Take a position that supports awareness.
And begin to experience the body and the breath settling.
Feeling your body and the earth body holding you.
Bring awareness to the breath moving through your body.
Air moving in,
Air moving through.
Air moving out.
Feel the sensations of air breathing you.
Now take a few moments to soften and rest in the presence of earth and air,
The body and the breath,
Always with you,
Always in present time.
In this meditation,
We practice offering forgiveness to ourselves.
Sometimes we cause harm to ourselves out of racial ignorance or righteousness,
And we may find it hard to forgive ourselves.
Reflect on a time when this was true for you.
Take a few breaths and notice how this recollection touches you.
And how it moves through your mind,
Heart,
And body.
It is human to be vulnerable,
To make mistakes,
To learn and to heal.
Leonard Cohen says,
There's a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in.
Breathing in,
Feel your good-heartedness,
Perhaps flittering beneath and behind and between this recollection.
Imagine taking yourself into your own arms.
Relax into the warmth and allow the following phrases to soften and open you.
I offer forgiveness for how I have harmed myself through my thoughts,
Words,
And actions out of fear,
Anger,
And confusion.
May I forgive myself.
May I allow myself to make mistakes to learn and to heal.
May I accept myself right here,
Right now,
Just as I am.
I forgive myself.
I forgive myself.
And if I can't forgive myself right now,
May I be able to forgive myself at some point.
In the future.
And meanwhile,
May I be fair and kind to myself.
May I be a good friend to myself.
Continue to practice in this way,
Offering forgiveness to yourself in ways that you can.
Notice the movements between the heart opening and the heart closing and welcome both the resistance and its release as it is experienced in the body.
And continue to repeat these phrases slowly and quietly and you might even create phrases of your own or simply rest in silence.
Take your time.
Release the phrases for now.
And notice and savor whatever silence,
Stillness,
And solace that is here right now.
