Agaya and Abuntu,
Welcome to this Nova Sutras meditation practice.
In this recording,
I'll be guiding you through a meditative practice to deepen your embodiment of Abuntu,
Connecting with all other beings in loving kindness,
And Agaya,
The complex and sacred beauty of the universe.
Sharing loving kindness with beings around you will allow you to be a more effective,
Mindful agent for positive change in the world.
In this recording,
We will visualize greeting organisms with wishes for Agaya and Abuntu while walking outdoors.
This guided visualization and loving kindness practice can help you prepare for walking meditations outside,
Or can work as a substitute anytime the weather or other circumstances prevent you from going for a walk outdoors.
Try to visualize the species you usually see when you walk outside.
When you take your walks in the future,
Pay attention to the details of the features of the different plants and animals you see to aid with your visualization when you can't go out to wish them Agaya and Abuntu in person.
We will greet the beings we encounter along this journey with Agaya and Abuntu,
And a specific wish for something they would enjoy,
Ideally also something you would be happy to have wished for yourself.
Imagine that they,
In their own way,
Are reciprocating,
Sharing in an exchange of Agaya and Abuntu.
As we begin,
Think about a pleasant walk you take fairly often.
Envision going out to take this walk on a morning with pleasant weather when you are not in any kind of hurry.
Stand at the beginning of your walk,
Maybe just outside your door or gate.
We will start this walk by making it sacred,
By getting centered and then calling the corners.
So first,
We will take a few long,
Deep breaths.
Breathe in to a slow count of three,
Focusing on Agaya.
Hold that feeling of gratitude and wonder,
And then exhale to a very slow count of three,
Abuntu.
Sending connections of loving-kindness radiating out from your center.
Inhale,
Agaya.
Hold.
Exhale,
U-Buntu.
Agaya.
U-Buntu.
Agaya.
U-Buntu.
Agaya.
U-Buntu.
Imagine turning to face the morning sun.
May all beings to the east abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Imagine turn toward where the sun will be at midday,
To the south if you're north of the tropics,
To the north if you're in the south.
May all beings toward the midday sun abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Turn toward where the sun sets.
May all beings to the west abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Turn away from where the sun is at midday.
May all beings to the north or south abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Tip your head upward.
May all beings above abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Look downward.
May all beings below abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
If there is a tree nearby,
Turn to face it or just envision a tree.
May all tree beings that connect above and below abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Return your focus to your own center.
May I abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings nearby abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings in this watershed abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings on this continent abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings in the nearest ocean abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings in this hemisphere abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings throughout earth's verdant biosphere abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all beings anywhere in the vast universe abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Now we will begin a pleasant walk.
Is the path before you paved or are there dry leaves or grass under your feet?
What sounds do you hear?
How does the air feel and smell?
Try to think of these with maximum appreciation and without judgment.
As you start on your walk,
Perhaps you hear or see a songbird like a sparrow or a warbler.
Attend to that songbird and try to imagine how his day will be.
Send him a wish that his song be heard and respected.
May all songbirds abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Maybe you glimpse a butterfly bouncing and floating through the air on a journey from one flower to the next.
Imagine what she sees and tastes every time she pauses to feed.
Send that butterfly a wish for delicious sustenance.
May all butterflies abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
The butterfly leads you to a flowering plant,
Something lovely that grows wild or in a garden or even comes up through a crack in the pavement.
Maybe it's a rose,
A jasmine,
A camellia,
A salvia,
A rhododendron,
A daisy,
Even a dandelion.
Notice how this plant entices and invites the butterfly and other pollinators with its colors,
Its scents,
Its gift of sweet nectar.
Send it your gratitude for its participation in Agaya and U-Buntu.
May all flowering plants abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Nearby you notice a bird looking for worms or insects on the ground,
Maybe a robin or a blackbird.
Send her your gratitude for her participation in maintaining life's balance and complexity.
May all such birds abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
Next you spot a small mammal like a squirrel.
She's timid as she searches for food,
Watching out for predators with quick looks in all directions.
Send her your wishes that she find plenty to keep her strong and healthy while nursing her babies.
May all such animals abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
In the corner of your vision,
You notice the quick darting movements of a small colorful bird like a hummingbird,
A finch,
Some other tiny bird.
He zips quickly from place to place,
Alighting on one branch for just a moment,
Then moving on to the next tree or shrub.
Send him your wishes for good food that will fuel such rapid flight.
May all the little birds abide in Agaya and U-Buntu.
You hear a delighted laugh and a small child runs past you,
Following the path of the little bird wandering between trees and bushes.
Send the girl your wishes for many more connections with the beauty of nature.
May all children find the light abiding in Agaya and U-Buntu.
As the child runs past,
Her grandfather appears with a friendly smile and a wave to you as he follows his young charge.
Send him your wishes for much joy and laughter in his years to come.
May all parents and grandparents nurture their descendants abiding in Agaya and U-Buntu.
You glance down to see dozens,
Maybe hundreds of small ants,
Some carrying food back to their nest,
Others traveling out to get more resources,
Often pausing in silent exchanges with their sisters moving in the opposite direction.
The amazing cooperation of these insects makes their collective power for maintaining ecosystems so much greater than their small size would seem to allow.
Send these ambitious little insects your gratitude for their efforts that cleared debris from your path.
You hear the call of a crow or a raven and turn to meet his clever gaze.
He pulls the last bit of carrion from the remains of a small animal and flies off with the strong beat of his wings.
Like the ants,
These winged scavengers are essential for the healthy functioning of ecosystems.
Send him your wishes for continued success in this cleanup work.
May all crows and ravens abide in Agaya and Ubuntu.
A woman walks by with her canine companion.
You can see the joy expressed by both,
Delighting in one another's company on this lovely walk.
The affiliation between dogs and humans is older than civilization,
And we have shaped one another's evolution in many ways.
You watch the dog pause to sniff a spot near the side of the trail and wonder what it would be like to perceive the world through scents and sounds the way a dog does.
As you attend to those senses in yourself,
You send a wish for enduring companionship to the dog and her human ally.
May all companion animals abide in Agaya and Ubuntu.
Your eye is next drawn to the scurrying movement of a lizard,
Dashing from the top of a sun-warmed stone to hide beneath it.
This ancient adaptation,
Basking in the warmth of the sun,
Helps the lizard to live and reproduce with much less food than a mammal the same size would need.
Send the lizard your wishes for more lovely sun baths.
May all reptiles abide in Agaya and Ubuntu.
As you stand and enjoy the warmth of the sun on your own back,
Your reverie is briefly interrupted by the distant sound of someone revving an engine.
But even as you notice this noise,
You pause for a deep breath and then send a wish to whoever did it that Agaya and Ubuntu might guide them to better life choices.
May all of us befibled humans,
However misguided or mistaken we may have been until now,
Abide more and more in Agaya and Ubuntu.
As this blessing brings you back into harmony with the world around you,
Your attention is once again drawn to the beauty of the plants and flowers you see.
You turn to go back,
Relishing the sights,
Sounds,
And smells of the day.
A flowering bush along your path hums with honeybees gathering nectar,
And you pause to appreciate their work.
Each bee nestles into a flower,
Drinking deeply of the sweetness that the plant offers,
Carrying off its dusting of pollen in return.
You watch one bee in particular,
Following her slowly from a distance as she moves from flowers on one shrub to the next,
Appreciating how her work is not just for her own sake,
But to support the thousands of sisters and dozens of brothers maturing within their hexagonal chambers back at the Hive,
And incidentally supporting the plant's efforts to diversify its offspring by carrying pollen to its awaiting neighbors.
You wish the bee and her sisters a great bounty of honey for their hive.
May all such vital pollinators abide in a Gaia and Ubuntu.
Perhaps your walk takes you past an oak tree,
Already laden with ripening acorns.
As you take respite in the shade of this strong and ancient tree,
You may catch sight of a blue jay or a similar bird with an acorn in her beak,
Flying away to stash the acorn by burying it in the soil far from its mother tree.
The bird's vast yet imperfect memory means she will find some but not all of the hundreds of acorns she stores for the lean season.
Some acorns will sprout instead,
Growing into the next generation of oaks that will feed the blue jay's descendants,
Replenishing and expanding the habitat for her children and grandchildren.
You send a wish to the coming generations that they receive a better world from their ancestors.
May we all become beloved ancestors through abiding in a Gaia and Ubuntu.
You are finishing your walk now,
And you return to where you started.
You pause for a few moments more before you return to your day,
Savoring this time that you have spent reconnecting with a Gaia and Ubuntu.
Inhale wonder and joy.
Exhale gratefulness for interconnection.
Inhale a Gaia.
Exhale Ubuntu.
Inhale a Gaia.
Exhale Ubuntu.
Inhale a Gaia.
Exhale Ubuntu.
Inhale a Gaia.
Exhale Ubuntu.
Now inhale Ubuntu,
Hold that feeling of interconnection,
Then exhale a Gaia to spread joy and wonder into the universe.
Inhale Ubuntu.
Exhale a Gaia.
Inhale Ubuntu.
Exhale a Gaia.
Exhale Ubuntu.
Exhale a Gaia.
Extend these experiences of a Gaia and Ubuntu and offer them as a gift to the whole world.
Being a Gent") When you are ready,
You may gently open your eyes and allow yourself to return to your day.
You should come into a state of calm attention,
Energized by your experiences of Aboon Tu and Agaiya.
Robin Wall Kimmerer said,
Attention is the doorway to gratitude,
The doorway to wonder,
The doorway to reciprocity.
Take a moment to thank yourself for your attention to Aboon Tu and your commitment to this meditation practice.
We in the Novasutras community thank you for taking steps toward wellness and awareness.
We thank you for all that you do in the world as an agent for Aboon Tu and Agaiya.
