Connection Through Grace!

Make space for grace! This lovely practice is part yoga Nidra and visualization to support our awareness around showing up in a space of grace! When we begin to see ourselves in one another we can find deeper compassion, kindness, forgiveness, humility, love and resilience. We can become one through our insight around how much we have in common!

Join me for this practice in GRACE.

Transcript

Hey there,

This is Jen with Laughing Lotus Wellness.

Welcome to our meditation practice.

Well,

Hey,

Here we are today.

Our meditation is connection through grace.

This is the third in a four-part series that I did live on Insight Timer.

And I absolutely love doing lives with people in community at the same time.

It's so beautiful.

And I had someone come in a little bit late to the meditation and they asked if I could then do this instead so they would have it in the library.

And so that is what prompted me to share this with all of you.

So as a student of mine,

I welcome requests of any kind or if there is ever something I do live or you have any recommendations or suggestions for content,

I love to hear that.

So please feel free to share it.

So this is for that student of mine that joined me for my meditation on Monday morning,

Bright and early,

Connecting through grace.

And so my phrase for this day is make space for grace.

And hopefully that sticks with you a little bit as you go and do your life afterwards.

I like this idea so much,

The making space for grace is really something that stuck with me from the new year.

And a person was talking about how we can set intentions and goals and things for the beginning of the year and then it becomes challenging sometimes if we have setbacks and the importance for giving ourselves grace and compassion and kindness when that happens to us.

So that's where the phrase came from anyway.

And so it stuck and I keep using it.

So it must be something that really resonated with me.

So welcome in.

I'm glad you're here.

What we're going to do is we're going to kind of go through and talk just a little bit briefly about my style and the way that I do practice.

And then we're going to dig in.

We're going to have our practice together.

So I like to talk a little bit about who I am and kind of the way that I work.

And so again,

I'm Jen and my business is Laughing Lotus Wellness.

And I am a resilience and hope expert.

And I have 20 years as a clinical social worker and I'm a certified yoga instructor.

I have a specialty in meditation.

I'm certified in Reiki and crystal healing and all kinds of lovely things.

And so I have been around the block.

And one of the things I really try to do is pull all of that wisdom together in the formats of meditations or the other things that I do.

And I love that.

That's really kind of what sings in my soul.

And you'll definitely pick up that I use humor in almost every area.

So Laughing Lotus Wellness is not an accident.

It's definitely my philosophy to use humor in meditation and everywhere I can to lighten our load.

You know,

We carry a lot as human beings and I think that sometimes humor is the balancing act for that.

And so I love energy work and I love that concept of being able to use something as kind of a ballast.

Like we sometimes need a little bit of balance in our lives that way.

And so you'll definitely pick up some humor along the way potentially.

So my style on my live broadcast of meditation is to do a little conversation,

A little kind of awareness and growth exercise where we visit and talk about an idea and then we settle into our meditation.

And that's kind of what we're going to do today.

And so I just want to kind of invite you to settle in and know that that's the way that we're going to run our meditation for today.

And so please take care of yourself during practice,

Right?

In yoga we talk about Thera and Suka which is effort balanced with steadiness.

And so what I like to do is really talk about that even in the form of my meditation that you know that you have the ability to take really good care of yourself,

Whatever that looks like.

And so if that's pausing,

If it's having some tears or you know something come to the surface ever,

Whatever it is like invite it in and respect that.

And if you need to pause,

Like I said take a break,

Whatever that is,

Whatever you're needing I want you to use really good self-care.

I trust you to know what you need best.

And so feel free to do that anytime during our meditation time together.

So before we get super rolling here,

One of the things I also do like to mention is that I am deeply grateful for any donations that you feel that you're able to provide.

All the teachers on Insight Timer don't get paid for what we do.

We just do it because it's a place of passion and love for all of us I'm sure.

All the teachers and the yogis and all the people that you see and hear are showing up because they want to provide a service.

And so we deeply appreciate any donations because that donation allows us to continue to show up and create space and bring all of our creative endeavors back to you.

And so it sort of circles back.

And so we deeply appreciate any donations at all that you feel like you can provide us.

So I want to say thank you.

I know all of us Insight Timer teachers are deeply grateful for that.

Okay,

So let us start with gathering up some grace.

And so what I just invite you to do in a comfortable seated position for a minute is just kind of reach your fingers down towards the floor,

Bringing those arms up overhead as if you're gathering up some goodness,

Right?

And then bring your fingers down over your head,

Back to the earth,

Gathering up once again and inhale.

Inhaling up that grace,

Arms up overhead reaching.

And then again on an exhale,

Sprinkling that grace over your head as you lower your hands to the earth.

And one more time,

Reaching those hands towards the earth and then bringing them up overhead,

Nice inhale and exhale,

Sprinkle that grace as you allow those fingers to float down to the earth.

And now just coming to an easy seated position.

I always really like to do something energetic to start our practice together.

So grace,

Right?

That's our topic for today.

Closing your eyes if you would like for a moment,

You can place a hand on your low belly and your heart if you would like.

We're calling some attention into these two areas or chakras of our energetic system to utilize the creativity and emotion and things like that from our sacral chakra,

But also our heart chakra for forgiveness and compassion.

And so while you're here,

Just gently resting those hands over that low belly and the heart center.

I started this idea about wanting to define grace.

And I looked it up and I didn't love anything I found because it didn't quite fit.

It just wasn't exactly the right kind of thing I was looking for.

And so we're going to invite your own definition of grace in.

And what I'm going to do is provide some of my thoughts on it.

And then I really want you to build in what you resonate with.

And so for me,

As I thought about grace,

What really came forward for me was humility and forgiveness and generosity.

Understanding kindness,

Deep love.

And with the idea of graceful movement,

Which was one of the first definitions I saw,

I thought about flow though,

That we can let grace flow through us,

Right?

There's this beautiful fluidity of movement when we step into a place of looking at ourselves and the world with grace.

And so I sort of like that idea of fluidity and movement here as well.

So it sort of goes,

And I like that idea very much.

And so I just want you to think about what you might add into that.

And so as you sit in quiet here,

I'm going to fire up my heart chakra crystal singing bowl for just a moment.

And I'm going to let you sit and think about your definition of grace.

What comes forward for you when you think about that term?

So just sitting in the awareness.

The sound is it begins to float away,

Coming back into your own mind and just thinking about for yourself what grace really means for you.

And the reason that I take time is I'm such a word nerd,

And I love language.

And I think that there is incredible energy attached to the language that we use.

And so it's really important that we define and kind of understand the language around something.

And it's a much greater context.

And so the energy is greater when we go in to sit with a word or phrase.

And so I hope you have this sense of what you think about graces.

So taking our ideas about grace,

We're going to begin our meditation in just a moment.

And today is kind of part yoga nidra-esque,

Which is a word I just made up,

And also visualization.

It has a spiritual component.

It's not religious,

But it definitely does have a spiritual component.

So hopefully that resonates for you.

And so I invite you at this time to take a really comfortable seat or lie down,

Whatever works best for you,

Sinking and settling,

Dropping into that breath here,

Even inhales and exhales,

And making yourself really comfortable,

Making adjustments for steadiness and comfort that we mentioned earlier.

But that could include your props,

Your clothes,

Your body,

Maybe grabbing a blanket.

I'm always a fan of having blankets all over the place in my home for in case somebody needs a snuggle,

Right,

Or just to kind of warm up and I come from Minnesota and it's chilly in the winter.

And so I'm a big blanket fan.

And so if you need something extra,

Whatever you need,

Just make sure that's on hand for your journey today.

And the goal is always in meditation to stay as still and steady as we can,

To really drop into that experience.

And so it's like your meditation superpower.

So when you can stay still,

It's going to deepen the practice for you.

So as we begin our journey today,

I invite you to make space for this time,

This practice,

To just trust what comes forward for you was meant to be for you.

And so I encourage as you do your practice to just pay attention for any shifts,

Sensations,

Images,

Sounds or symbols.

Meditation is a powerful place to be.

And it's where we are most in divine energy.

And so I think it's a beautiful space to head to for insight.

And so for an extra boost,

Just paying attention for any of those things that take place in your practice and just writing it out and just noticing it without any judgment.

So again,

Any last modifications to your body,

Your clothes,

Your practice,

Stance,

Anything you need to just be extra loving and comfortable.

As you sink and settle here in this relaxed state,

You will fall even deeper into relaxation as I count down from five to one.

Five relaxing and releasing.

For letting go of any thoughts,

Feelings or sensations.

Three falling deeper into relaxation.

To allowing yourself to be in this peaceful place.

And one completely relaxed and ready for meditation.

I like to add personal intention or mission statements into practices from time to time today I've created a group sankalpa for us.

So you can always create your own or borrow mine.

I am grateful to live from a place of connection where grace for others and myself,

Allow space for our humanity,

Allowing me to see the me in you making us one.

I am grateful to live from a place of connection where grace for others and myself allows space for our humanity,

Allowing me to see the me and you making us one.

Last time here.

I am grateful to live from a place of connection where grace for others and myself allows space for our humanity,

Allowing me to see the me and you making us one.

So there's no need to move the body physically at any time.

As I go through and place awareness in the body.

So as we practice just bring your awareness to those spaces and know that there's no need for you to have any physical movement at all.

To beginning on the right side of the body,

We're going to imagine a beautiful warm sunshine lighting up the right.

Third finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger and fifth finger.

Sunshine in that right palm.

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Soul.

Right now on the right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

Back into the soul,

The heel,

Ankle,

Calf,

Knee,

Thigh,

Waist,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Elbow,

Chest,

Palm,

Sunshine now in the right thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger and fifth finger.

Warm sunshine on the whole right side of the body,

The whole right side,

The whole right side of the body.

And now imagining that warm sunshine alighting on that left thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger and fifth finger.

Warm sunlight in the left palm,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Soul.

Warm sunshine that left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

Back into the soul,

Heel,

Ankle,

Calf,

Knee,

Thigh,

Waist,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Elbow,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Thigh,

Hips and legs.

Warm sunshine in that left palm,

Thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger and fifth finger.

The whole left side of the body.

And now imagine that sunlight on the top of your head,

The top of your head,

Warm golden light filling the crown of your head,

The crown of your head,

The crown,

The crown,

The forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Space between the brows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

The space between the lips,

Chin,

Throat,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

The whole chest,

Navel,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

Right side of the pelvis,

Left side of the pelvis,

Right side of the thigh,

Left side of the thigh,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right toes,

Left toes.

Warm healing sunshine now in the whole front of the body,

The whole front of the body,

Sunlight in the whole front of the body.

And now imagine that warm sunlight in the back side of the body,

Feeling your mind in the back side of your body,

Noticing where the back of your body is touching any surface,

The earth,

Your chair,

Feeling your right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

The whole length of the spine,

Right hip,

And left hip,

Right seat,

Left seat,

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right heel,

And left heel.

Warm healing sunshine now radiating in the back of the body,

The whole back of the body,

Healing light in the whole back of the body.

Now trying to see the whole body as if you are seeing yourself lit up in a beautiful,

Warm ray of sunshine,

As if the energetic light is in you and you can see your own reflection,

See your own body,

Your own light,

Seeing your whole body lit from the inside out,

Saying to yourself,

This is the light of my body,

The light of my body,

The grace-filled healing,

Light of my body,

The light of my body,

The light of my body.

.

.

I invite you now to imagine the sun bright above and shining down on you.

It is warm and comfortable as you lie on a blanket in the beautiful sunshine,

Soaking up the goodness it offers us.

As you lie here you sense there is a ball of light orange in the energy in that low belly,

As well as a ball of green light and energy in that heart space.

And you can feel the energy in these two spaces lit up and ignites your grace.

These two spaces grow and become luminous like the sun.

I invite you now to imagine the sun above begins to slide to the horizon and you see it in your mind as the sun hits the horizon and a being of light emerges right from the center of it.

Inhaling grace,

Exhaling grace.

Walking towards you the being is lit in radiance and illuminates outward in all directions.

This being then takes a seat in front of you and places a hand on your heart and you sense that you are connected.

This being downloads information to you to support your journey and connection and grace.

Knowledge,

Kindness,

Understanding,

Compassion,

Joy,

Peace,

Acceptance,

And humility flow into you.

And there is a vibration in your heart space that radiates outward in your body.

And you too are now lit in grace,

Kindness,

Forgiveness.

Inhaling grace,

Exhaling grace.

You begin to see a movie in your mind as this being shares their struggles,

Conflicts,

Challenges,

Humanity.

And the only thing you feel for this being is complete love and understanding,

Compassion,

And kindness.

You know that their struggles mirror your own struggles and humanity and have a deep sense of compassion that banishes shame for your humanity,

But rather a deep knowing that surpasses this emotion,

The sense that all things add up for us to create our journey here in connection.

As you stare lovingly into this being's face,

You make eye contact and see the world in those eyes,

Pure light,

Pure awareness,

And pure understanding.

Being sends a thought to you.

In you,

I see me.

In me,

I see you.

We are one.

We are community and shared consciousness.

You breathe here and think to yourself as you inhale,

I see.

Exhaling me in you.

Inhaling I see.

Exhaling me in you.

Inhaling I see.

Exhaling me in you.

Inhaling I see.

Exhaling you in me.

Inhaling I see.

Exhaling you in me.

Inhaling we are.

Exhaling we are.

Exhaling we are.

Exhaling we are.

Now this being begins to turn and walk toward the setting sun and you send gratitude for this incredible lesson and journey into grace,

Into deeper knowing and understanding.

You begin to know the grace changes the world by allowing space for others and when we feel compelled to judge someone,

We return to this moment and see ourselves in our fellow human to see the me in you and remember that we are truly one.

We make space for grace and our interactions become less strained and stressed but rather we come from a lens of kindness and understanding,

Empathy and compassion.

Returning to your intention,

Mission or sankalpa or borrowing my group sankalpa for today,

I am grateful to live from a place of connection where grace for others and myself allows space for our humanity,

Allowing me to see the me in you,

Making us one.

I am grateful to live from a place of connection where grace for others and myself allows space for our humanity,

Allowing me to see the me in you,

Making us one.

I am grateful to live from a place of connection where grace for others and myself allows space for our humanity,

Allowing me to see the me in you,

Making us one.

And by you to begin to run your thumb across the fingertips,

Maybe wiggling toes,

Waking again from that journey and spirit back into our bodies,

Back into our spaces,

Reconnecting with the breath here,

Taking a moment with your eyes still closed,

Resting in this quiet space,

How will I make space for grace?

How will I see the me in you and the you in me?

Down the road,

At work,

In line at the grocery store,

You know you can return to this sacred space to reconnect with grace whenever you are feeling a little low in your tank.

If you're seated,

Slowly dropping your chin to your chest,

Lying down,

Stay here,

Pause for a moment and have gratitude for taking time to be in meditation,

To grow and make space for grace.

And while you come back for a moment,

Really relishing this quiet space,

As I sing my crystal singing bowl here for a moment right into your heart space,

Once again,

The lighting the grace and the beautiful sunshine,

Compassion and kindness.

Namaste.

And when you're ready,

Slowly opening your eyes,

Coming back into your space.

Welcome back.

I invite you to bring your hands to a prayer position and place them gently at your heart space with your thumbs touching the beautiful heart center.

From the me to the you,

From the you to the me,

We are one.

Namaste,

My friends.

So this is Jen and as I sign off here,

Again,

I welcome any donations if you feel called to do so.

I always deeply appreciate it and if that's not available to you,

I'm just grateful you were here.

And I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.

Blessings,

Love and light.

This is Jen.

Until next time,

Namaste and take care.