Sensing Self As Earth: A Practice With Pennie Opal Plant

Pennie Opal Plant offers a guided meditation to support us in sensing the self as earth, attuning to the many ways we are connected with all beings and everything around us. For the practice, you are invited to listen in a less human-dominated space, if one is available to you.

Part of the meditation involves a water vessel, so you are also invited to have a cup of water with you before you begin.

Transcript

Greetings,

My relatives.

Please either hold your vessel of water or have it in front of you.

Make sure you're comfortable.

In just a moment,

We will begin our time together by taking four deep breaths.

Afterward,

We will introduce ourselves to the spirits of the air and thank them.

We will take a breath through our nose,

Breathing down deep into our navels,

Imagining every part of our lungs from the top to the bottom,

Feeling with healing oxygen and slowly releasing it through our mouths.

When you hear the chime,

We will begin.

We will take our first breath now,

Our second breath,

Our third breath,

Our fourth breath.

Be aware of how you feel.

Our breath connects us with the spirits of the air,

Winds,

And all of our relatives who breathe air.

The air we are breathing has been breathed in and out by billions of our human and non-human relatives since the beginning of air breathers on Mother Earth's belly.

Our breath connects us to the sacred system of life,

To all of those who came before,

And all of those who are breathing with us now.

We are related by our kinship to and our reliance on the air.

We send our apologies to the spirits of the air for what our human family has done to cause harm to them.

We put our intention on a future that has clean air everywhere,

Without toxins or pollutants,

And if it feels right to you,

Vow to the air that you will do what you can to make that happen.

We send our gratitude to the air,

To the spirits of the air,

For allowing us to exist.

Now be mindful of your body and the energy that radiates from it that's also you.

Imagine the energy that extends from your body.

Does it feel too big or too small?

If so,

Imagine it becoming a comfortable size for you.

You are going to create a shield around your energy with a color.

It may be green or pink or sparkling white or purple or blue or yellow,

Whatever color feels appropriate.

Imagine the shield as a strong,

Thin layer encompassing your entire body and energy.

Take a few moments to make this happen.

Make sure the shield goes completely around your energy,

Including your head,

Feet,

And if you're sitting,

Your bottom.

Your body is inside your energy and your energy is inside your shield.

With clear intention,

Either in your beingness or aloud,

Indicate that only the greater good is allowed to flow between you,

Your energy,

Your shield,

And everything outside of your shield.

The greater good is free to flow in and out and anything not of the greater good is not allowed in.

Be clear and strong with your intention.

This is your protection and you can use it any time you feel the need.

Now we put our attention on Mother Earth.

We send our introduction to her from our hearts.

Our Mother the Earth has provided everything that life requires to exist on her belly.

Each life-form within every natural ecosystem has a place,

A purpose,

Ways to give life to its neighbors,

And ways to exist itself.

Each natural ecosystem is interdependent and evolved into an intricately functioning system over thousands or millions of years.

There is communication between them via natural chemical systems,

Energy,

The air,

The seasons,

And more ways of communicating that most of us no longer understand.

Eliminating one life-form from this intricate system impacts everyone in it and causes harm.

We may wonder about the loneliness of plants and non-human relatives who have been taken out of their homes in order to be in our yards,

Placed in zoos,

Or have become our unwilling pets.

If it feels right,

Take a moment to send your apologies to these beings and indicate your support to help restore them or their relatives to their natural homes.

We also take some moments to apologize to our Mother the Earth for any part that we may have played in damaging the sacred system of life.

We are humbled by our forgetfulness and our unintended disrespect.

We offer our deep gratitude to her for everything she offers so that we may live.

Now we're going to become grounded by connecting to the center of Mother Earth's body.

Imagine your tailbone becoming a root which extends beyond you and begins a journey through whatever you are standing or sitting on.

It meets the very top of Mother Earth's skin and travels down.

Maybe there are gophers,

Moles,

Worms,

And other insects.

They're all your relatives.

Continue down through the layers of Mother Earth.

Sediment,

Rocks,

Crystals,

Water,

Lava.

Your root continues down toward the iron core of Mother Earth.

And once you're there,

Your root wraps around her core.

Stay there for a moment.

Begin to travel back up to inhabit your body once again.

When you fully arrive,

You may notice there is a feeling of magnetism connecting you to Mother Earth and you feel deeply grounded and deeply supported.

As you arrive back from the journey to the center of Mother Earth,

Be aware of water.

There is water inside your body.

There is the vessel of water you prepared.

Pick it up if you aren't already holding it.

Take a moment and introduce yourself to the water.

The water has been on Mother Earth for billions of years.

The first life formed in water.

And know that water has been animating life from the very beginning.

Those of us who are biologically women have more water in our bodies than men.

And as Grandmother Moon guides the tides of water on Mother Earth,

She also guides the tides of the flows of women.

When women are pregnant,

Our babies swim in the seas of our wombs and are born on a great wave of water.

As women,

We have a special relationship with water.

Water is sacred.

Water is life.

As you breathe,

There is microscopic water in the air.

Be mindful of all of the forms of water.

Ice,

Steam,

Flowing water,

Clouds,

Oceans,

Rivers,

Streams,

Rain.

So many forms of water.

Gaze at the water in your vessel.

Thank the water for the life it offers us all.

Think of a place near or in water that brought you joy and be there for a moment.

Thank that place and let your gratitude flow from your heart to those waters.

Breathe your gratitude to the waters in your body for keeping you alive.

Imagine the waters all over the world cleansed,

Healthy,

Liberated.

And if it feels right,

Vow to act in a good way on behalf of water.

Thank the spirits of the waters for all that they give you and for what they offer life.

Thank the water in the air as you breathe in and out.

Put your fingers in the water in your vessel and ask it to bless you as you touch the top of your head,

Face,

And heart.

Now we put our attention on the forests.

The great trees in the forest that take the carbon monoxide of our breaths,

Cleanse it,

And release the oxygen,

As well as cleanses the greenhouse gases caused by the fossil fuel and agricultural industries.

Imagine being in a great forest full of life.

We hear the rustling of the leaves or needles if it is a forest of pine,

Sequoia,

Or redwoods.

We hear the twittering songs and cries of the birds,

The rustling of the forest floor as small creatures move,

The buzzing of insects,

The sound of a leaf falling.

We take a deep breath through our nose and take in the aroma.

What do we smell?

How does the aroma feel as it moves into us?

How does the air feel on our skin?

As we experience the forest,

We realize that we are not separate from the intricate and sacred system of life.

We are part of the system.

We open our hearts to the trees,

The earth,

The sunlight shifting through the branches,

The birds,

The little ones under the leaves,

Under the earth,

The ones who have their homes in the trees.

With our open hearts in our rootedness to Mother Earth,

We drop into our solar plexus and feel the power of life that is all around us.

It radiates from one life form to another,

Connecting everything,

Including us.

While we listen,

While we feel,

While our hearts are open,

We experience the web of life that we are a very small part of.

Feel how it flows into you and through you and extends outward,

Continuing through the web that connects everything,

Even the planets and stars.

Our attention remains in our hearts and our solar plexus and our rootedness in Mother Earth.

Remain there for a few moments.

If your attention begins to stray into thoughts,

Move your attention into your hearts and solar plexus and experience your rootedness to Mother Earth.

We will stay here a few more moments so that you'll know your way back to this place and this feeling.

Know that there are many ways of experiencing life other than with our minds.

When you have butterflies in your belly or feel alarms going off in your solar plexus,

That is another way of knowing and it's important to pay attention to those signals.

When you're in a stressful situation,

You have a choice of staying in your mind or shifting your attention to your heart,

Opening it up to have a different perception than stress or fear.

Some people experience other people's energy and feelings in their legs,

Their calf muscles,

Or other parts of their bodies.

There are many ways of experiencing life and we don't have to limit ourselves to our minds.

Know that by paying attention to your body,

You will have a fuller experience of the sacred system of life and being alive.

And now our time together is closing.

As we find our way back to the present moment,

Take note of the journey you've been on.

Be mindful of how to return to your heart,

Solar plexus,

And rootedness to Mother Earth.

Be aware that you can explore many places on Mother Earth's belly,

Even if you have not actually been there before.

Be aware that we're not separate from any part of the sacred system of life.

We are simply and humbly a tiny aspect of the web.

I close with this poem.

As humans,

We are tiny and new,

Not even a speck in the line of time.

As one of the newest natural life forms,

We should feel small,

Humble,

And respectful of our relatives who have been here much longer.

In a short time,

Many of us have managed to forget our place within the sacred system of life,

To imagine we are greater than any other non-human relative.

And many of us have taken dominion over those who are older,

Wiser,

And know how life is meant to be.

There are those who still communicate with the sacred system of life,

Who understand the languages of leaves,

Roots,

And bark,

Winds,

Thunders,

Waters,

The voices of the birds,

Whales,

Coyotes,

Lizards,

And grasshoppers.

There are still those who remember how to invite the rains to come through a dance,

Listen to the wisdom of rocks,

Sing a seed into sprouting and other talents for which there is no human language.

Be still,

Quiet,

And humble,

And respectful when you intentionally enter the sacred system of life.

Know there are protocols and ways to be.

Take nothing without permission.

Always give as much as you can before you take.

Listen.

The ancestors and unseen helpers are everywhere,

Waiting to guide you into right relationship within the sacred system of life,

To guide your participation in this critical time,

To remember who you are and what you are to offer.

We are to assist the rebirth of humanity into a sacred relationship with everything that is.

We are not separate.

We are nature protecting herself.

Thank you for spending this time with me.

May you be well,

My relatives.