Hello,
It's Delia.
I am currently sitting in a friend's front yard in the middle of November.
It's cold and most of the trees around me have shed most of their leaves,
The ones that don't have pine needles,
I guess I should just say needles.
And I have just been sitting a lot with these two words,
Trust and support in this time and the metaphor of a tree during this time.
As I talk a bit,
You might start to brush energy from the top of your crown and slowly move down your face,
Your shoulders,
Your arms,
The rest of your body,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Whether you're actually touching your body or just waving,
Maybe the front and back body and continue this as much as you'd like.
But so trees during this time don't worry about releasing their leaves.
They trust in the cycle of the seasons.
They know that spring and summer will come again.
They trust in their innate knowledge that they need to release their leaves so that they can send energy away from their branches,
Down their trunk and into their root system.
And the root systems actually begin to expand a bit.
And the thing about their root system is not only do their roots support them,
But they support all the other beings around them,
Right?
Trees are connecting with each other,
With mycelial networks,
All the other living and not living,
Which is underneath the ground,
The part of the process that we as humans can't see,
Of course,
Unless we're excavating,
But that's a whole different can of worms,
Which there's worms down there too.
And so I've been sitting with these words,
Trust and support,
Because we are trusting to let our leaves fall away.
We're not grasping our leaves.
We're not throwing our leaves away.
A tree waits for the wind to come and go,
To take the leaves as they're ready to go.
And then the support is also requiring some amount of trust,
Might let your hands rest if they're not already,
Start to gather your awareness around your breath,
Not needing to change it,
Just noticing.
And so we trust and then we support.
Not only do we give ourselves the support and build our own support system,
But in doing so we are receiving support because we are offering our support to others.
And so whether there's something specific that comes to mind or you just want to sit with a general sensation,
Whether it's fall or not,
Whenever you're listening to this,
You might deepen your breath just a little bit to fill in your belly,
Let it expand in the bowl of your pelvis,
And then just a few slow,
Long exhales like you're blowing from a straw,
Deep inhale,
Just bringing in some new,
Fresh air into your lungs,
And the exhale,
Letting that all empty out,
And then one more just like that.
And as you're ready,
You can let your breath return to normal with lips sealed if breathing in and out of your nose feels okay,
Otherwise,
Whatever brings you comfort in this moment,
Whatever brings you a bit of slowness in this moment,
And then with each inhale,
You might add the word trust,
And with each exhale,
Support,
Saying these words internally.
If a visualization is more helpful,
With each inhale,
You might imagine the energy being drawn from the leaves,
Down the branches,
Into the trunk,
And then the exhale allowing that energy to settle and expand and fortify the root system,
Again,
Inhaling to trust that whatever falls away,
And again,
Breathing in to trust and knowing that whatever falls away is meant to be doing so,
And with each exhale,
Reminding ourselves of the support system that we offer ourselves and all the beings around us.
Breathing in,
I trust.
Breathing out,
I support.
Breathing out,
I trust,
In,
Trust,
Exhale,
Support,
Trust,
Support,
Over and over again.
If you notice your mind has wandered,
Simply notice,
Notice where your mind has wandered,
Notice if it might have any connection to your relationship to either trust or support without analyzing,
And then gently guide your awareness back to your breath and that repeating words or the imagery,
Trust,
Support.
Now you can allow the image or the words,
Whatever you've tied to your breath to fall away,
And just notice your breath.
Notice the sensation that you experience now,
And perhaps notice if it's any different from when you first sat down,
And if you'd like,
You can gather your hands together in front of your heart with palms together,
And if there's something that you've cultivated in this moment that you'd like to carry with you,
You might repeat the words or the intention,
The sankalpa,
Three times,
Planting it as a seed.
And then as you're ready,
You can start to rub your hands together,
Generating some heat,
And when they feel even a little warm,
You can slowly bring your palms to your eyes,
Experiencing the warmth,
And slowly blinking your eyes open and taking your hands slowly away from your face,
Keeping your gaze on your hands as if you're reading them like a book,
Returning to the space around you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to sit today.
It really means the world to me,
Even if I don't know that you're doing it.
Your liberation is bound up in mine,
And mine in yours,
And so may bringing peace into your life radiate courageously to all the beings around you,
So that you can move more slowly and with more intention and loving kindness.
The goal is not just a regulated nervous system.
Liberation is love and connection and boundless support.
Thank you so much.
I'll sit with you soon.
