Welcome to this guided meditation practice.
It's really wonderful to be here with you in this moment.
This is a meditation dedicated to mothers.
If you're a mother,
I invite you to settle into this space.
This is a space for you to be cared for,
To let go of the worries,
The fears,
Caring for another just for a moment,
And take this time to care for yourself.
So as we arrive in this new moment,
I invite you to take a few slow,
Deep breaths.
Breathing in and fully exhaling.
A few slow,
Deep breaths.
It's okay to slow down.
Just breathe.
We'll begin with these words from Dana Faulds,
Let go of the ways you thought life would unfold,
The holding of plans or dreams or expectations.
Let it all go.
Save your strength to swim with the tide.
The choice to fight what is here before you now will only result in struggle,
Fear,
And desperate attempts to flee from the very energy you long for.
Let go.
Let it all go and flow with the grace that washes through your days,
Whether you received it gently or with all your quills raised to fend against invaders.
Take this on faith.
The mind may never find the explanations that it seeks,
But you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go and the waves crest will carry you to unknown shores beyond your wildest dreams or destinations.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and peace and certain transformation.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and peace.
Allowing ourselves to more fully settle into this moment.
Letting go of the past to the extent that we're able.
Letting go of any future plans or the to-do list.
Just for this moment we can invite the mind and the body to be here now We might invite mindful attention to the forefront of our awareness.
Mindful attention is intentionally present and letting go of judgment of how we think we should be or how we think things should be.
Simply opening with a kind heart and open mind to what is actually present in this moment.
Bringing mindful attention to this next breath.
Opening with curiosity,
What does it actually feel like to be in this body breathing just one breath.
We might follow this next breath from the beginning of the inhale all the way to the end of the exhale.
Noticing where we feel it in the body.
Remembering if the mind wanders,
This is completely normal.
Just simply notice that we return.
Can I feel just this breath?
We might allow this next breath to bring us more fully into the body.
We can notice our feet on the ground.
We can notice our legs,
Hips and torso.
Noticing any sensations in the body just as they are.
This is the language of the body.
All we need to do is listen.
Noticing sensations in the hands,
The fingers,
The arms up into the shoulders.
Noticing the neck and the throat up into the head and the face.
We might soften around the eyes a little bit.
Softening around the jaw.
And if we haven't already,
Closing the eyes if that feels comfortable.
Being in this body in this moment without anything to fix or change.
This belongs.
We belong.
What does it really feel like to be you in this moment?
Connecting with any thoughts or stories.
Connecting with any emotions.
Can we welcome these experiences with kindness and compassion?
Whatever it is that we're thinking or feeling,
This belongs.
We might begin to invite in this experience of motherhood.
What is it like in this moment?
What has it been like?
What are our future expectations?
Creating space in this moment for any experience that wants to arise around motherhood,
Being a mother.
What's it really like?
We can invite in the entirety of the experiences.
Maybe there's joy.
Maybe there's deep sorrow.
Challenges and triumphs.
To the extent that we're able,
Can we invite it all in?
This belongs.
The moments of confusion,
The moments of frustration,
Helplessness,
Hopelessness,
Along with those moments of clarity and connection,
Joy,
Hope,
Confidence.
What does it feel like in the body to invite in the entirety of the experience of motherhood?
Notice any beliefs,
Thoughts.
Making space for it all.
Continuing to breathe just one breath at a time.
Connecting with the truth of motherhood.
As we become more intimate with this experience with a kind and open heart,
We might begin to ask ourselves,
What do we need?
Just as we support our own children and love them unconditionally,
We can offer that to ourselves.
But sometimes when we're giving all the time,
We don't have that reserve.
So in this moment,
We have permission to ask,
What do I really need?
What support do I need?
And imagining that you could call upon any support that you need.
It could be a spiritual figure,
Maybe the divine feminine,
Mother Earth.
Any figure within your religion or spiritual beliefs that can nurture and support,
Guide and hold space for you as a mother doing your absolute best in every way.
Maybe there's one figure or person or entity that is needed and maybe there's a whole village.
Whatever it is that you need,
Call upon it now and imagine that the support could be with you in this moment.
And if you need to say a prayer,
Please do so.
Whether that's please be with me,
Please guide me,
Please hold me.
Whatever it is that you need,
It's okay to ask for that.
You also have control over how close you bring the support.
If you need some space around it,
It's okay to ask for that too.
If you need to be held,
If you need the support to be really close,
You can ask for that.
We can give ourselves permission to ask for exactly what we need.
And opening to the possibility of all of our needs being met.
Everything that we need as a mother in this moment can be met.
The sacred space as we let go.
We can be held now.
Remembering that perhaps we're doing it alright.
It doesn't mean that we have to be perfect,
But our path is the right path with all of its twists and turns.
As long as we keep an open heart and an open mind,
Everything is going to be okay.
Remembering how important it is to take these moments of rest and letting go.
And calling upon the love,
The compassion of any entity or being that can support you in the ways that you need.
You might imagine the great heart of Mother Earth holding us in this moment.
Letting go of any tension in the body.
Breathing,
Exhaling,
And letting go.
Letting go of any contraction,
Letting go of any fear.
The Great Mother can hold us and support us and guide us.
Just allowing the body and the mind to fully rest in this space of motherly love.
As we close with these words from Mary Oliver,
I worried.
I worried a lot.
Will the garden grow?
Will the rivers flow in the right direction?
Will the earth turn as it was taught?
And if not,
How shall I correct it?
Was I right?
Was I wrong?
Will I be forgiven?
Can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing?
Even the sparrows can do it and I am,
Well,
Hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it?
Am I going to get rheumatism,
Lockjaw,
Dementia?
Finally,
I saw that worrying had come to nothing and I gave it up and took my old body and went out into the morning and sang.
Just for this moment,
Letting our worries go.
Opening to this possibility of freedom.
Singing our truth.
Both in the role of mother and all of the other roles and capacities that we fulfill.
And ultimately allowing the essence of who we are to come through in everything that we do.
All that we are.
It belongs.
We can trust this process.
Knowing that in any moment we can let go a little bit.
Allowing the great motherly love to hold us and to guide us.
Thank you so much and many blessings to you on this path of motherhood.
