Hello friends.
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to another instalment of our special breath prayer series.
As we begin,
And as you settle into this moment,
Just keep in mind that you don't have to come into this time as a better version of yourself.
There's nothing that you need to fix before we start.
You just come into this time and space as you are,
And as we begin,
Notice your breathing,
The inhale and the exhale.
Just notice,
Nothing to force or change or adapt,
And just settle into your breath as we begin today.
Now,
There's a phrase that's repeated throughout the Psalms,
And that phrase is,
Your mercy endures forever.
And again and again,
The people of God prayed these words,
And they didn't do it because life was easy.
If you know anything about the story of Israel's history,
You'll know that it was anything but easy.
And it's certainly not because they got everything right,
Because if you know the story of Israel,
You know that they quite often missed it.
But they were able to pray these words,
Your mercy endures forever,
Because they needed to remember that God's compassion was larger than any failure that they might have done or demonstrated.
And I think it's true that most of us can be quite harsh towards ourselves.
We replay our mistakes,
And we judge our weaknesses,
And we imagine that we can be further along the path than we actually are,
And over time,
We can begin to believe that God is feeling disappointed with us as well.
But mercy isn't reluctant love.
Mercy is love that stays,
Love that continues to move towards us even when we feel lost or ashamed or even unfinished.
So this prayer is not about convincing God to be merciful.
It's actually about allowing ourselves to rest in a mercy that is already being offered.
So let's pray this now as our breath prayer.
As we breathe in,
We'll be praying your mercy,
And as we breathe out,
We'll be praying endures forever.
And if it helps,
Imagine breathing in compassion and breathing out all those words and thoughts of condemnation that you hold against yourself.
So let's begin.
Breathing in,
Your mercy,
And breathing out,
Endures forever.
Again,
Breathing in,
Your mercy,
And breathing out,
Endures forever.
As we continue in the prayer,
Just recognize what rises in you as you pray.
Maybe tiredness,
Might be regret,
Might be nothing at all,
But whatever is here as you pray,
Let it be here.
As you breathe in,
Your mercy,
And breathe out,
Endures forever.
And if those self-critical thoughts appear,
Don't start an argument with them,
Just gently return your mind and your heart to the prayer again and again.
Breathing in,
Your mercy,
And breathing out,
Endures forever.
Remember that you don't need to earn mercy,
And you don't need to become worthy of compassion.
This prayer reminds us that grace begins before our perfection ever does.
As we breathe in,
Your mercy,
And breathe out,
Endures forever.
And perhaps just for this moment,
You can let yourself be held with gentleness.
That doesn't mean we're excused from any responsibility,
But it does mean that we are freed from condemnation.
One more time,
Just slowly together,
Breathing in,
Your mercy,
And breathing out,
Endures forever.
And now just let the words slowly fade,
While remaining in that awareness of God's loving compassion,
And mercy,
And grace.
As we pray together,
God of endless mercy,
Teach me to trust your compassion more than my self-judgment.
Where shame causes me to hide,
Draw me gently back into your presence.
Where I feel discouraged by my imperfections,
Remind me that your love is not fragile.
Help me to live honestly,
Humbly,
And openly,
Grounded in grace,
Not fear,
But grace.
And as I breathe this prayer,
Form in me a heart that both receives mercy and extends that mercy to others.
Amen.
And when you're ready,
Just gently bring your awareness back into the space around you.
And as you go into your day-to-day,
Carry this mercy with you.
All that grace,
Peace,
And love holding you and enveloping you today and every day.
Amen.
And so until next time,
Friends,
Peace be with you.
