From Shame Pinata,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Daily Magic for Peace.
Today we will honor all those who have protested the war in Russia.
Welcome to The Circle.
The only item you need today is a blank piece of paper.
As you are arriving here in Circle with us,
I invite you to take your seat.
I invite you to take a breath.
I invite you to settle in and join us.
This circle created by our intention,
This circle where we can come and be together,
Everybody who's listening to this episode,
Where we can be together and focus our intentions.
So welcome.
We're going to return today to 4-7-8 breathing,
A very effective and very simple way to help our nervous system calm down and help us be a little more present in the moment.
So it's a very simple in-breath of 4,
Holding for 7,
And then out-breath of 8.
The purpose of this is that it elongates the exhale,
Which activates our parasympathetic nervous system.
So let's do three together.
I'll do some counting.
So I invite you to inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
And inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
And last one.
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
And exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
And now you might take a minute to just notice how you feel.
If just doing 4,
7,
8 breathing for three rounds has changed how your body feels.
And if this is a tool that you find particularly useful,
Maybe file it away so you can use it anytime you might feel stressed out.
And our second grounding experience today will be grounding down into the earth.
Good old fashioned grounding cord.
Noticing what you are sitting,
Standing or lying on.
What is the quality of this surface?
What does it feel like as it pushes up against you to support you?
What does it feel like with gravity pushing your body down against it?
Can you imagine or visualize or feel into what is underneath and then underneath and then further underneath until your awareness is dropping down through the crust of the earth,
Through the water table and the bedrock,
Down effortlessly,
Down,
Down,
Down into the earth,
Connecting to that rich,
Deep,
Nurturing earth energy,
Putting down your grounding cord or a root or whatever image comes to you of connecting down.
And this doesn't need to be a thing you try at.
This can be a thing you allow.
And if it's something you can't feel at all,
Just maybe imagine it.
Imagine what it might feel like to be connected and grounded into the earth.
Imagine what it might feel like to be a tree with a very deep root system.
And I invite you to take a breath.
And I invite you to pick up your piece of blank paper if you have that or to think of a piece of blank paper.
And today,
Our thoughts and our focus,
Our intention is going to turn to all of those who have protested the war in Russia.
We're not hearing so much about war protesters right now.
And that makes me a little bit sad and a little bit scared.
But I would like to honor all those who might still be protesting that we're not hearing about and all those who have protested throughout the spring,
And whatever consequences they experienced from those actions.
I asked you to gather a blank piece of paper today because there were people being arrested for protesting just holding up a blank piece of paper.
Just the act of going out and protesting,
Not the message,
But the act was not okay.
And I also want to honor you and any experiences you've had protesting brutality,
Or racial injustice,
Or going out to speak truth to power in any way.
And any way that watching what's been happening in Russia might have been triggering for you might have brought up past trauma for you.
I honor your work.
And if you weren't on the front lines protesting,
I honor you for supporting those protesters however you did.
So my prayer today and the magic I wish you would join me in sending is to surround these protesters with safety,
No matter where they are now,
If they're back in their daily lives,
Or if they're still detained,
Or whatever consequences happened to them or whatever their life is like now,
Maybe any friends they've lost,
Any community they've lost,
I send prayers for their protection.
And of course,
I'd like to magnify their voices and their work as much as we can in this energetic level,
Honoring them and sending them safety and allow the universe to support them even more than it might already be.
This is my prayer today.
And I thank you for joining me with your blank piece of paper.
And if you'd like to put your blank piece of paper somewhere to keep them in your mind in your heart,
Please do that.
And I honor you for everything you are doing.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Your presence,
Your energy and your heart make all the difference in healing our world.
Remember to breathe today,
Breathe and expand.
And I hope you join us again next time.
And please consider inviting a friend.
Daily Magic for Peace is a new series produced by the Shane Piñata team.
Our music is by Terry Hughes.
I'm Colleen Thomas.
Thanks for listening.
