As you breathe,
Imagine you are reaching in.
This is a gesture of internal kindness,
Scanning our body for any areas of bracing,
The jaw,
The shoulders,
The solar plexus,
Just below the ribs.
With every exhale,
Whisper the intention to soften,
Acknowledging the pain,
The sorrow,
And meeting it with a steady breathing presence,
And agreeing that we come here to find peace and calm within ourselves,
That we come here to find our inner sanctum,
And so visualizing a space deep within our chest,
A place of innate wisdom and unshakable calm,
Even when the world outside feels chaotic,
This home base continues to exist.
In this space,
Courage doesn't mean the absence of fear,
It means the presence of love in the face of fear.
I invite you to place the palm of a hand over the center of your chest,
Your heart center,
A really soothing gesture.
Feel the warmth radiating from the center.
It is a quiet,
Glowing light that says,
I am here.
I hear you.
I see you.
Spend a few minutes resting in this inner silence,
Just breathing in and breathing out.
If your mind wanders,
Gently guide it back to the warmth of your chest,
The palm slightly pressured on your chest.
Reach in,
Hold your own hand,
And breathe.
Be here now.
Feel the warmth.
I'm going to read a beautiful poem by Jane Pucci.
I close my eyes and sigh,
And here I am,
Lying in the hammock in my heart,
Moving gently with the soft air of my breath.
When I fall from my head past my words,
I'm caught lovingly by the hammock of my heart and rocked to its rhythmic beat.
It is my peace,
My rest,
My quiet,
Cradled in the hammock of my heart.
It is constant.
It is safe to be held in the hammock of my heart.
No place to go,
Nothing to do,
Nobody to please.
It is my altar,
My blessing,
My balm,
Here in the hammock of my heart.
Just reaching in and being held in the hammock of my heart.
Feel the warmth.
Imagine the hammock.
Envision the light.
Imagine this warmth expanding beyond your own body.
The light moving through your body and out your body.
So much love in your heart.
The threads of light weaving together.
They crisscross and they overlap and they form a vast and resilient mesh.
And not only do they hold you,
But we can reach out and form a hammock for the community.
The hammock of the community is woven from acts of kindness,
From courage,
And from love we feel for one another.
We heal in community.
Stretching out that hammock.
Stretching out the light within us.
Holding up the community.
Soft enough to cushion our pain.
Strong enough to hold the weight of our grief.
We are not holding the hammock alone.
We are all weaving the hammock of community together.
All the lights forming a giant light.
A strong light of kindness,
Courage,
And love.
Knowing that you can return to the hammock of your heart.
And knowing that by lighting your candle,
You light the candles of those of the people around you.
The hammock of your heart and the hammock of the community.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And always returning to this sacred space.
To re-energize and to feel the calm and safety.
