And let's take a few deep breaths together,
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling from the mouth.
And for today's purposes,
I'd like you to take a deep inhale and then exhale forcefully,
Really expelling all the air from nighttime,
From your day,
Just releasing any of that stale energy that you might be holding.
Do that three times and then allow yourself to return to a natural rhythm,
Noticing what that breath feels like for you today.
Really becoming curious to the sensations of the breath.
Today's meditation is a birthday meditation,
And we think about birth,
I think about many different things,
And one of the things that just comes to mind right now is that first breath that we all took,
Entering into the world,
The first time that oxygen has reached our lungs and they inflate and that lightness that happens,
What does it feel like to become curious to newly experiencing the breath on every breath that same way that perhaps we experienced it for that first breath?
With this breath,
We have a life energy that enters us,
Now becoming present to what that energy feels like to have not only the breath,
But a life force that enters on that day and every day.
You can visualize this life force as a white,
Warm light that's glowing in front of you.
It can be the light of the morning sun,
A spherical ball that you visualize two to three feet in front of you as a sphere of white energy or light,
Noticing its presence in front of you and then drawing in the rays of energy from this sphere,
Feeling that enter your nostrils the same way that the breath would enter,
Entering your mouth,
Entering your eyes,
Your skin and all your pores,
Breathing in the energy of a life force and of the sun.
And as it enters,
Notice how it relaxes the areas of your cheek,
Your jaw,
Your throat,
With every breath feeling that entering and drawing it in,
Relaxing the muscles of your throat and into your chest.
Deep breath,
Letting the energy settle into your heart space.
What does it look like to open up this space in our chest?
If you'd like,
Placing a hand there to feel your heartbeat,
Which once again was breathing and beating before birth,
But takes on a new life force the minute that you entered into this world.
Feeling it newly and appreciating how it's carried us through these years.
That external energy that we've drawn in becomes internal energy that manifests inside of our body in so many different ways and keeps us held and grounded,
Resides within this heart space.
As you become present to the breath and to the beating of the heart,
The energy within it,
I ask you to consider the question,
What does it mean to be born?
To have been birthed and to be birthing at every moment.
There's a newness that arises with birth,
The sense of being born.
So what does that sense bring to you in this moment?
For me,
What arises is that we're in a season of harvest,
A season when we're ready to draw upon the plenties of nature and everything that surrounds us.
So when I say that,
What arises for you in this season of fall?
For those of us who are living in the West or internationally,
The fall is actually the season for our crops to bloom,
Becomes our spring.
So it's a harvest,
It's a time for blooming,
For birth,
And for rebirth,
As our second crops are now rising.
Notice if there's space in our lives to have that second birth,
A rebirth that happens every year as we celebrate our birthdays.
What is newly arising for you?
For each of us,
As we begin the day,
We have a new birth that arises.
So let's spend a few moments in silence,
Manifesting what it is we see ourselves as being in this new birth,
Who we are being and how birth manifests.
For each of us,
Even for those of us who are not celebrating our birthdays,
In every moment we're celebrating a newness,
A new breath,
A new cycle,
A new season.
And there's an opportunity to see ourselves newly in those moments,
To set a new intention,
To pause and notice space,
New be.
When I bring these feelings into that same heart center,
Same heart center where I've been drawing the energy from the sun or from this spherical,
White glowing ball that I'm visualizing,
And I draw that into my heart space,
What I notice is an opening,
An opening for gratitude and gratefulness for those who have come before me to lay this groundwork,
To lay this grounding for birth.
And so in this moment of our meditation,
I invite you to draw in all those beings all those beings that have been part of your life and part of your birth,
Whether it be that first breath that you took or other new births that occurred throughout your life when you were re-envisioned,
Those moments in your life that were important to you,
And then all those people and beings again,
Whether it be from your ancestors to now that have supported you as you newly envision yourself day to day in life.
Bring them forward as a circle surrounding you,
Offering you love,
Comfort,
Support,
Who do you see?
I invite you if it feels natural to place your hands together in a prayer posture,
Honoring those who are honoring you,
Those who are offering you love and energy through the generations,
Those beings that have witnessed you in your birth and rebirth and all the different ways that you've been in your lifetimes,
Inviting them to join you in this circle,
To support you in your day and in your life.
Now take a few deep breaths and allow this visualization to slowly dissipate,
To blend into the background of energy,
Knowing that these beings are always with you and that you can call upon them in any moment,
And drawing your awareness and your attention back into your body,
Back into your breath where you can now change the posture of your hands if you choose so that you can place it back on your chest and feel your heart beating and your breaths,
And take a few deep breaths,
Drawing yourself back into the present moment and being here together in this meditation space,
Noticing how any emotions might have arisen or might be arising in your body while they show up in the physical body.
Relaxing into your body,
Seeing if there's any tightness that you're holding anywhere,
And breathing gently into that with no judgment,
Just allowing what is arising to arise,
Settling in once again to the breath.
Now what wish do you have for yourself in this moment?
Wish that you might have to see yourself newly.
For each of us,
If we view this as a birthday,
Notice an intention that we're setting.
Intention as a wish.
Now in our final moments of our meditation,
Take this wish and offer it out to the universe.
When you hear the bell,
You either stay a few more moments,
Whatever posture that you're in,
Settle into what it could feel like to offer that same wish that you have for yourself out to the universe,
To all those who are supporting you and to all those around you.
