And so to begin this practice on really getting in touch with wise hope,
Our deepest aspiration for our lives.
I just invite you to find a comfortable posture,
Closing your eyes if that feels appropriate,
Otherwise just softening the gaze,
Looking a few feet in front.
Trying to invite both the mind and the body to be fully here,
Anchored in this present moment.
There's nowhere else that we need to be.
There's nothing more that we have to do.
Everything fully here is enough.
You might take a few slow cleansing breaths,
Breathing in,
Filling the lungs,
Filling the belly,
Exhaling,
Letting go.
And on the exhale,
Letting go of any tensions that you might be holding.
And we'll remember these words from Dana Faulds.
What's true is how pain and bliss can coexist,
How dark and light are closely intertwined,
How life circumstances don't have to be just right for the moment to be perfect as it is.
You can allow these words to offer some reassurance.
This moment doesn't have to be perfect.
We don't have to feel perfectly.
Can we create space for what is?
I invite you to do a check in with yourself,
Noticing what it's like to be you in this moment,
Breathing just this breath.
Noticing any sensations in the body.
You might even notice the state of the mind and if possible,
Letting go of the past,
Letting go of the future,
Settling into presence and bringing this quality of mindfulness to the forefront of awareness,
Becoming intentionally present,
Open mind,
Open heart,
Gently letting go of judgments if they arise and allowing life to live through you for this moment.
Let's take a deep breath in and out.
The first step of the process today of connecting to this wise hope is opening to aspiration.
And to do this,
We might drop the attention to the area around the heart.
Letting go of the mental stories,
Letting go of thoughts and really connecting with our heart's desire.
What is it that you aspire to right now in this moment?
Not a future picture of life,
But this moment.
Maybe you're longing for a deeper peace.
Maybe connection,
True freedom,
Safety.
And sometimes initially the aspiration might be more of a tangible or material thing.
And that's okay.
If you were to receive that material item,
What would it allow you to feel?
Peeling back the layers and connecting with the deepest level of our heart's desire.
And you might invite this aspiration to be as big and as clear as it would like to be right now.
Inviting to breathe,
Staying present in the body.
Having this deep aspiration to be fully felt.
And beginning now to move into the second part of the practice,
Which is attending.
Where in your life is this already present?
Or maybe you can recall a memory where you fully embodied the feeling,
Or you experienced what you're aspiring for.
Maybe it is a memory of being fully safe or fully seen,
Or moments of deep connection,
Peace,
Joy.
You might even notice that in this moment,
This aspiration is palpable,
Even if just a small sense of it.
Adi enduring the.
* Continuing to breathe,
Staying connected to the body.
Noticing that what you desire is actually already here.
Sometimes by quieting the mind and really tuning in,
We can begin to make contact with it.
Noticing that what you desire is already here.
And moving into the third part of the practice,
Which is action.
Beginning to inquire where in your life can you begin to act in ways that might fuel this aspiration?
Maybe it's getting involved with a group that has a similar vision to bring about positive change.
Maybe it's deepening meditation.
Maybe it's learning to live more authentically.
Just a gentle inquiry.
You don't have to force answers.
Just asking the question,
What small action might I do to bring about this deeper aspiration to more fully connect with this heart's desire?
And we might receive clarity around this answer and we might nod.
It's enough just to set the intention to stay open to the opportunities.
And then maybe what we can continue to do in this space,
Making this relationship available too.
Staying connected to the body,
Connected to the heart center.
How might you more fully manifest this aspiration through action?
How might you more fully manifest this aspiration through action?
And taking a moment to notice what it feels like in the body,
To become more aligned with this aspiration.
And that it doesn't have to be something in the future,
That if we settle and quiet ourselves,
We can connect with this in any moment.
And we'll begin to close the practice with this poem,
The Love I Long For.
I sit with my longing to know and be known,
To let the molecules of me dissolve into the great aliveness.
I long for the oneness that feels so close I can almost touch it,
Yet I can't quite let go into the open space that's both inside and outside.
If I pay attention,
The love I long for is already within me,
A stream,
A river,
An ocean of love,
An infinite abundance freely given.
There's love expressing as light and light shining in the darkest,
Most defended parts of my psyche.
If I sit with yearning long enough,
It circles around to peace,
And peace feels like a miracle to me.
So we'll take a couple of minutes in silence,
Continuing to breathe,
Really embodying this practice,
Planting the seed,
And staying connected to the deepest aspiration for your life.
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