And Still, We Rise

Tiffany recorded this practice at Sacred Chil (West) at the beginning of 2020. She asks, "How can we rise into the new year and all that we hope and dream for it?"

In this practice, we explore the idea of centering. Now that we are in the time of a global pandemic, centering and grounding have played a major role in Tiffany's home practices to help her cope. Pull up your cushion, take a seat on your couch or chair, or floor. Meditate.

Transcript

Hello and happy new year.

This is a re-recording of a meditation that I did in full transparency at Sacred Chill West on January 4th,

2020.

For some reason,

Did not record on my recorder.

And so I'm re-recording it from home and I hope that you enjoy it.

Since I'm recording it from home,

It won't be 20 minutes of a meditation.

It'll just be about 10 minutes of meditation.

So it's maybe helpful for you to do if you find that you have less time,

But you do want to meditate.

So the studio's intention for January 2020 is rise.

And being the person that I am,

I looked up all the definitions of rise and was really fascinated by the fact that there are more than two or three definitions of rise in and of itself.

But the one that I think we all kind of think about when we hear the word rise is to move from a lower position to a higher one,

To come or to go up.

And so naturally I was like,

Okay,

That's the definition I'm going to work off of.

And that's going to be the title of this talk.

It's going to be entitled The Come Up.

I think there's a fascination in our society with the end process of rising,

Especially at the beginning of the new year.

And I totally get it.

I am one of those people who loves the beginning of each year.

And this year is like 2020.

It's a whole new decade.

There's just even more expectation,

Urgency around understanding who we are going to be at the end of this year,

Who we are going to be at the end of this decade,

All the things that we're going to do,

All the things that we're going to change about ourselves,

How we're going to be our best selves,

Quote unquote,

When all of this is done.

And we are so fascinated by that end state of rising,

If you will.

But according to this definition of moving from a lower position to a higher one,

Rising is clearly a process.

It is a dynamic process.

It is not static.

And at some point,

I'll probably do a Dharma talk about and a meditation around our society's fascination with higher levels versus lower levels.

But that's a totally different talk for a totally different day.

But for now,

I just want to focus on the fact that rising is a process.

And it's great.

I totally support self-development and growth and thinking about where we want to be.

And I also have been reflecting on the importance of understanding where we are in the present and where we're coming from in order to get there.

By noticing what we are rising towards or in,

We can actually become more aware of the progress that we have made.

And I think that's really,

Really important,

Especially for folks if you're like me and you are a perfectionist.

It's very helpful.

And so with this,

You don't only have to identify what you are rising to in ways that are positive.

You may identify things that are hard that you're rising to,

But still you can see that you've made progress.

For example,

I might say I am rising or I feel grief rising in my life.

Maybe I've lost someone in a relationship or I've lost someone because of a sickness and because of health issues.

For me,

If I feel grief rising,

That means what is it rising from?

If I ask that question,

That means that,

Oh,

There was a space in which or a time in which I was numb and I was maybe engaging in activities that helped me to numb out.

And now I can actually feel the grief rising.

And though the grief in and of itself is not a great feeling,

The actual opportunity to see and identify and to notice that I have moved from a state of numbing to a state of feeling,

Being a human being essentially,

Is a small awareness that's actually really big.

That is a moment of growth that I would probably say based on my experience,

Meditation can help us to be mindful of,

To actually become aware of.

Or I can say I'm rising into joy or joy is rising in my life.

What does that mean I'm coming from?

Where is that joy coming from?

Where have I been in the past?

And that might mean in the past I was numb again,

Or I was sad,

I was really down and or my happiness was dependent on other things.

And now joy is rising in my life.

Again,

There's progress.

If I'm able to see where I've come from in order to understand what is rising in my life.

And research in the field of psychology and organizational behavior,

Which is my area of research,

Actually supports this.

We have this whole idea,

This whole notion,

This whole theory of sense making and organizational behavior and in sociology.

And it says that storytelling,

Building a story,

Thinking about our past,

Thinking about what we've done in the past in order to get to where we are now,

Where we want to go in the future,

That process of sense making is a powerful tool for building a solid identity.

For building an identity that is sustainable through the ebbs and the flows of life,

Not just through the great things,

But also through the tough things,

Which I believe is really,

Really important for us to keep in mind when we're saying we want to rise into something better and greater and bigger in the next year,

Two years,

Three years,

10 years.

Dr.

Maya Angelou,

Her poem,

Her infamous poem,

Still I Rise,

Of course,

It's hard not to come to mind when I think of this idea of rising.

But when I looked at it even closer with this idea in mind of sense making and looking in the,

Towards the past in order to reach towards the future and to understand what we're rising from.

If you look at it,

You would notice that the first few stanzas are all the ways that she is moving from a lower to a higher position,

All the ways that she is rising,

All the ways where she can,

Where she is confronting her oppressor and telling him or her and her,

Telling them that even if it pisses them off,

She is going to rise.

She is going to keep on moving from a lower to a higher position.

But then before she drops the mic,

Okay,

She lists what she is rising from.

And she states what she is bringing with her from the fertile ground that she is rising from.

So I just want to read the last two stanzas of the poem,

Still I Rise.

It states,

Out of the huts of history's shame,

I rise up from a past that's rooted in pain,

I rise.

I'm a black ocean leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear,

I rise.

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear,

I rise.

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

Okay,

Pause,

This is where she's about to engage in some sense making and engage in some identity construction.

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise,

I rise,

I rise.

And so given such a beautiful example of sense making towards identity construction,

In order to rise,

Looking towards the fertile ground that's behind us,

That's below us in order to move up,

The invitation for today's practice is to just become aware of what is rising in your life.

What are you rising to and through?

What is the fertile ground that you are rising from?

We'll use a technique that I really,

Really enjoy.

I've been really enjoying it over the past few months.

It's called the RAIN technique in meditation and it helps us to acknowledge and to really inquire with kindness,

Compassion,

Non-judgment,

To inquire about the progress that we've made,

To inquire about that fertile ground and all the seeds from it that we are going to use to grow and rise in this year and all of the years to come.

If you're ready,

Go ahead and take a comfortable seat.

You can sit on a couch if you're at home,

You can sit on the floor,

On the ground.

If you're in the car,

You can definitely pull over and just sit upright or lean your seat back in the car.

Allow your hands to rest on your knees,

On your lap.

If it's comfortable and safe for you to do,

Go ahead and close your eyes.

Know that you can always keep your eyes open and just keep a soft gaze towards the ground.

Together,

As a collective,

Let's take a deep breath through the nostrils and exhale,

Sigh it out.

Again,

Take a deep breath through the nose.

Exhale,

Sigh it out.

And we land right here.

Right here in this moment,

Become aware of the seat,

Bolsters,

Blankets,

Earth beneath you.

That fertile ground that is of utmost importance for us when we rise.

Allow yourself to settle into that which holds you,

Trusting it.

That is really the only way that you can rise sustainably.

Lengthen through your spine,

Feeling the crown of your head reach towards the sky.

In that subtle movement,

You rise.

Give your muscles in your face permission to relax.

Feeling the muscles around the eyes,

Around the jaw,

And the forehead.

Bring your shoulders up,

Back,

And draw them down.

Feel an expansion across the center of your chest.

As you feel that expansion,

Allow the center of your chest to also soften.

Bring awareness to your belly.

Sometimes as we rise,

We hold on in this space.

We feel the need to manipulate it.

To suck it in,

To make it tight.

But rising from the rooted place means we can let that space be soft as well.

We can be uninhibited in our expression.

Bring awareness to your legs and give them permission to let go if they're still holding on to any tension.

Any expectation to get up and go and do and become,

To rise.

Let them know that they are not the only tools for rising in our lives.

They're not actually the most important tool for rising at all.

You sit in your seat in the perfect place between heaven and earth.

Become aware.

Draw your awareness towards sound and just begin to notice what you hear.

Cry for your love painted in the light of your heart road thru out light of your soul.

Next,

Bring your attention towards touch.

Noticing and feeling where any fabric or material is coming into contact with your skin.

Bring your awareness back to your breath.

The anchor of presence in our practice.

Knowing that if the breath does not feel like a safe anchor,

You are always welcome to anchor yourself into presence by bringing awareness to touch or to sound.

I invite you to begin to recognize what you are rising into and through in this moment of your life.

What's rising for you?

Allow yourself to feel that feeling.

The feeling of really desiring or noticing what is rising.

Don't push it away.

Be with that emotion.

Be with that thing.

Next.

Begin to inquire,

To investigate with kindness.

Where are you rising from?

What's the fertile ground that is allowing you to rise and what's the lesson in that fertile ground that you are taking with you as you do so?

Next.

Nurture yourself with that lesson that you're taking with you.

That seed by breathing it into your heart space.

And each inhale.

Over the next four minutes or so,

We'll be in silence.

And over these moments of silence.

Just keep on first coming into the present moment by feeling your breath or whatever anchor you've chosen for presence on today.

And as you do so,

As you inhale,

Breathe that lesson,

That seed that take away from your past into your heart.

And exhale anything that could get in the way.

You'll have thoughts that come up and that's totally fine.

Every time you notice that you've drifted off into thought.

Bring yourself back to what is helping you to rise.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Feeling your breath deep in here.

Return to this space.

If you drifted off.

By returning to your body and returning to the present moment,

To your anchor for that present moment.

Sit up a little bit taller once more,

Lengthen through your spine.

Your palms together at the center of your heart and take a deep breath in.

Exhale,

Let your practice go.

Bow your head to your heart and give thanks to yourself for showing up for yourself today.

Taking time out to meditate and to notice the fertile ground that is helping you to rise.

It's been an honor to share this time with you and this practice with you.

Namaste.

Thank you.

Reviews

I loved everything about this. Your soothing voice, your talk about rising, the music and the meditation. Thank you. Namaste.

Love. Love love love. From maya to the bg music. only teeny thing is *I* find it helpful when the length of the meditation itself vs the speaking intro r noted in the description 💗💗💗