Good morning.
Today we are going to begin our practice.
So welcome.
Please begin by finding a comfortable seat that you feel safe and supported so that you can turn your gaze inwards for the next 25 or 30 minutes.
Connection is a practice and I encourage you to integrate it into your daily routine.
More than ever it is a time to find that connection within ourselves and to understand that we have this,
We each hold this connection and internal wisdom within ourselves and in order to touch upon it,
First we have to practice being grounded in the present moment.
And I was remembering when I was preparing right before that there was a time in my life when I had zero connection and then when someone would ask me how I felt that question really,
Not only did I not understand it but I started feeling very disconnected and spending more time listening to the voices in my head than not.
And that actually was probably the beginning of my drinking and drug problem which in a way it allowed me to dive deeper into myself and to see what was really happening because connection is none other than repressed pain and so often people are criticized but or I criticize myself and I see the shaming and I also see how prevalent it is to hide our pain and for myself anyway I have felt this real calling to share that what I went through so others might notice in their own lives those ways that they are hiding and just giving this permission to be honest about it and to be vulnerable and to express the shame that there is around it.
But I wanted to talk more about what happens when you notice your addictive patterns,
You notice your destructive behaviors,
You notice the judgments,
The continual criticism in the mind and then what happens when you go into that and that's what we are doing each day because every day is different and some days are harder than others to go within and it's specifically those days that we find it's so hard that there's so much resistance and we feel so challenged that it's those days that really it's so beneficial to break through and to soften and to allow because that's when we are so close that way and hit it's like feel like you've almost hit a wall and I felt like that a couple of days ago and all I needed was a good friend to look me in the eyes and say just stay with it and I that's what I teach but it's just saying that we have so many blind spots and it's so easy to show up for others but when we show up for ourselves there's a lot of resistance because we are so conditioned in our patterns,
In our behaviors and in our beliefs.
So as we go in we create a dialogue with ourselves and that dialogue I refer to it as aligning to our higher self or you know meditation can be so many different forms and so many different layers to it but it's the way that I stay connected to spirit and spirit is that divine consciousness that is creation consciousness itself mother nature somebody in my opinion this is all my viewpoint but we do have this deeper connection to something greater than us and it can be many many there are many terms but it's understanding that we have that divinity also within ourselves and we are born with this and that is what we are touching here when we are meditating.
So I wanted to read this to you and you can close your mind,
Close your mind,
Open your heart but close your eyes.
Pray without ceasing let your life be a constant prayer of love and thanksgiving.
Life is very very good but always remember that life is what you make it therefore if you are negative you draw negativity towards you and a dark cloud comes over your life separating you from the highest good.
If you are constantly positive seeing the good in everything and everyone there is a blue sky and sunshine all around you and within you.
Fill your life with love,
Faith,
Hope and fulfillment.
Learn to love life and when you do your life is a constant prayer and you do indeed pray without ceasing.
Prayer is your inner connection to me when we walk and talk together as we did in the beginning.
Prayer is the food of the spirit,
The nourisher of the soul.
It is a deep inner need in every soul.
Feel that inner need and answer it.
Also turning your gaze inwards and remembering that all of these are just words to invoke feelings within you and the feelings are very very subtle and as you learn to peel back the layers and give yourself permission to be vulnerable each moment you will see that you have an opportunity to step deeper into your own being.
So let's begin together,
Three deep breaths inhaling through your nose,
Suspend your breath and exhale out your mouth with the sigh really emptying out the back of your throat,
Emptying out your belly completely and then hold the air out.
Let your body ground,
Feel the support of the ground beneath you and then breathe in again taking in some more air.
Widen your spine,
Widen your shoulders and exhale letting go of your breath,
Exhaling all the air out making a sigh,
Letting go of tension,
Letting go of stress.
Notice the stillness in your body and hold the air out and then breathe in again breathing in some more air filling up your lungs and exhale following your exhale all the air out all the way out exhale,
Exhale grounding yourself,
Anchoring yourself.
Notice the stillness in your body and then breathing naturally now in and out through your nose,
Turning your gaze towards your breath,
Giving yourself this opportunity to calm down your mind,
Calming down the thinking mind so that you can dive into the present moment and really feel into what your heart needs right now.
So just acknowledging how are you feeling,
What is present for you in your body,
Sensing and scanning your body,
Noticing any sensations,
Any resistance,
Any achiness or pain and as we create a container for ourselves to nourish our own hearts today.
Let's begin by acknowledging the ground beneath you that is supporting you.
You might want to touch the ground giving thanks for the nourishment,
For the safety and for the shelter of the ground beneath us and let it stillness and stability come up through your spine,
Grounding you and calming down your nervous system.
And begin by paying attention to your body,
Your beautiful body that has carried you your whole lifetime to where you are now.
Notice the skin,
Notice what's touching your skin like the hair on your head,
The touch of your clothes upon your body and the pressure of your body as it sits upon the ground and let gravity weight your body down just a little bit more.
Begin paying attention to your breath.
Where do you feel the touch of the breath upon your body?
The tip of your nose,
The back of your throat as you breathe in?
Do you notice your lungs as they fill up with air or your belly as it rises?
And notice if this experience is pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Neutral or maybe it's a mix of all of these.
Just notice what's going on in your body as you breathe and turn towards yourself with compassion and kindness.
Noticing if your mind goes off into thought,
Simply acknowledging it and then bringing yourself back to feeling the breath in your body.
And this is a practice,
It's learning and creating a relationship with your own body with this vessel that carries your spirit,
Your soul,
Your heart,
Your mind and opening your ears,
Listening to any sounds in your space and noticing that when you slow down,
You can pay attention to your own body.
And the next basic quality that I would like to invite you to notice is affection and cultivating affection towards yourself and noticing what thoughts arise as I say this,
The judgment mind wanting to come in and just allow yourself to notice the thoughts and then bring your attention back to what it feels like to turn towards yourself with affection.
So you might want to imagine that you're looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing your image,
Smiling and how does it feel to hold yourself with this compassion?
Is there a resistance or a clenching or an aversion?
It's okay.
This is a practice and inviting you to put a hand on your heart and a hand on your belly and feel what it feels like to hold yourself.
And as you close your eyes and bow your head towards your heart,
Bring an image of yourself as a child and turn towards yourself soothing and calming wherever you're struggling or feeling frustration in your life right now.
Notice it.
Where are you struggling?
Where do you feel pain?
Where are you hiding behind addictive behaviors?
When using your breath,
Let's take three deep breaths into our hearts.
Take a deep breath in,
Filling up your heart and exhale with sound.
Exhale all the air out,
Letting go of that which no longer serves you,
Releasing old beliefs,
Old baggage,
Old stories that don't serve you.
And then breathe in again,
Washing over your heart,
Exhaling,
Allowing your breath to release,
To wash away,
To let go of whatever tension or stress,
Anxiety.
And then breathe in again,
More air and exhale and holding your heart,
Giving yourself affection and compassion,
Allowing your breath to support you,
Cultivating now appreciation towards yourself.
And what happens in your mind when that idea comes to you?
Let the thoughts play out,
Turning down the volume and see if you can touch into appreciation for yourself.
And just listening to this meditation shows that there's a part of you that really desires connection that is curious and that you are wanting to grow.
So well done for showing up and appreciate that part of you.
And always staying aligned to your breath,
Allowing the touch of your breath to soothe you.
The next basic quality is acceptance.
Acceptance happens in the present moment.
So turn towards yourself with full acceptance,
That you are exactly where you need to be in your life right now.
The lessons are right in front of you.
The challenges are there to guide you,
To teach you,
To step into who you truly are.
So notice any sensations in your body when you turn with acceptance towards yourself and give yourself this taste of freedom.
And allow the breath to come in and out of your heart.
And simply turning your attention towards any emotions,
Any sensations that you're feeling in your body and simply allowing yourself to be vulnerable,
Allowing yourself to feel,
Allowing yourself to cry,
To laugh,
Just to be still and to meet yourself where you are.
And then feeling up your whole body with this state of awareness,
Of loving awareness towards yourself,
Holding yourself with attention,
With affection,
With kindness and acceptance.
Turning up your heart and softening your heart so you can really receive and inviting you to open the crown of your head,
Imagining whomever the divine,
You see that as.
It could have been a caregiver.
It could be the image of the Buddha or Jesus Christ or Mother Nature,
The Divine Mother.
And imagine these images looking down over you,
These beings and allow yourself to fill up with light,
Awareness.
How does it feel to be seen,
To be loved,
To be listened to and feel that shower of blessings over your body,
Softening your heart a little bit more,
Anchoring into the ground,
Stepping back and becoming the compassionate presence to heal and to integrate any challenges or pain,
Frustrations or anxiety.
And melting into your heart now that image of you as a child,
Melting into your heart the images of the divine and remembering that they're always there.
This practice is immediate.
Just simply closing your eyes and finding your breath and feeling into your heart and noticing how much the narratives and the stories take us away from this presence.
So let's take three deep breaths to release our meditation,
Inhaling and exhaling,
Really letting yourself receive.
Exhaling and exhale,
Consolidating your practice,
Feeling that connection and exhale,
Filling up your body with a sense of gratitude for this practice,
For your life,
For this planet that is giving us life and support and to each other.
Here in the group every day we sit,
Some come and go or meditate later but we're creating this container for one another,
Remembering that we are not alone.
So really feeling that strength in your heart as you step out into your day and the practice continues as you walk into your day.
It's a practice of unfolding moment by moment and noticing how often we get pulled into doubt and worry.
We get pulled into the mind and the stories of other people and the media and bringing yourself back each time.
So thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing and making this past practice even more potent.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions and to share these practices.
Please do.
Understanding that when you radiate presence that's felt by your families and your friends and your communities.
It's a way of being present and understanding more than ever we're being called to do this for each of us to find that connection so that we can find the right solutions and raise our awareness for others and do what we can to help and be at service.
So have a wonderful day and I will see you tomorrow,
Every day we are here and I'm moving now.
So send me some great energy today as I move into my new house which is crazy with things to do and super stressful but I'm so excited.
I'm really happy.
So thank you.
