A Meditation From Getting To Know My Demons

Who are your scariest demons? Mine are the people who scare me in the courtroom, in the conference room, on the news, on the ballot. 

Those are my scariest external demons, but my scariest internal demons are different. Or maybe there’s only one: fear. But not fear itself: fear of the world’s pain and suffering. Or more accurately, fear of how it might feel to step into the midst of that pain and let it touch me.

And so, maybe it’s time to go there. Because if that’s my scariest thing, I’d better.

Are you coming?

Transcript

Find your posture,

Whatever will support you for the next few minutes of practicing together.

Check in with your body.

How is your body feeling right now,

Today?

Give yourself a couple of minutes to really check in.

What a compassionate act.

Where is there tightness?

Where is there relaxation?

Where is there fear?

And where is ease?

Where is locating the breath and beginning to just ride the waves of the breath in and out,

Stabilizing the body,

Stabilizing the mind,

Turning the attention inward to the heart,

And just inviting the heart to expose itself to you,

Expose itself to your awareness.

What is in the heart?

Gently.

Gently inviting the heart to reveal her secrets,

Letting the body reveal its secrets at the cellular level,

At the level of muscle and bone.

If something arises and your impulse is to turn away,

Imagine putting out your hand to a small child,

To a puppy,

And saying,

Come on back.

Gently,

Lovingly.

Moving gently towards whatever scares you.

Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others.

Staying with the body,

Staying with the breath,

Staying with whatever this practice reveals,

And gently,

Gently.