Welcome into this meditation,
How We Love Is Who We Are.
In this practice today,
We'll explore how love is not something you have to earn or perform,
But rather it's woven into our very being.
Through gentle breath and guided reflection,
You'll be invited to soften the barriers around your heart,
Reconnect with your natural capacity for compassion,
And feel the truth that love is really your essence.
All you need to do is arrive as you are,
Breathe,
And let the practice remind you of what has always been within you.
Find a comfortable position.
Close your eyes and arrive.
Let your body find this posture that feels restful but awake.
Soften down and notice your breathing,
Noticing without changing.
Watch the inhale gently fill,
Watch the exhale soften you deeper into the ground.
Feel the support beneath you,
Whether it's a floor,
Chair,
Cushion,
Earth,
Let yourself be held,
As though the ground itself is whispering,
You're safe here,
Surrender.
Bring awareness to the top of your head,
Let it move slowly downward,
Forehead,
Jaw,
Throat,
Chest,
Belly,
Hips,
Legs,
Feet.
Soften each place as your attention rests here.
Feel it uprise and then root it down again,
Forehead,
Jaw,
Throat,
Chest,
Belly,
Hips,
Legs,
Feet.
With every breath out,
Sink a little deeper,
Like stepping down an inner staircase,
Drop below the noise of the day,
Closer into the quiet of your heart.
With eyes closed and body soft,
Let's practice heart-centered breath.
You can think of it like three-part variation breath.
So if your breath was in thirds,
Fill up the first third,
After a few rounds,
We'll fill up two thirds,
And after a few rounds,
We'll fill it up entirely.
Stay really relaxed as you breathe into the lower third,
Just your belly.
Soften the breath down into your belly,
Feel the expansion,
Feel the contraction.
Feel the movement just below your belly button.
We'll expand the breath now into the second part,
The ribs.
So for your next few soft rounds of breath,
Fill the air in your belly and your ribs,
Without rush,
Without hurry.
Now breathe into all three parts.
So you inhale into your belly,
Your ribs,
And then your chest.
It's like filling a cup.
And you exhale,
Chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
So you empty the cup.
Fill the cup completely,
And empty the cup.
Visualize sending the breath into your heart space.
Allow this breath to open your chest,
And soften into your belly.
Relax that breath practice and return to a normal breath pattern.
Ease into your natural rhythm.
Reduce any residual tension in your face,
Or your hips,
Or your legs.
Visualize yourself standing before a mirror.
At first,
It's showing your reflection just as you know it.
Then the surface begins to shimmer.
The mirror starts to open into something a little deeper.
Instead of your face,
Imagine you see your heart.
In your mind space,
Scenes begin to appear.
Let the scenes be moments of how you've loved.
Times you've offered tenderness.
Times you've held space for another person.
Times when love was messy and imperfect or hard,
Yet still love.
So another few moments,
Instead of seeing your face in the mirror,
See your heart.
See the moments you've loved,
Offered tenderness,
Held space,
And even when the love was messy and imperfect and difficult,
It was still love.
Imagine the mirror glows brighter,
And from its depths,
A phrase emerges.
How we love is who we are.
Let those words sink right in.
How we love is who we are.
Notice how it feels to see your identity,
Not as what you do or what you own,
But in the quality of how you love.
Now immerse into it one more time.
You can think to yourself,
How I love is who I am.
Feel the phrase echo through you.
Feel it imprint into your body.
Feel a sense of stepping in,
Really owning.
How I love is who I am.
Perhaps as you're resting deeply here,
A memory comes to mind,
A moment where your love was really simple and pure and unmistakable.
Notice how your body feels when you allow that memory to be recalled again,
To live again.
Envision that the mirror starts to soften into light,
And feel the light pour right into your chest,
So that your whole body glows radiant with love.
And truly envision the light.
Notice its warmth and its breath and its depth and its radiance.
Imagine filling with light,
Staying here and letting truth soak in.
I am love.
How I love is who I am.
Again,
Imagine the light and this phrase weaving together.
I am love.
How I love is who I am.
Keep your body really relaxed and inhale gently for a count of four.
So we're starting to manipulate the breath again for a wider span of breath in.
When you breathe out,
Slowly exhale for a count of six.
So you're manipulating the amount of air that's leaving your lungs.
Continue to practice a four-six heart rhythm breath.
Inhale gently for a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
So the inhale is a little shorter.
Inhale for four.
And the exhale is just a bit longer.
You're dissipating the air,
Really emptying here.
Keep the same rhythm of the four count in,
The six count out.
And pull your mind's attention,
Bring it into the awareness on the heart area as you're breathing.
The extended exhale regulates the nervous system.
Keep anchoring into this sweet heart space,
This tenderness.
Just practicing breathing in for a count of four.
Feel the levity.
And then exhale for six.
Feel the sense of melting,
Softening,
All tension dissolving.
Give it one more practice.
Just a four count in and a six count out.
Now return to your natural breath again.
Focusing in on the words in your mind.
How I love is who I am.
Feel that truth pulsing in your chest.
And it's a rhythm you can return to really any time.
It's always there.
For the last few moments together,
Let the mirror fade away.
Feel your body once more here in this room supported by the ground.
Take a full breath in and a full breath out.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes,
Carrying this radiance into the rest of today.
Thank you.
