For When We Feel Scattered

Everyday life often leaves us feeling like our minds and bodies are going in a million different directions. We struggle to gather up the fragments of thought as we move from task to task, location to location, moment to moment. This meditation meets you in the scattered place and invites you to bring it all back to the center - back to you.

Transcript

There are days,

Seasons,

Moments when we feel like our minds,

Our souls,

Even our bodies are segmented and scattered throughout all the places where we have left a piece of ourselves.

We spread kindness to a stranger.

We pour our love into the care of a hurting loved one.

We walk alongside another in their grief.

We tend to every heart that is beating,

Except our own.

It's okay.

It means we care.

It means we feel deeply.

It means we are here to serve and make the world a better place,

But,

You know,

They say you cannot pour from an empty cup.

You cannot give what you do not have,

And therefore self-care is not a selfish act.

This nugget of wisdom comes from Parker Palmer,

One of my all-time favorite authors of wisdom and integrity.

Integrity.

The very word means whole,

Unsegmented,

Undivided.

How integritous are you feeling today?

Another of my favorite words for the concept of wholeness or deep well-being is the ancient Hebrew word shalom.

One rabbi defines shalom as nothing missing,

Nothing broken,

Perfect peace.

How shalom-like are you feeling today?

I ask these questions about your well-being not from a place of judgment or criticism.

I ask these questions for your own reflection,

An invitation of sorts to call your awareness back from all of the places where it has been scattered,

Back home to you.

You,

Mind,

Body,

Soul,

Whole,

Nothing missing,

Nothing broken,

Perfect peace.

I invite you to soften your eyes,

Gently resting your gaze on something in front of you that is not moving,

Something that is still,

Unwavering,

Stillness that invites you in to join it,

Stillness that invites you in to you.

Notice your breathing,

The very breath of life,

This prana,

This life force is flowing through you in abundance in this very moment.

Regardless of where you have been,

What you have seen,

What you have said,

What you have done or left undone,

Here in this moment,

Abundance flows through you.

It deems you worthy of being a vessel for it to trust,

A vessel where it feels safe to belong and be held.

Do you feel safe to belong and be held?

Maybe the world out there is not so safe for you right now.

Maybe belonging and being held are concepts that feel immensely far away,

But I tell you,

Right here,

Right now,

In this moment,

You belong.

You belong to your body.

You belong to your mind.

You belong to your soul.

You belong to you and no one can take that from you,

Dear one.

In this moment,

Allow yourself to be held in love and in light.

Breathe.

As the moment invites your mind,

Body,

Soul deeper into stillness,

Into belonging,

Maybe you begin to invite your scattered energy back home to you.

What bits and pieces of you have been scattered?

What parts of you long to return home to you?

Do you find any reason why those parts cannot come home to you in this moment?

Can you give them permission,

The palms of your hands wide open to return home?

If you're feeling super open,

Maybe you extend your arms to either side,

Reaching wide and wider still,

Opening your physical heart space,

Creating sacred space for the invitation.

Oh,

Beloved parts of me that have been out in the world,

Wandering,

Longing for your place in this world,

I invite you to come back home right here to this heart.

Breathe,

Beloved.

Receive yourself back home.

Continue opening and inviting yourself home,

Beloved,

Remaining here as long as you need.

Give yourself permission to go all in in this moment,

Dwelling in this open space,

Even when it feels a bit uncomfortable because maybe you're not used to so much openness,

So much vulnerability,

So much homecoming.

Stay here,

Breathe here.

Moving only on your own timeline,

Not rushing to please anyone else,

Taking your precious time,

Begin to bring your extended arms or hands in,

Drawing that openness closer to your heart space.

Allow both hands to find a resting place on your heart,

One on top of the other.

Or if that's not quite right,

Maybe you cross your arms and hold yourself in a loving embrace.

Hold yourself here,

Beloved.

Notice what this feels like.

Allow yourself to sink deeper and deeper still into the heldness that is you,

That is here now.

Do you sense any parts of you squirming awkwardly,

Unsure of how to belong?

That's okay,

Beloved.

Do you sense any parts of you welling up inside,

Wishing to overflow with gratitude?

That's okay,

Beloved.

Do you sense any parts of you simply resting in the peaceful pace of your breath?

That's okay,

Beloved.

Whatever you notice,

Whatever you feel is okay,

Beloved.

Just be here with it.

If your hands are on your heart or if your arms are wrapped around you,

Take a moment to switch which hand or arm is on top,

Allowing for balance in the physical body.

Creating this balance in the body aids the mind and soul in finding balance as well.

And it all comes down to balance,

Doesn't it?

How does it feel to allow such emphasis on your heart space?

We spend a great amount of our time in our minds,

And I think that is what often leads us to feeling so scattered,

So out of balance with body and soul.

When we drop down into the body and into the heart space,

We remember that we are whole people,

Not segmented into parts and pieces like the world wants us to be.

When we come back home to our full selves,

We remember that we are not here to simply be another cog in the wheel of productivity and progress.

We are here for so much more.

Keep holding yourself,

Your heart,

Beloved.

Keep giving yourself the space and time to belong,

Even if you feel a bit squirmy and a tendency to seek an escape.

I invite you deeper and deeper into the moment,

Into the depths of your soul and who you truly are,

Beyond the earthly veils that seek to cover us.

If you imagined yourself in this moment as an onion,

Being peeled layer by false layer,

Deeper into the essence,

The very center or core of the onion,

Where do you sense yourself to be in this moment?

What layer are you resting in?

No judgment,

Just noticing.

As you sit and hold yourself lovingly here,

Allow those layers to be ever so slowly removed so that you become closer to your essence,

Your core.

This is not an act of the mind.

It is not a process of efforting.

It is a process,

Beloved,

Of allowing.

Allow yourself to be here now,

Held,

Seen,

Known,

Exposed,

Loved.

Allow,

Dwell here in the depths of you as long as you need.

Only in your timing,

Only when you feel ready,

Begin to bring your awareness from those deeper invisible places within you ever so slowly into the more tangible places.

Notice your breath once more.

Notice the way your breath causes your body to gently move.

Notice where your body touches the mat or seat beneath you.

Notice the air on your skin.

Only in your timing,

Only when you feel ready,

Wiggle fingers and toes,

Reach arms up overhead,

And maybe sway side to side.

Only in your timing,

Only when you feel ready,

Bring your palms to touch in front of your heart space.

In prayer hands or Anjali mudra,

Lightly pressing thumbs into your chest.

Take a deep breath in.

And then let it out.

Bowing your head down toward your heart,

An act of surrender,

Honor your heart.

Thank you,

My precious heart.

Namaste,

Beloved.

Reviews

I love this! It’s so satisfying. Inviting the fragmented parts of me back in was exciting! Like the wind blowing through me and making me whole

I’ve tried to listen to this before, and it wasn’t the right time . . . And there’s no music, for which I’m a sucker. But I was pleasantly surprised as I listened this morning. I realize that I HAVE been scattered, and bringing all my parts back home was beautiful. I’m grateful for this opportunity.

A great reminder that we have the power to gather up all the perceived pieces of our lives, and hold them together to make us feel whole again. Thanks, Michelle 🙏🏼

That was absolutely lovely. I felt so relaxed afterwards. What an unexpected treat in the middle of my day. Thank you Michelle 🥰

Another beautiful offering, thank you Michelle. I just loved this. 🦋✨

Aww beautiful Michelle!! I like energy clearing and reset meditations and this fit the bill. Thank you for this practice!! I loved your take on it. And the sweet tender names you called the listener. Soo nice 🥰🤗🙏🫶✌️