Welcome to meditation.
This meditation is a meditation practice and an invocation to Ganesha.
You may know Ganesha from the Indian mystical tradition.
Ganesha is the Hindu personality that has the head of an elephant and the body of a young man.
Before we go any further,
Let's set up the meditation.
You'll be using your body and different points in your body as guideposts for this invocation.
So begin with a comfortable seated posture.
Make sure you have enough space in your body so you can feel the energy move and also make sure that you're comfortable enough that you're not distracted by pain in your body or discomfort from the sitting.
With your eyes closed,
Take a moment to scan through from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.
You can use the energy of your breath to move to any part of the body that needs to relax.
You just move the energy there as you breathe to soften.
Maybe your belly can soften.
Maybe your face can relax.
We'll begin this invocation,
This Ganesha meditation by bringing your attention to what is sometimes called the root chakra,
The muladhara chakra,
The doorway at the root.
And you can imagine this energy center down in your perineum,
Like in the floor of your pelvis.
And you can imagine it as a circle,
Like a disc that is lying on the earth flat or on your seat.
In other words,
It's facing up through your body.
And instead of it just being a plain disc,
You can imagine the center to be like a lotus flower.
Let the sensation be in your body and then into that lotus flower right in the middle.
You can imagine Ganesha.
Maybe you've seen images or statues,
Representations of Ganesha.
Usually,
His elephant head is wearing a crown and his human body is bare-chested with a big belly.
We begin with him here in the muladhara chakra,
Where it is said that he is the guard.
With your breath and with an attitude of humility and reverence,
I invite you to invite Ganesha from the muladhara chakra to rise up and be right in front of you,
The same size as your body or even larger.
But let this visualization be one where you're sitting directly across from Ganesha.
At first,
Let Ganesha's eyes be closed,
Just like yours are in meditation.
Just get used to this idea of sitting in the presence of this divine personality.
It is said that Ganesha is the child of Shiva and Parvati in the old stories.
So,
The most basic aspects of the feminine and masculine sacred power.
It is said that Ganesha is the energy of grace that removes obstacles,
That blesses new beginnings.
His names,
Ganesha,
Ganapati,
Mean the Lord,
The master of the Ganas,
That are kind of like ghosts,
Kind of like demons.
So,
Ganesha also helps us to keep our past in the past and our demons from interrupting our good life.
Take a moment now as you gaze upon this divine creature,
The body of a young man,
The head of an elephant,
To offer some gesture of respect.
Maybe you fold your hands and bow your head,
Or maybe you imagine putting your head to the floor.
Maybe you imagine a full prostration,
Laying your whole body down,
Your face down,
Your arms extended.
Whatever your gesture of respect is,
Offer that.
And then,
As you lift your face to once again gaze upon Ganesha,
Ganesha opens his eyes to gaze back at you.
In this version of Ganesha,
You can imagine him with four arms,
Two arms raised up and two arms down.
In his raised arms,
There's an axe in one hand and a whisk,
Like a broom,
In the other.
In his lower hands,
He's holding a book in one hand,
And in the other,
He's holding his own broken tusk.
All of these symbols and any symbols that arise in your practice can have personal meanings for you.
But in the tradition that Ganesha comes from,
The axe raised in his hand is there to clear away obstacles,
To chop away our bindings,
And to protect us from that which could be dangerous for us materially,
Emotionally,
Spiritually.
The whisk,
The broom,
In his other hand,
Is also there for clearing away obstacles,
But the ones that are more ephemeral.
Things like our ignorance,
Our forgetfulness,
Attitudes like arrogance,
Callousness.
The book in his other hand represents Atma Jnana,
The knowledge of the soul,
True sacred knowledge.
And in this way,
Ganesha is appearing as the guru,
As that grace-bestowing,
Knowledge-giving power.
The tusk in his hand,
It is said,
Is what he used to write the most ancient teachings,
The Vedas.
But it's showing that not only is he bestowing knowledge,
But this power,
This grace-bestowing obstacle-removing,
Ghost-controlling aspect of the sacred is the source of knowledge too.
We learn from the obstacles that we overcome.
We learn from our past.
So now you,
Sitting here in meditation at the feet of Ganesha,
What is it that you wish to invoke?
Take a moment and consider what protection do you need from Ganesha?
What do you need protection from in this moment?
And just imagine sharing that with him,
Laying that need here at his feet,
At his lap.
And you can imagine that that request is received,
That that power,
That sacred power is already at work,
Protecting you.
What obstacles are you facing?
Consider your obstacles and really connect to them and connect to where they are,
Not just out in the world,
But also within you,
Within your own being.
After all,
Ganesha lives inside of you.
Whether it's inside of you or outside in the outer universe,
Let Ganesha know the obstacle that you would like some help with.
Nothing is too big for his whisk.
No binds are too strong for his axe.
Consider your past for a moment.
Consider your ghosts,
These energies that once maybe were alive.
And now they're still here.
Imagine your demons,
Your habits,
Your addictions,
Your pervasive inner enemies.
He is Ganesha.
He is Ganapati.
He's not the slayer of demons.
He's not the eradicator of ghosts.
He's their lord.
You can imagine him being a sort of loving custodian,
Benevolent manager.
He knows just what to do.
Offer your past,
Offer your ghosts,
Offer your own inner enemies,
Your own demons to his care.
And then finally,
Ganesha is known as the auspicious blesser of new beginnings.
He is the lord of thresholds as we step from one moment to another,
From one season to another,
From the stage of planning to the stage of implementation.
When we go from potential to kinetic,
These new beginnings can be offered.
Do you have anything that you want to offer,
Any new beginning,
Any new relationship,
Any new moment,
Even if it's just this moment that you wish to invoke these auspicious blessings for?
And anything else that you want to invoke Ganesha for,
Anything else that you want to lay in his lap,
At his feet,
Only you know.
This is what you are offering.
This is what you are giving to Ganesha.
You've made space in your being.
And now it's time to receive from Ganesha.
So you can imagine a transmission,
An energy coming from him to you,
From his body to your body.
It's not just your imagination.
This ancient power,
When we invoke it,
Is here.
You can feel it flooding into you,
Moving into your chakras,
Your energy field,
Your physical body,
Your home,
Your life,
Your world.
In the visualization,
There may be a gesture that Ganesha offers you.
He may offer you a gift,
An embrace,
Even just a benevolent look.
Receive whatever he gives as deeply as you can right now.
At some point,
The transmission becomes complete and Ganesha lets you know that the transmission is over and once again he closes his beautiful elephant eyes.
And that's the signal to once again take him from in front of you,
Back into you,
Back into his seat,
Deep in your body,
Muladhara chakra,
Where he is the guardian,
Directing your gesture toward your own root chakra.
Offer one last gesture of respect,
A bow,
Folded hands,
Head to the ground,
Laid out completely flat,
Whatever feels honest.
Offer your gratitude,
Your respect,
Your surrender to Ganesha in your own body where he lives.
And when that feels complete,
You can let your breath deepen and let your body move.
And then,
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
