This is Justin Michael Williams and welcome to your practice.
If we can only name the feet that are situated on our necks but we fail to name and recognize the ways our feet are situated on someone else's neck,
We will never,
Ever be free.
This is a quote that changed my life from my brother Darnell L.
Moore.
And I think so many of us,
We wanna make a change in the world and we wanna transform.
But sometimes without us even fully realizing it,
We go unconscious and we start to do the same thing to other people that the system has done to us.
And this practice is gonna help you gain awareness,
Awareness of the places that you go unconscious so that you can be in alignment with the vision of change that you see for the world.
I invite you to close your eyes if you're comfortable and place your hands over your lower belly just below your navel and start to deepen your breath.
Just on your own time and your own pace here,
Deepen your breath to take full deep breaths all the way down into your navel,
All the way down into your root.
Feel yourself sending breath all the way down there with each breath and make it big.
And if your mind begins to wander anytime during this practice,
Know that it's okay.
It's normal,
Especially as we're doing this deep awareness work.
We wanna run away and our minds wanna run away.
But this is not a time to run.
This is the time to be more present,
More aware,
More clear,
More conscious.
Ask yourself,
In what ways is my life out of alignment with the freedom that I see for the world?
You might think of something you're doing or saying or something that you believe about another community or about another type of person or about another movement that you don't understand.
Just be compassionate with yourself as you let this come up.
In what ways is my life out of alignment with the freedom I desire for the world?
What do you need to change?
And now we take this question a step deeper,
Getting specific,
Using our brother Darnell's words,
Whose neck are your feet on?
Who might you be marginalizing or teasing or talking about in a negative way,
Even slightly,
Even if it's been unconscious?
Even if it's accepted in your social circles?
Be honest.
What community,
What people,
What cause have you yourself been enacting the same oppression that you're trying to fight against?
I want you now to conjure up an image an image,
Any image that arises that represents this community or this group that you have even unconsciously oppressed.
This group that you've marginalized,
Even in private,
I want you to conjure up an image in your mind that represents this group.
So it can be a person,
It can be a symbol,
It could be a group,
It could be anything that arises.
So let that vision arise from within right now.
And now we begin with our mantra.
I'm sorry,
I can do better.
May you be happy.
May you be free.
May we both find peace.
And I want you now to really visualize and feel energetically,
To the best of your ability,
This group or community that you've marginalized or joked about or discriminated against or left behind.
And I want you to really be saying this to them.
Feel it in your heart and trust that whatever arises,
Whatever you're seeing is exactly what you need for your growth in this practice.
Repeat after me.
I'm sorry,
I can do better.
May you be happy.
May you be free.
May we both find peace.
And one more time,
You can either repeat this silently in your mind or aloud,
Whatever feels comfortable to you.
You can even do it with a light whisper from your heart.
I'm sorry,
I can do better.
May you be happy.
May you be free.
May we both find peace.
And just feel that.
If your mind wandered,
It's okay.
It's okay.
Bring yourself back to the feeling for just a moment.
All the way down.
All the way down to the root.
This is where the transformation happens.
Bring your hands back to your lower belly if you've moved them just below the navel.
And take a deep,
Full breath in all the way down to your lower belly.
And open the mouth,
Let it go.
Ah.
And if you're ready,
Open your eyes.
It is a great honor to practice with you today.
I send you love,
Equality,
And the biggest blessings.
Namaste.
