The Ladder: A Taoist Grounding Meditation

I'd like to share with you a line from the Daodejing,

This ancient text of Chinese wisdom.

But before I do,

Let's just settle in here.

You can allow your eyes to close,

If they want to.

You can take a few deep breaths,

Breathing in deep and releasing everything on the exhale.

You could imagine breathing out and letting go of everything that is not simply here,

Along with the exhale.

And simultaneously leaving yourself wide open to receive the energy of just the present moment on the inhale,

Softening tension in the body,

Letting yourself be just the open space of present moment awareness.

Letting yourself just be presence.

And now in this space of present moment awareness,

A few words from the Daodejing.

And when I say these words,

You might open yourself to an inner vision,

Allowing any sort of visual to arise in connection with the words.

And now,

The words.

Whether you go up the ladder or down it,

Your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

You will always keep your balance.

Whether you go up the ladder or down it,

Your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

You will always keep your balance.

I'll read this one more time,

And see if you can receive it for the first time.

Wiping the slate clean of what you've already received,

And receiving this for the very first time.

Whether you go up the ladder or down it,

Your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

You will always keep your balance.

You might imagine what your ladder looks like,

Or maybe there are many different ladders.

And you might imagine where these ladders are going.

Where is it that you are going?

Or where do you want to reach?

The ladders of all your projects,

Your self-improvement,

Your work,

Your money,

Your relationships.

Where are the ladders going?

And maybe,

Ultimately,

Wherever the ladder is going is really no different from here.

From this moment right now.

You are already where the ladder is going.

You are already here.

Can you stand with your two feet on the ground?

So you might also imagine what the ground looks like.

What the ground feels like.

Here,

You will never lose your balance.

You've always been here.

There is nowhere to go other than here.

So can you stand here with your two feet on the ground?

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

You can move in any direction.

So I'll repeat the line one more time.

And maybe once more you can receive it for the first time.

Whether you go up the ladder or down it,

Your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

You will always keep your balance.

So you might use this as a reminder in any moment to possibly step off the ladder and come back here.

And then you can get back on the ladder if you choose to,

But only if you consciously choose to.

Now,

If your eyes were closed,

You can gradually allow them to reopen themselves whenever they want to.

And you might take a few more deep breaths,

Re-releasing anything that might keep tightening up under the surface.

All the ways in which the mind and body keep getting back on the ladder.

Anytime you take a deep exhale,

You have the opportunity to come back to the ground.

Just here and now.

So thank you for being here with me.

And if you'd like to explore the Tao Te Ching more deeply,

I have an entire course that goes through each and every entry.

The course is 83 days in length,

But each session just about 6 minutes.

So you can join me there if you like.

So I'll leave you for now,

Here,

Sturdy,

Balanced on the ground.

Ready to do whatever it is you're going to do next.

Whether you go up the ladder or down it,

Your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

You will always keep your balance.