Let's invite fire.
One of the most ancient teachers that humanity has ever had as an ally.
And I want to share this meditation because I had an extremely profound teaching experience with fire myself during a shamanic ceremony,
Which was particularly challenging for me.
And there I discovered that fire is a great,
Great teacher.
And I would invite you to,
If possible,
Do this meditation near a fire.
Maybe you have access to a fireplace or there's the possibility to have a campfire.
And also I understand if that's maybe not so easily available.
It also works to perhaps light one or a few candles.
And if that is also not available,
It's perfectly fine as well to imagine sitting in front of a fire.
So with that as a setup,
Let's first go into the meditation posture.
You can do it lying down,
Perhaps you're doing a walking meditation.
I'm going to assume you are sitting.
So when you're sitting,
Make sure your spine is nice and straight.
And have a certain alertness in your posture,
While also allowing a certain relaxation.
So one way to do it is to straighten up your spine and allow the spine to carry you.
And just let your muscles relax down.
So just take a few breaths where you,
From your face to your shoulders to your torso,
Allow gravity to set you in your posture for the next 15 minutes.
And when you're sitting by a fire,
Let your meditation object be to heat the sensations in your body that the fire creates.
And when you have one or several candles,
You can look into the candles if you like.
And if it's more comfortable for you,
You can also,
With your eyes closed,
Allow the light to be the object of your focus.
And have a certain relaxed focus,
So not to have a strong action,
But let this focus be surrounded by a space of relaxation and enjoyment.
And if you have no availability of fire or candles,
Then just take a few moments to imagine a fire in front of you.
So however the fire comes to you in your imagination,
Maybe there's a sense of heat that is available to you,
Or you can remember a fire that you once were,
Maybe the colors,
Maybe the sparks flying up in the air,
Really make it real for you,
It's really,
Yeah,
Let your imagination work freely.
And I'll share a bit of my inspiration,
And I'm curious about how the fire teaches you as well.
So there's one quote I love,
I've loved it since I read it a few years ago by Meister Eckhart,
The German Christian mystic.
He wrote,
And this is my own translation,
There where the fire resides in its own nature,
It does not do damage,
Nor does it torch anything.
So what is fire teaching us?
What I get from it,
What I got from it,
Is that there's a very fierce force in fire.
There's a certain ruthless truth to its burning.
And when I see this fire,
When I hear Meister Eckhart's quote,
His words,
Something comes to me about radical acceptance and surrender to life.
If we resist the events of our life,
It becomes a very painful thing,
But if we are moving with the movements of the fire of life,
It all becomes much more bearable.
So this for me is the meaning of where the fire is in its own element,
So not resisting what fire is.
And when we look at our own lives,
You know we are,
At least in this human embodiment,
We are finite beings.
I do believe that there is an element of existence that does not die,
What the Buddha calls the undying.
And at the same time,
This body will perish as it came into being,
So it will also dissolve at some point.
And rather than resist our own demise,
We can step fully into the fire of our lives and we can become the flame that consumes us entirely.
And I don't mean that in a destructive way,
I mean that in a way of accepting fully that this life is this life,
Which has had a beginning and that will have an end.
So to step fully into being fire that consumes it,
And it can almost become a certain mindful abandon.
I would not say reckless abandon as per the saying,
But mindful abandon of stepping fully into the moment,
Knowing that it is ungraspable and it will pass.
This too,
This life too will pass.
And that's just an inspiration that sets me on fire and I want to go back to you now,
Wherever you are meditating.
Perhaps these words are touching you and then I would invite you to be with them and let them work in you.
At the same time,
I would love you to reconnect with the fire where you are,
Be it the campfire,
The fireplace,
The candle or candles,
Or the imaginative fire that you see in front of you,
Inside of you.
And knowing that fire has been a teacher to humanity for eons,
Let it speak to you.
The fire that is there,
Let it teach you,
Listen to it,
Watch it.
Just by watching it intently,
It will teach you something.
You can also ask it questions.
An answer will come if you listen carefully.
That is my conviction.
So this is my offering for a meditation and I hope you enjoy.
There will be a few minutes of silence where I invite you to do this practice for yourself and after about five minutes there will be an ending bell.
Enjoy the fire.
