Often in life,
We come up against challenges or obstacles in our path.
Sometimes these obstacles can seem overwhelming,
And we allow them to distract us from our task,
Our course,
Our purpose.
We get discouraged,
Feel defeated,
And sometimes we give up.
We may tell ourselves stories about something not meant to be,
It's not the right time,
Or maybe something else.
Never considering that maybe we are being redirected,
Maybe we are being shown something even greater than what we imagined,
Or we are being asked to let go of something we're holding onto.
Or in some other way,
We are being shown the way forward if we can break free and see that it looks different than how we expected.
Marcus Aurelius said,
The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.
Listen again.
What stands in the way becomes the way.
What if your challenges are being handed to you by the universe to advance you,
Not to hinder you?
What if the very thing blocking your way is the exact thing you need to get where you're going?
What if everything is happening for you?
I would like to share a story with you,
And maybe it will have some deeper meaning for you at this time.
Before we begin,
Let's relax deeper into this meditation with an imaginative breathing practice.
We're going to do three rounds of breath,
Inhaling up from the feet,
Allowing the breath to travel along the spine to the lower abdomen,
The heart,
And the head,
Before exhaling back down through the spine,
Through the feet,
Into the ground.
Let's start.
Inhale from the ground up through your feet,
Allowing the breath to travel up the body to your lower abdomen.
When it arrives,
Allow it to flow in this space,
Feeling your connection to the ground beneath you.
Then slowly exhale the breath back down the legs and into the earth.
Breathe naturally for a moment now.
Let's take another deep breath up from the earth,
Absorbing all its nutrients up through our feet,
Up the legs,
Up the length of the spine,
All the way to the heart.
Let that breath circle around your heart,
Nourishing it,
Warming it,
Holding it,
And then slowly release the breath back down through the body and into the earth.
One more time.
Take a deep inhale up through the feet,
Allowing the breath to travel the spine all the way up to the head,
Letting the air circulate here,
Clearing away all negative thoughts,
Worries,
Fears,
And then send those feelings back down with the breath,
Releasing through the bottom of the feet into the earth to recycle and transform with help from nature,
Mother Earth,
Gaia.
Just letting it all go now and then breathe naturally and just relax as you listen to this story.
There is a mudra,
A hand gesture known as the earth witness.
In this mudra,
The left hand cups upward in the lap and the right hand rests next to the knee with the fingers reaching down towards the earth.
The earth witness is often shown in statues or figures of the Buddha because this mudra represents the exact moment of Buddha's enlightenment.
As it is told,
While the Buddha was meditating in his quest to gain enlightenment,
The demon king,
Mara,
Approached Buddha and claimed the throne to enlightenment for himself.
To scare the Buddha away from his task,
Mara called upon his entire demon army to serve as witnesses that enlightenment belonged to him.
Without breaking his meditation,
The Buddha dipped his fingers down to touch the earth.
And in that moment,
The entire earth roared,
I bear you the witness.
Upon hearing this,
The demon king,
Mara,
And his demon army ran away,
Leaving Buddha to his task.
The next morning,
As the Buddha went back into town,
It was the first time he was considered to be as one who is enlightened.
While you consider this story,
I wonder if you can allow your body to relax even more now.
Letting your arms become heavier,
Parting your teeth,
Releasing any pressure from behind your eyes.
And as you continue to breathe,
Allow whatever wants to be seen in your mind to gently come forward now.
Taking a moment to let whatever flows to go by,
Like watching a film,
Smelling a fragrance,
Or perhaps sensing a place.
Just allow whatever comes to you to flow,
Quietly witnessing and thinking it,
Then letting it go.
And if nothing comes forward in this moment,
That's okay.
Trust.
Your body has absorbed every word and all of its meanings and connections for you.
Gently bring your awareness to your toes,
Your lips,
Your fingers.
Or if you want to stay here a bit longer,
You're free to do so.
You can journal any sensations or observations or simply just go back about your day now.
Thank yourself for taking this time.
And I thank you for choosing to connect with me here.
Go forward in peace,
Courage and faith,
Dear one.
