From Szémpiňada,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Everyday Magic for Ukraine.
Today we honor the refugees living abroad.
Welcome to the Circle.
Welcome to Everyday Magic for Ukraine,
Where we honor Ukraine and also practice some self-care to stay strong as allies.
If you're new here,
Welcome.
Today the only item you need to have with you or just imagine would be some salt or some soil,
Something to remind you of and be able to touch a bit of earth.
So as we come together today,
I would like to invite you to notice if perhaps taking a breath would feel good to you right now.
Just see if you'd like to join me.
Let's maybe do that one more time.
Breathing in and out.
And now maybe just take a moment to become aware of what is your energy like today in this moment.
What is your energy tempo?
What is the quality of your energy?
Have you been rushing around and you have kind of a rushing energy or have you been having a very relaxed couple of hours and you're in kind of a receptive,
Open,
Relaxed space?
Are you just perhaps waking up and you're kind of getting ready for life as life will unfold for you in the next few hours?
Just notice your natural energy level at this moment and know that however you find it,
However you notice it,
There's nothing wrong with it.
It's welcome.
You are welcome here exactly how you feel right now.
And you might see if you would like to maybe place a hand on your heart and maybe a hand on your belly or if that doesn't work for your body,
Find another way to connect,
To offer a bit of calm,
To offer a bit of love to your spirit and your body and yourself.
Maybe just give yourself a little greeting,
A little hello,
A little I'm here with you.
Hello.
Just connecting to the beauty that is you in this moment.
And the item we talked about having today is a bit of salt or a bit of earth.
And that's weaving into our meditation today because we're going to be honoring and speaking about and feeling into the experience of refugees who are living abroad,
Living away from home.
And as we know,
There are so many people right now on the planet who are living away from where they really want to be for various reasons.
And as we are focused on Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora,
Let's let our thoughts and our hearts turn to people of Ukrainian heritage who are living abroad,
Not by choice.
And as you hold or imagine your salt or your earth,
Let's let it represent the земли,
The earth,
The land,
The soil of Ukraine.
And the way that I would love to work with this tool with you today is to hold onto or imagine this earth or this salt and really allow it to take on that space of being the land in Ukraine.
And as you hold this or you imagine this salt or this soil,
Maybe bring to mind or bring to heart the people who are in that group that we call refugees that have had to leave Ukraine during the war or maybe even earlier.
Just get a felt sense of their spirits around the world.
If you know anyone who is in that situation,
You can bring that person to mind.
Just get a sense of them while you're also connecting to this symbol of a land in Ukraine.
And I invite you to join me in taking a couple more breaths.
So breathing in and out.
Let's do another one.
Breathing in and out.
Really allowing your connection with this earth to deepen.
Maybe feeling into or just imagining again the vibration of the earth in Ukraine.
If you have been there or you are perhaps from or in Ukraine,
You will know that vibration.
Even if you don't know,
You know it.
I bet it's there with you.
And if you have not had that experience,
Just sort of intuit into what is the vibration of the land.
And you might begin to feel that vibration pulsing in your hands.
And as your connection,
Your felt sense of connection to the land in Ukraine as it grows,
As we're here together in circle,
Begin to see if you can connect that.
If you can begin to radiate that out to those people that we've felt,
That we feel within the refugee community.
See if you can link these individual spirits to whatever degree it's helpful and perfect for them.
Connecting this vibration of the earth in Ukraine to these individuals.
Strengthening their own ties to the earth in Ukraine.
Bringing them perhaps just a little bit of that sense of home.
Wishing that for them.
Knowing that that might actually show up in their lives as a chance to talk with friends and family,
As knowing somebody is safe after a scary experience,
As being able to eat some of their favorite Ukrainian food.
Just facilitating this connection for the next few moments here with love and openness and respect.
Trusting that the magic is going exactly where it needs to go.
Making sure we are not trying to control it.
Just allowing it to move through us as always.
And let's take one more breath to finish this work.
And now we can gently release those souls we've been connecting with and gently release this energy of the earth in Ukraine with great reverence and great thanks.
And I hope that you are connected to whatever earth on this planet is sacred to you.
Most sacred.
Most home.
May we always remember that the places on earth that we call home are so sacred.
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.
Please consider inviting a friend.
