Thank you for choosing to sit with me today.
I'll be guiding you through a meditation where we start tending to our inner world by practicing kindness on ourselves.
You can think of it as a personal meta meditation.
So let's get comfortable.
Close your eyes if you haven't already done so.
Or if you would like to leave your eyes open,
Gently cast them down in front of you.
Let's take a few cleansing breaths to clear out everything that came before this meditation today.
Take a big deep breath in,
Feeling your chest and belly fill with air.
Hold it at the top for a moment and exhale slowly.
One more deep inhale.
Hold for a moment and exhale letting everything go.
Let's check in with our body.
See if there's any areas where you're holding tension and try to soften those areas.
Check in with your shoulders.
Make sure they're relaxed.
And feel how you are supported as you sit in your chair or on your mat.
I'm always curious about what brought others to meditation.
If I was sitting with you in person right now,
I'd probably be asking you what compelled you to take that first step on your spiritual journey.
We all arrive here for different reasons,
But I think one motivation we all share is the desire to find fulfillment,
Happiness,
And relief.
Relief from all the challenges we face in our daily lives,
As well as the internal battles we oftentimes don't even realize are raging inside of us.
I was in a Zoom Dharma talk last night and the speaker was talking about how kindness shows up in our spiritual practice and he shared a story about having dinner with a close spiritual buddy recently and he was blown away by the warm fuzzy feelings he felt just by spending time with a friend face to face.
This is something we all have missed in this past year being more isolated,
But he was saying that he could actually feel the kindness in his body that was passing between the two of them.
Maybe you've experienced those warm fuzzy feelings before,
When you're with a good friend or a loved one.
I know for me those feelings reach a whole new level when it's with someone who's also on a spiritual path.
They're just some sort of special connection,
Like they get me and it's like I'm finally being heard,
Understood,
And seen.
And the encounter is all wrapped up in a big bear hug.
So the Dharma speaker went on to talk about how he noticed those kindness vibes,
Those warm fuzzy feelings,
Started to dissipate as he was driving home and was alone again.
When he was back in his head,
All alone with his thoughts,
Feelings,
And emotions,
That's when the kindness began to be replaced by the judge,
The inner critic,
And the doubter.
The way we talk to ourselves is often not nearly as nice as the way we would talk to a loved one.
Can you imagine being around someone that's always trash talking you?
I know personally I'd try to get as far away from that person and as fast as possible,
But the funny thing is,
Is that I can't because the person sending all those harsh words my way is often me.
I'm my own worst trash talker and there's no escape.
Believe me,
I've tried.
I've explored every street,
Avenue,
And cul-de-sac outside of myself for relief,
For answers,
For escape,
And there aren't any,
Or at least none that will last.
I only found empty promises offering temporary relief.
The only place I had not explored before I stumbled upon meditation was right here inside me.
But to even find any of that relief,
First I had to learn how to become kinder to myself and find positive ways to tend to my inner world.
Right now,
How does your inner landscape look and feel?
Is it warm and welcoming,
Chaotic and restless,
Or somewhere in between?
Do you feel like you're amongst friends or enemies as you are sitting in meditation?
What can you do to make your internal world a little kinder right now?
As you practice Metta with yourself,
Where does the kindness show up in your body?
How does it feel as you turn this kindness on yourself?
I find it helpful to repeat affirmations to myself as a way to practice inner kindness.
I'll offer you some words that I use,
But you can also find your own that have more meaning.
I like to say to myself,
May I be safe and protected.
May I care for myself with kindness and patience.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
May I be safe and protected.
May I care for myself with kindness and patience.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
Use whatever words feel right to you in this moment.
Find phrases that support you and then repeat them to yourself a couple of times.
When we offer ourselves words of support and understanding,
We can begin to uncover new ways to care for ourselves and tend to our inner world moment by moment.
And each time you sit,
You may need a different kind of support.
Sometimes I need to be practicing in the outdoors,
Others in complete silence as I sit and wait to see what arises.
And oftentimes I need a voice to guide me through my meditation.
Each time you sit,
You can ask yourself the questions,
What do I need right now?
How can I best tend to my internal world in this moment?
Instead of trying to focus on getting everything right on the outside,
In meditation you can begin tending to your inner world.
Just by being here right now,
Just by taking the time to seek guidance and comfort within is what really matters.
Whatever it is that brought you here,
Whatever it is that you decided it was time to face,
To embrace,
Or to better understand,
All that matters is that you are here now and you are trying.
You are putting in the effort,
Seeking relief and answers,
But you're doing it by turning inward.
There's a quote by the author Paulo Coelho that I think gets to the very core of why we must turn inward as a part of our spiritual journey.
He says,
Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything.
Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't really you,
So you can become who you were meant to be in the first place.
As we unbecome all that no longer serves us,
As we peel away those layers,
We can begin to uncover all those beautiful parts of ourselves that have been hidden away,
That have been neglected,
And that have been forgotten.
I'm so honored that you chose to sit with me today to practice a little kindness by turning inward and tending to your inner world.
I hope that I'm able to sit with you again soon.
May you be safe and protected.
May you care for yourself with kindness and patience.
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be happy.
