others namaste

Wonderful!!! 🙏💙

Thank for helping me create my safe place. Namaste.

A little long intro, but very nice meditation and visualisation 🌼🌼

I love the balance of being fully present in the body while also visualizing my safe place.

Perfect it took me a while to settle in but once i did i arrived home
Namaste

Loved the framing of this. Has definitely helped me create my own visualisation that I look forward to returning to on my own + revisiting these wise words from time to time to remind me why. Grateful for the grounded yet gentle guidance.

Truly amazing. I loved the experience of gentle shifts from visualization to in the body, and from part to whole. Wonderful pacing and voice. Many thanks and Many Blessings. 🌻🐢🦋

Thanks for this brilliant combination of imagination and grounded body scan!

Very Healing. Beautifully Done. Thank You 🙏🏾 🙏🏾