Hi,
This is Meg Rinaldi of Body Centered Inquiry and this somatic audio session is devoted to Open Heart in Dishonorable Times.
This session is about nourishing the heart,
Particularly for these times.
We live in times of great dishonor and it's tiring for our hearts.
The inquiry becomes how do we keep our hearts open and vital in dishonorable times?
How do we locate honor within ourselves and nurture it as we move through this life?
For this session you'll be lying on your back.
Get whatever props you need to make yourself comfortable.
Perhaps support for your head,
A roller or bolster beneath your knees,
Comfortable clothing,
A blanket for warmth.
And when you're ready,
Please come to lie on your back.
Allow yourself to begin to settle in.
Become aware of the support beneath you.
It's always there.
Notice the quality of your mind.
Is it slow,
Speedy,
Agitated,
Quiet,
Open,
Distracted?
Notice whatever is present and allow it to be there.
And also be aware of any impulse to push away or judge.
And breathe.
Begin to notice that you could invite a gap to the top of your breath and one at the bottom breath.
Bring your awareness to that natural pause at the top of the in breath and the bottom of the out breath.
When we bring awareness to the natural pauses in our breath,
Our mind can settle,
Our body can settle.
Take your time.
You can pause the audio whenever you need to.
As you're settling in with your breath and your awareness,
Have your eyes softly closed or with a soft gaze.
Make sure that you're not just fixing your eyes any one place or staring.
Allow the ground to meet you.
And if you can imagine it,
The ground could move toward you as you rest into it.
Being.
Resting.
Invite your awareness to your heart space,
The place in the middle of your chest.
You could even bring a gentle hand there if you'd like.
And could you invite breath into your heart?
Breath and space.
Take time to breathe into your heart in a simple,
Gentle way.
Be gentle with whatever's present.
If strong emotions,
Pleasant or unpleasant arise,
Listen for what body sensations arise along with the emotions.
Our emotional life begins in the body as sensation and then begins to weave itself into the narrative of our life experience.
When we trust our body,
Emotions can rise and fall within the dynamic and structural support of our physical being.
Awareness of body,
Breath and ground allows for integration and confidence in ourselves.
Such awareness is a key to our resilience.
Breathing in,
Pause,
Breathing out,
Pause.
You're just honoring the little pauses that are there.
You're not manipulating your breath in any way.
You're just listening for what's already there.
And the poet Rumi has something beautiful to say here about the body.
Quote,
This body of clay is the chalice of the heart.
End quote.
Being.
Allow whatever wants to be there to be there.
Allow the heart its due.
We all long to be heard and seen and yet how often do we listen or see our own heart?
Continue to invite breath and space into your heart for as long as that feels good to you.
Having the ground beneath you which is always there.
In his book called Training in Tenderness,
Tibetan teacher Ziger Kongtrul says quote,
Tse-wa,
Which is a Tibetan term for tender heart.
Tse-wa,
Or a tender heart,
Is the only thing that can give us the strength and resilience to overcome the challenges that the world presents.
Even though we all have this tender heart,
There are always certain individuals who because of their intense confusion and their ability to influence people,
Spread pain and chaos to many others.
But when people develop the strength of Tse-wa,
Or a tender heart,
They act as buffers to protect others from such harm and influence.
When many people collectively put their trust in the good heart,
It is like erecting a wall that prevents the fire of confusion from spreading,
End quote.
Take a few more breaths.
Continue to feel into the ground beneath you,
The support that's always there.
And in your own good time,
Roll to one side,
And slowly come up to sitting and standing if you'd like.
And consider returning to this contemplation as you go through your life.
What is it for you to walk in an honorable way in such times as these?
Thank you.
