Today's meditation will be from my new book,
You Are the Pendulum,
Poems and Practices for an Unsettling World.
Today's poem is entitled,
Eat What God Makes.
But before I read it,
I'd like to talk about the practice,
Which is a practice of loving oneself and community,
A practice of poetry as contemplation.
So as I've chosen the poem,
I'd like you to settle in and take a couple of deep breaths before hearing it.
Breathing in through the nose and out the nose,
Inhale and exhale.
So settling into this space and bringing to mind this idea of self-love,
Connection and community and what that means for you.
So as I read this poem aloud,
Allow the cadence of the words and your breaths to come together naturally.
Give yourself permission to be immersed in the imagery of the poem and perhaps to experience it in a larger way.
Notice how this makes you feel and what you may think about,
Sense or experience as I read the poem entitled,
Eat What God Makes.
She's not telling you what to do or how to live.
You asked her when you prayed.
You reached out to her when you said,
I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.
You summoned her when you meditated on why illness is comfortable in you.
You conjured her when you danced to the rhythms of the one spirit.
She is here because she was called here to tell you this,
Eat what God makes.
You are there in part.
And if you do this,
You will feel better,
Think better,
Love better,
Be better.
Yes,
Child,
Eat what God makes.
Find a comfortable seat,
Whether that's indoors or outdoors,
On the ground,
In a chair,
On a cushion or pillow,
Softly close your eyes.
Notice your connection with the floor or earth beneath you,
Communing with the sweet connection of all that is.
Start to notice your breath.
Notice where the breath is strongest,
At the heart center or the belly,
And direct your focus there.
Begin to breathe deeply into this area,
And then imagine the lungs drawing in a sense of connection with each inhale,
And releasing a sense of loneliness with the exhale.
Complete 10 rounds of deep breaths,
Using a count of two for the inhales and a count of four for the exhales.
If the counting does not serve you,
Stay with the deep breathing,
Noticing each moment with your full presence.
Begin to silently state the affirmation.
I am a vital part of community and the earth.
Witness how this affirmation connects with the poem I just read,
And observe how the body and heart respond to this notion.
Maintaining your focus on the breath,
Silently repeat the affirmation.
I am a vital part of community and the earth,
With each breath up to seven times.
Once this feels complete,
Softly open your eyes.
And so we've just completed the breath and meditation part of our practice,
And so now we'll move on to the self-reflection.
So you can just ponder these inquiries,
Or if you have a journal nearby,
Write them down,
Write any thoughts or sensations that you experienced as I read the poem and as I guided the meditation in your journal.
How do you feel after this meditation?
Which of your senses is more active,
More alive at this moment?
So noticing how you feel,
And noticing which of your senses has more aliveness,
More activity in this moment.
What does your grounded self look like?
And is this more or less apparent now?
What does your grounded self look like?
Is it more or less apparent?
And finally,
Which of your qualities did this practice shine a light on?
Which of your qualities did this practice shine a light on?
And these responses,
These questions can be revisited throughout your day as perhaps some things come up that you haven't thought about in this moment as you move throughout your day or your week.
Be blessed.
