So I'm going to turn it over to you.
I've wanted these conversations to be a contemplative experience for people.
And I'm asking my guests to share something,
A contemplative practice.
So I'm just going to turn it over to you.
I'll come back on when you're done,
But the floor is yours.
Awesome.
Thanks,
Rod.
So this is about an eight to 10 minute little guided meditation,
Which I just call meditation into embodied presence.
And it feels like a bit of a variation or a bit of a tweak on the welcoming prayer,
Which starts off with this attunement to our bodies as a way into presence.
So I'll just guide you and allow yourself,
All of you who are listening,
To create some space for this.
So please,
Let's just pay attention to the life within us by being present to our bodies,
Including our thoughts,
Emotions,
And our inner felt sense.
Let's begin by first taking a moment to close our eyes and come inside,
Bringing your gaze inward,
Settling more back and down into your body,
Giving yourself space to check in,
To drop under all the noise and the bustle,
Giving yourself permission to just be.
Feel directly the in and out of your breath,
Breathing and feeling.
Four counts to inhale,
Five counts to exhale.
Just finding what's comfortable for you so that your breath is even and smooth.
Bringing your inhale inward through your head,
Using your inhale to make deep inward contact with yourself.
And then the exhale releases,
Nice and long and deep.
You need to breathe and feel and sense this throughout the exercise.
So now bring your awareness all the way down into your feet,
Sensing the contact of your feet with the ground beneath one,
Letting your roots fully sink into the earth as you remind yourself of your groundedness in God.
Now find your seat.
Sense the contact of your seat with the chair you're sitting on and your back resting against the back of the chair.
Notice how the chair is supporting you,
The way God supports you,
Allowing you to feel supported by the chair and by your bones.
Now move your awareness more back into your spine.
Just see if you can find your tailbone and then slowly sense your whole spine from the tailbone to the top of your head,
Perhaps pausing at your shoulders,
Allowing them to relax as if God is lifting off a pack you're carrying.
Now sense that you are up at your head and face area.
Allow your face to rest.
Let your eyes,
Your jaw,
Your lips,
Your tongues,
Allow them to soften.
Actually feel the softening.
Then go inside your head,
Go to the middle of your head,
Between your ears,
Softening your head on the inside,
Letting it relax now,
Knowing that God is holding every thought,
Dream,
Experience,
Concern,
Or memory in your life.
Bring your awareness into your chest,
Into your heart center.
You may even place a hand there on your chest,
Taking time now just to be there.
Notice the area behind your hand,
More in the inner core of your body.
And now sense that you are in your whole body all at the same time,
Recalling that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
Just noticing what it's like to be inside that temple with God and God.
And know that you can return to this calm if you feel yourself getting anxious.
So now just pause and sense what might feel constricted,
What wants to be heard.
What is like a knot in your life that would value and appreciate some loving attention?
So allow a situation or a circumstance to come to mind that's causing some dis-ease in your life.
It doesn't have to be big.
You can choose something that's not that overwhelming.
And as you think about this concern or situation,
Notice what feelings arise.
See if you can name one or two.
And notice the felt sense of that feeling in your body.
And then together with God in you,
Practice coming closer to what is surfacing,
Finding just the right distance.
And as you stay present there,
Allow your attention to stay focused on your feeling and how it is expressing itself through a felt sense.
It could be a knot in your stomach,
A tightness in your throat,
A heaviness in your shoulder.
It's often a bit subtle and a bit murky.
So just get real quiet inside and listen to that felt sense with kind,
Curious compassion.
Picture yourself saying hello to that part of yourself,
Letting that part of you know that you are with it and that you want to get to know it and keep it company.
And as you stay present there,
You might notice what comes to your awareness,
The thought,
The feeling,
Another felt sense,
An image,
A memory.
Whatever comes to you,
Notice what happens to that hurting part of you.
Notice how it responds without desiring it or pushing it to change in any way.
Just sit with it as you would with a hurting child.
And as you stay present there,
Just notice what more comes.
Notice any changes or shifts.
And as you stay present,
Is there more that wants to be heard?
What does that constricted part of you want to know?
Sometimes all it wants is that you know it's struggling and it isn't alone in its struggle.
So go ahead,
Ask it what kind of connection would feel helpful and good right now?
Then let this part of your body know that you plan on returning to it.
Give yourself some kind of bookmark or reminder as a way of more easily returning to this part.
And as we move closer to this meditation time,
Pay special attention to what you feel invited to let go of.
What might feel really good to release,
To not hold as tight to?
Take some time to name what comes to your heart and picture yourself opening your fingers and hands,
Allowing it to move away from you.
So as we close,
Thank your body for communicating with you,
Helping you with insight and awareness,
And receive what your body has given with deep gratitude.
And then without rushing,
Take what time you need just to allow yourself to come back into the flow of the day.
