Finding a place to practice comfortably,
Maybe sitting or standing or lying down.
And perhaps taking a couple of full breaths to arrive in this moment.
We're going to take some time now to touch in to some of our own inner resources.
Let's begin if you can by sensing your seat in your chair or your feet on the ground.
Feeling that steady,
Reliable pull of gravity,
Maybe noticing the pressure there,
Where your body is making contact.
If breath is an anchor that feels okay for you to work with,
We might try some coherence breathing together.
Some gentle control of the breath.
So exhaling together,
Invite your body to relax with the breath out.
Breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathing out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Or to whatever count feels comfortable.
The inhale and the exhale the same length.
You might sense now if there is some being in your life or in your memory whose presence is comforting.
Who when you feel fearful,
The remembering of or the thought of this being is comforting to you.
Or you sense that it would be comforting.
This might be a family member,
A friend,
A pet,
A spiritual figure,
Or even a place in nature.
You might sense this being sitting across from you.
There might be an expression on their face.
Or if they're sitting beside you,
Just a sense of their presence,
The warmth of their presence.
As you sense into this caring presence,
See if you can feel what it's like to invite that in.
This care and love.
Allow it to surround you like a warm blanket.
As you continue to sense the presence of this loving being,
It might be helpful to ask yourself,
If I were afraid,
What message would I want to hear from them?
Just notice what it is that comes to mind that feels comforting to you.
It might be,
I love you.
I'm not leaving.
It's okay.
I'm here.
We can get through this together.
And you can repeat that phrase,
Whatever phrase that feels best,
Over and over,
Using the words as an anchor,
Using this being's presence as an anchor.
They might be saying these words to you,
Or there might be just the sense that they're wishing these words for you.
Over and over again,
Bathed in this caring presence,
Sensing that no matter the source,
Love is always loving you.
When your mind wanders away,
As it will,
With a gentle pause,
Relaxing your awareness back again to this resource,
This anchor of safety,
This body here,
This breath,
This heart,
So worthy of care.
As Louise Cosolino says,
We are not the survival of the fittest.
We are the survival of the nurtured.
.
