We find ourselves in a time of wanting to be of great service,
Of looking out into the world and feeling the weight of the planet and of all of the species that share the planet.
And so of course we want to be of service,
Of great use,
Of impact in the world.
But this can create the struggle of coming so wound up in wanting to be so useful and for our impact to reach far beyond ourselves that we forget the importance of the work that's very close in,
The work that's within our intimate relationships,
Those close home to us,
Our communities,
Our friends,
Our family,
Our partners and most of all ourselves.
And so we find ourselves at a time where it's very easy to burn out,
To be burning both ends of the candle and in our pursuit to be of great impact,
Actually to end up in a paralysis of actually not being of great service to those around us.
And so we're going to explore a practice of listening,
A practice of coming home and a practice of listening within for guidance as to how it can be of great service in our lives but most of all in each moment,
Moment to moment.
And so we'll begin by just grounding and building a relationship to a sense of place here where we are now.
When you're ready just finding a nice comfortable posture whether you're sitting,
Lying,
Just finding a posture that has a sense of dignity and strength but also a sense of comfort and ease.
You'll need to place your hands or your feet or knees in any weird posture,
Just sitting in a way that's comfortable and allows you to sit still and focused for the next 10 minutes or so.
And then when you're ready and if you're comfortable too just gently closing down the eyes and as you do so just noticing the attention turning inwards.
As we turn our attention inwards just noticing what's there without the need to do anything about it or change anything or to judge,
Just observing the kind attention what's here when we take our attention inwards.
Then just taking a couple of deep breaths inhaling to expand the chest and elongate the spine up towards the ceiling exhaling to let yourself feel heavier in your posture,
Feeling of descending,
Dropping in,
Letting go to the holding of the earth,
Just letting it support you,
Letting it hold you knowing that it will.
Just knowing that for this little pocket of time there's no need to try to upkeep a sense of self or upkeep a sense of posture,
Form,
Just letting the earth support you so that you can create a total sense of openness to be ready to receive to those murmurings or whisperings from within that are here to guide us,
To teach us how we can be of greatest service to our time.
And just wherever you are,
Whether it's lost in thought or sensations within the body,
Sounds within the environment,
Wherever you are just noticing amidst it all the movement of the breath.
So just coming in contact with the breath as an intimate friend or wherever it's easiest for you to do so.
The nostrils,
The base of the throat,
The stomach,
The chest,
The whole body.
So where is it easiest for you to connect with the breath?
And then just choose one.
And for the rest of this meditation just sitting with this one anchor,
This one way of finding your way to the breath.
Once you've found your way to the breath,
Just sitting with the breath for a couple of full cycles of breathing.
And just noticing the inhale,
The exhale and the space between.
And so we're just going to use this breath as our guide back to this place of presence of openness,
Of listening.
And we're just going to ask ourselves a couple of questions from this place.
And then be open to listening to what might come up as a response from within.
When we really create space to listen to those whispers.
Create space for them to become a little bit louder.
Create space for ourselves to be open to truly listening to them.
So connecting with the breath wherever it's most noticeable for you.
And just asking the question,
What do I need right now?
And as you ask these questions,
See if you can ask them with complete openness without trying to predetermine what might come up or without even judging what does come up as being wrong or right.
Just asking these questions with a truly open and curious attitude.
And what do I need right now?
And then just noticing how you feel when something does come up.
Something comes up from within,
It feels very different to when something comes up from outside of ourselves.
There's a sense of ownership over it,
A sense of empowerment,
The knowing that we were always actually known.
And then when we create these spaces of listening,
We can allow ourselves to be our greatest guide.
So just keeping whatever came up for you in your body and mind of what you need right now.
And just noticing how it feels in the body.
And then one more question.
What am I most pulled to do right now?
So listening to the murmurings from within,
Seeing if you can filter out anything that the mind might be contributing to this answer,
The things you should be doing.
Or about the things you can't do,
Seeing if you can filter out all of those things that the mind might be contributing.
Just listening in to the whisper.
It might take some time for it to become a little bit louder amongst the noise.
What do I feel most pulled to do right now?
From the whispers that do come to the surface,
They may not be crystal clear.
They may be images,
They may be feelings,
They may be statements,
Words.
Could come up in any of many ways.
But just asking the question and creating a space of openness to listen.
No doubt will bring a sense of clarity or guidance or direction in some shape or form.
And hopefully in a way that feels inspiring,
That feels empowering knowing that it came from within.
And then coming back to the breath.
Coming back to the anchor that you said in the beginning,
Your pathway back to presence,
So holding to yourself.
Just bringing back to mind and body what it was that came up for you.
Obviously in the first question,
What do I need right now?
And then in our second question,
What am I pulled to do right now?
Just keeping both of these things alive within you as we come to a close.
Just starting to deepen the breath,
Bring a little bit of movement back to the body.
So hopefully the last 10,
12 minutes or so have helped you find your way back to those whispers within.
Have helped you find your way back to that stillness and that openness that will allow you to listen in to the guide that is always inside.
And in just knowing that that little whisper is always there,
Is empowering.
So close with a poem by Marcel,
Marth Apostleswaite.
Do not try to save the world or do anything grandiose.
Instead,
Create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently until the song that is yours alone to sing falls into your gently cupped hands and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.
