Emerging From The Shadows With Love And Compassion

This is a meditation for cultivating compassion. But first we need to move through the muck, our own filth, before we can emerge as the lotuses of compassion that we all are. There is a little bit of spoken word in the beginning in reflection of all that has been unfolding in the States. So if you are feeling a massive emotional or energetic impact from all the anger, the violence and hatred, set some time aside and meet your shadows and find the lessons in what needs to be revealed and healed.

Transcript

Good morning,

Afternoon,

Good evening,

Everyone,

Wherever,

Whenever it is that you are tuning into this,

Wherever it is that you are in the world.

Today I felt guided to lead a meditation on compassion.

But before we get started,

I wanted to address some things that I have been observing that's been coming up for me in light of recent events that have been happening in America.

And even though I am based here in Sydney,

Australia,

I definitely feel the ripples and I feel for my family and my friends back home in New York City and LA and Atlanta and Minneapolis and Seattle and other cities across the country.

And I have been feeling an overwhelming sense of anger,

Of grief,

Of pain.

Many questions have been coming up and I don't claim to have any answers.

And so I have been sitting with that and feeling into whatever it is that has been coming up,

Even if it has not been pleasant.

So before we begin on this meditation for compassion,

I would like to share a poem that I wrote and just know that this poem is not meant to antagonize anyone.

It is simply a reflection of how I have been affected by the energy of anger and hate that is exploding across the states.

So if you want to close your eyes,

Go for it.

Feel free to receive this in any way that makes sense to you.

Have you heard of chaos theory where the flap of butterfly wings in Brazil can create a tornado in Capitol Hill,

Mathematical equations proving the perturbations of even the smallest ramifications.

And I am feeling the indignation of my birth nation.

I am feeling the domino effect of this inhuman abomination,

Floyd,

Garner,

Gray beaten into annihilation,

Hamilton,

Anderson,

Robinson,

A countless list of obliteration,

Harris,

Scott rice,

A pandemic of extermination,

Fire bombs reminiscent of 1969 Vietnam turned over cop cars,

Police precincts,

All revoir looting,

Shooting systemic hate propaganda from political polluting Instagram protests of the NYPD seems like a low brow jamboree of suck my dick and angry profanity.

Does hashtag black lives matter mean kill the cops,

Chuck fecal matter,

Burn down businesses like pancake batter is the prerequisite of justice.

The vampiric thirst for blood,

A hankering for cold blood,

Aristocratic blue blood.

At least it's not a global warming flash flood.

Better yet burned down the Californian red buds,

Ancient anger that burns so hot,

An eye for an eye Babylonian robots.

If you're not with us,

Then you're against us.

Rape and pillage.

Fuck the boycotts reminds me of commies hanging grandma like a kumquat.

Mommy and daddy fled to the sea.

Merchants turned refugees get on the boat to the land of the brave.

America soon we will be saved.

But instead I was born into a land that only craves to enslave her people to behave with limited brainwaves and enclave of depraved capitalistic slaves greed over humanity.

COVID rescue stimulus insanity,

Rent strikes failed tragically rejected homeless barbarity.

What this really is,

Is a spiritual calamity.

We don't know who we are,

Though we are taught to shoot for the stars.

There are too many scars that imprison us behind bars.

Where do we go from here?

Violence only begets violence until we disappear.

I do not have the answers to pacify your fears.

But perhaps you might find liberation through the words of yesteryear.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Said,

For through violence,

You may murder a liar,

But you can't establish truth.

Through violence,

You may murder a hater,

But you can't murder hate.

Darkness cannot put out darkness.

Only light can do that.

And I say to you,

I have decided to stick to love.

For I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems.

Hate is too great a burden to bear.

I have decided to love.

And so take a deep breath in,

Close the eyes and take a deep breath out side of the mouth.

Sitting with all of that.

All that is arising.

All that is already there.

Continue breathing in through the nose and out the mouth.

Whatever it is that you're sitting on,

Whether you're on a cushion or you're on a chair or you're on a bench,

Whatever it is,

Bring your awareness to your spine and start to rock the spine forward and backwards like a pendulum swinging across the poles,

North and south,

South and north.

Allowing this rocking action of the spine to help temper whatever it is that you've just received,

Whatever it is that you are continuing to receive and feeling into all of that,

All that is yours,

All that is not yours,

All that is in the collective field around pain and suffering and fear and anger and blame and resentment and injustice.

All of that,

Sitting with that and inviting,

Inviting an acceptance from the intensity of all of these feelings.

You're breathing in through the nose and out the mouth,

Noticing the sensations in your body.

Is there a vibration starting from the base of your spine or is there a pang somewhere in your abdomen,

Perhaps a clutter in your heart?

Is there some sort of discomfort somewhere else in your neck in the way that you are breathing?

Short of breath,

Not breathing enough,

What is it?

Whatever that is,

Feel how all of that contracts you,

Your physicality,

Your posture,

Your energy,

Your emotions,

Everything becomes so contracted.

We're not trying to change anything right now.

We are trying to embrace the shadow of what is and to honor what is surface.

And the next inhale,

Take a deep breath in,

Inhale a bit more,

And a bit more.

Hold the breath at the top.

And exhale,

Sigh through the mouth.

Inhale through the mouth this time.

Inhale through the mouth.

Inviting sounds if they come,

Inviting different movements if they come,

Or if it's just absolute stillness,

Whatever is in your truth,

Express that.

Continue the circular breath through the mouth,

In through the mouth,

Out through the mouth.

With the flow of each inhale,

Rise to the top,

Suspend for a moment and flow right into the next exhalation until you arrive in an empty space.

Allow this breath to magnify all it is that you are picking up from your insides,

Your inner ecosystem.

All that has been happening,

Unfolding last few days,

Last week,

Last month,

Last two months,

The frustrations,

The fear,

The panic,

The anger,

All of that,

Let that surface.

Look at it in the eye.

It's what the Buddhists call feeding your inner demon.

Bring them out one by one,

The angry self,

The hateful self,

The spiteful self,

The fearful self,

The racist self,

The violent self.

These are all shadows within that are reflected outwards.

And however it is that it makes you feel,

No matter how confronting,

Trust,

That by looking at these shadows head on,

Something powerful is happening.

Keep breathing that in.

And if the breath gets quicker,

Allow it to get quicker.

Let the breath breathe you.

If you need to move,

If you need to flail,

If the body needs to express itself in other ways,

Allow it to,

Listen to it.

Three more big breaths like this.

On the next inhale,

Hold the breath at the top.

Exhale a bit more and a bit more.

Suspend the breath and keep it there.

And exhale,

Sigh and let it go.

Begin to observe what's happening in your inner landscape.

Now tapping into your gut,

Into the bowels of your intestines,

Deep,

Deep,

Deep down.

What is it that you're feeling truly,

Honestly?

When you have full permission to blame,

To resent all of the shadow emotions that we are taught to not feel that they're wrong,

Whatever that is,

Own it.

And watch how it snakes through your system and it has a certain hold on you.

Might start to feel contraction in your hands or in your arms or your shoulders and your neck,

Your feet or your knees.

You may want to feel like you want to get up and shake or jump or scream,

Whatever it is.

Watch that.

Watch that.

There's a choice to be made to react or to respond.

To respond,

We must observe,

We must watch,

We must wait for the gap in between to make that decision.

So practice sitting,

Sitting with the discomfort,

Dealing with this pain,

This collective pain.

Bigotry of hate,

Of looking into your inner racist.

We all have it.

It's there.

And what does it look like?

And how has that story played out in your life?

How has it affected you?

The way that you interact with others,

How you interact with yourself,

How you look in the mirror.

These parts that we have swept under the rug can no longer stay hidden.

They must come up to the surface.

You must meet them and look them in the eye if we are to change the quantum field,

Our reality.

To change the consciousness of humanity.

You're moving through that.

What is it in this seed of anger,

Of hate?

What does it want?

What does it need from you?

What does it need you to understand about it?

How does it need to be helped?

What lessons are not yet learned?

Why,

Why,

Why are we running on a hamster wheel the same cycle on replay over and over the same ways of being?

An eye for an eye.

Violence and violence,

Cycles of violence,

Why?

The answer lies in the self.

It lies in you.

It lies in me.

It lies in us.

Keep looking.

Stay with it.

Breathe.

The invitation is now to breathe in through the nose,

Out through the mouth,

Or in through the mouth,

Out through the mouth.

You choose.

Any pattern of breath is welcome.

So long as you're breathing,

Stay with it.

This is a practice of sitting in your own filth,

In our filth,

Humanity's filth,

What we have created all together for the sake of ourselves and for the sake of each other and all those involved.

We must own this.

Keep breathing.

The body needs to shake to quiver,

Allow it to.

The next few moments expressing all that needs to express itself.

That's it.

Stay with it.

Meditation isn't always pretty.

It's about truth.

It's about cultivating your wisdom.

It's about freedom.

It's not about pretty.

Keep breathing.

Whatever it is that's coming out,

Whatever it is that you're surprising yourself with,

Trust that there is something on the other side to be learned.

Feel free to place your hands anywhere on your body that's calling for that touch.

And then the next inhale,

Hold the breath,

Inhaling a bit more and a bit more,

Suspending the breath.

Stay full.

Feeling into all of that vibration.

Even hate and anger has a resonance.

It has a power that can be used.

Exhale,

Let the breath go.

Breathing the way that you choose.

That power,

That power is your choice.

Now you use fear as a motivator or anger to invigorate your passion.

Taking the seed of hate and turning it inwards.

Look at why it is there.

Everything is a purpose.

It is up to us to find that purpose.

So the invitation is to use your breath to repurpose the fear,

The pain,

The anger.

Take all of that magnificent power we can use to tear the world apart and turn it into something else.

Redirect it.

Repurpose it.

Refurbish it.

Use your breath.

Out of the mud is born the lotus.

Out of the mud is born the lotus.

You,

Me,

We are that lotus waiting to emerge.

Wait for it.

Watch for it.

That's it.

With your intention,

With your focused intention,

Summon the lotus that is within.

The lotus of truth.

The lotus of love.

In the next three breaths,

Summon that lotus into your hands.

Start to friction your hands,

Building heat.

Gradually bring that heat to stand still.

Open your palms,

Your gesture of receiving and of offering this gift.

Create it out of the fifth,

Out of the mud.

This lotus that you are holding,

It is a reflection of your heart.

It is a reflection of your humanity.

In this lotus contains a seed of compassion.

The compassion of the Buddha,

Christ,

Mohammed.

It's the compassion that we all yearn for.

Take the seed of compassion and place it somewhere on your physical arm.

Whether your legs,

Your hips,

Your belly,

Your heart,

Wherever it is being called.

Feel the warmth,

The healing warmth of your hands nurture that space.

Watch that seed grow,

Nourish it with the breath,

Nourish it with your imagination,

Visualization,

Nourish it with your soul.

This place broadcasts the feeling of compassionate reality that we all resonate and we all understand and empathize with.

Whatever background,

Whatever block of life we hail from,

We deeply understand on a human level,

We all want.

That reality is the universe.

Call that reality now into the present moment.

This is our birth.

This is what we deserve.

Feel that spirit of compassion spreading all around your body,

Behind you,

Above you,

Below you.

Spinning magnificent sphere of vibrant energy.

Each breath of this energy expands.

Bigger than your apartment,

Your house,

Starts to take up space on your block,

In your city,

In your country.

It spreads across the seas,

Connecting the animal to the plants,

The clouds,

And everything in between.

Continue calling in this reality until not a single part of you or them or us is left.

As far as your inner eye can see,

As far as your heart can sense,

This entire planet is shrouded in a field of compassion.

I trust that this perceptual shift in the nature of who we are will create a ripple that will change the fabric of our consciousness.

We must trust in this.

Trust.

The next few moments cultivating this feeling.

This feeling might bring you to a place of stillness.

You might lay down.

You might get up and start moving.

This is not.

This is not.

The longer that you sit in this field of compassion.

You become the Lotus Barn.

You become a warrior of compassion,

Of truth,

Of love.

You become what you are meant to become.

You reach your hands out to all those like you.

You hear the call and you hold their hands.

Your brothers and sisters,

Your mothers and fathers.

The land,

The sun,

The moon,

The stars.

Connect to the forces of nature that have created you.

Living a life of love.

Let it anchor.

Let it anchor.

Let it anchor.

Let it anchor.

Continue sitting in this field of expense,

Of compassion and love as long as you need.

And whenever it is that you are ready,

There is no rush.

You can slowly return and when you do return,

Take care of yourself.

Drink water,

Have some hot tea.

Feel free to journal,

Feel free to dance,

To draw,

To create.

Stay true to yourself and stay connected to this space that you have found.

If there's anything that you should need from me or any comments or insights that you would like to share,

Feel free to.

Feel free to connect to others so that you can be heard and that you can hear others.

And remember that we are all feeling this and that we are all in this together.

Thank you so much for tuning in with me and for taking this time to dive into the filth and emerging as the lotus born.

I salute you.

I honor you.

I bow to you.

Thank you.

And I'm signing off.

Reviews

Another great meditation by this amazing man! Thank you Johnson

That was an amazing journey in meeting our shadows, bring them into light, let them be, welcome them to integrate.
Beautiful and powerful process.
Thank you 🙏

Amazing, powerful. Really resonated with me. Thank you

wonderful and much needed in our current pandemic of racism

What an incredibly powerful experience this was for me. Prejudice and anger come with so many faces, race, religion, disabilities, psychological challenges, female, make, gay, straight, and so on. Then at the same time that I perceive them as hoisted at me, I can see how in turn I extend the hatred back, even in very subtle ways, like being condescending. It is a reality we don't want to see but until the light is brought to it, and I own my part in it, it will never change. Seeing the Lotus unfold and transform the fear to universal compassion was deeply moving.
Thank You 🙏.
( your poem was incredible as well!)

Thank you so much. Incredible meditation, beautifully spoken poem. Thank you for sharing yourself in this way.

powerful.needed. beautiful thank you.🙏

Wow. Thank you.

Wow! Powerful meditation. Deep. Your poem is amazing-
Thank you!

Thank you for your amazing words....this meditation was so needed today, Blessings

Thank you, Johnson. That was beautiful and I had no idea how much that was needed. You have a gift. ❤️🙏

Also, I loved your poem. Is it posted anywhere?

Phew! Intense. Powerful. Important. Hard. 🙏

This was so powerful and beautiful and needed.......