Hi there,
Welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Vanessa Loader.
I was recently on a meditation retreat with Jack Kornfield,
Who's been a teacher and mentor of mine,
And there were several questions about what to do with the suffering of the world.
Whether it's climate change or racial injustice or watching a family member or loved one struggle with an addiction or an illness,
How can we have compassion and yet also have a balanced,
Peaceful heart where we don't take on the weight of the world on our shoulders?
The practice that supports this is cultivating equanimity.
Letting go,
Letting go of control.
Letting go doesn't mean that you don't care about someone or some issue anymore.
It's just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.
So today we'll be doing a practice of equanimity.
Sitting comfortably,
Resting here on the earth,
Feeling the support of a chair or floor beneath you,
The spaciousness of the sky above you,
Allowing your eyes to gently close,
Beginning to inhale calm,
Peaceful energy.
And as you exhale,
Releasing any tension or stress that you've been holding on to.
We practice equanimity.
We can feel this possibility of a balanced,
Peaceful heart in the midst of life.
When we recognize that life is not in our control,
We're part of a bigger dance.
So as you bring a soft attention to your breath and your body and mind begin to calm.
Begin by reflecting on the benefit of a mind that has balance and equanimity.
Sense what a gift it can be to bring a peaceful heart to the world around you.
Let yourself feel an inner sense of balance and ease.
Then begin repeating these phrases.
May I be balanced and at peace.
Acknowledge that all created things arise and pass away,
Joys,
Sorrows,
Pleasant events,
People,
Buildings,
Animals,
Nations,
Even whole civilizations arise and pass away.
Let yourself rest in the midst of them.
May I learn to see the arising and passing of all nature with equanimity and balance.
May I be open and balanced and peaceful.
Acknowledge that all beings are heirs to their own karma and that their lives arise and pass away following the conditions and deeds created by them.
While you can deeply love and care for others,
In the end,
Their happiness and suffering depend on their thoughts and actions.
To find equanimity with others,
Add this phrase.
Your happiness and suffering depend on your thoughts and actions and not my wishes for you.
Your happiness and suffering depend on your thoughts and actions and not my wishes for you.
In the next steps,
You can wish peace and equanimity for specific people you know and then to those beyond,
Individually or in groups.
In the next section,
You can wish peace and equanimity for specific people you know and then to those beyond,
Individually or in groups.
May you have true equanimity.
May you be balanced and peaceful.
May you learn to see the arising and passing of all things with equanimity and balance.
May you have true equanimity.
May you be balanced and peaceful.
Finally,
You can expand your own field of equanimity to the whole world.
May I bring compassion and equanimity to the events of the world.
May I bring compassion and equanimity to the events of the world.
May I find balance and equanimity and peace amidst it all.
May I find balance and equanimity and peace amidst it all.
Calling to mind the well-known serenity prayer that says,
May I have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Wisdom recognizes that we can deeply love others and offer them assistance,
But in the end they must learn for themselves,
And their happiness and suffering depend on their thoughts and actions and not your wishes for them.
Calling to mind now someone in your life perhaps who's been suffering and for whom it's been difficult,
You've had a hard time also watching them suffer.
As you say to them,
May you learn to see the arising and passing of all things with equanimity and balance.
May you have true equanimity.
May you be balanced and peaceful.
Your happiness and suffering depend on your thoughts and actions and not my wishes for you.
I release any of your pain and suffering that I've been holding.
I let that go.
I give that back to you now with love and ease.
Sometimes it can even help to gesture with your hands that you're letting go of this burden that you've been carrying on behalf of someone else.
Now breathing deeply into your calm,
Peaceful,
Balanced heart.
As you're ready,
Allowing your eyes to gently open.
