As we collectively continue to be met with powerful challenges of loss, grief, change, and concerns about the future, having practices available that allow us to ground ourselves, re-center ourselves, and orient to a more heart-centered perception and awareness is more important than ever. One of the practices that I have found comforting during difficult times is to remember that I am part of a much larger context of connection and to orient my awareness toward ways of experiencing that sense of connection.
For this week’s practice, I’d like to share one of the approaches that helps me feel more grounded during times of distress and uncertainty. It relates to something I say all the time, which is, “We’re not in this alone.” As much as we may feel disconnected at times, from an energy perspective, and from the perspective of collective consciousness, it’s impossible for us to be truly alone, impossible not to be connected to our larger collective presence, comprised of each of us and of all our earth-kin.
So, here’s a practice to explore, to see if it offers some support to you at this very challenging time. I recommend that, before starting the practice, bring your awareness to your heart space and spent a moment or two noticing if your heart is open. If you find tightness or constriction, breathe in and out through your heart a few times and notice if anything changes. It’s also helpful to “voo”, as I’ve described in other practices, to allow your body to settle in a bit more.
- Begin by settling in and touching into your internal “home base”, the place you recognize as your internal center of gravity.
- Notice the support of your physical body, of your skeleton—your internal infrastructure of support, and whatever other aspects of your body that come into awareness.
- Drawing on the wholeness meditation I adapted from the work of David Spangler and posted to YouTube, acknowledge and honor your physical body and all that it offers you through your senses, your physical abilities, whatever they may be—a living support for your consciousness.
- Next, notice your emotional aspect of being. Take a few moments to acknowledge and honor what your emotions offer you, what they contribute to your wholeness.
- Now, notice your mental aspect of being and also acknowledge and honor what it contributes to your wholeness.
- Next, become aware of the subtle energy aspect of your wholeness and honor and acknowledge how it connects you to the larger energy reality around you and how it also offers subtle senses and awareness.
- Next, if you resonate with a spiritual life, become aware of the spiritual aspect of your wholeness and acknowledge and honor what it offers to your wholeness.
- Notice that the light of wholeness radiates from your whole body-mind being, including all these aspects you’ve just brought into awareness. Take a moment to sense the quality and tone of the natural light of your wholeness. It radiates from you into your environment in every moment.
- Now, notice that everything around you radiates with its own light of wholeness, the wholeness that is unique to whatever life you sense, see, or encounter right now.
- Also remember that every human on the planet, every other life form, radiates their light of wholeness, and this light connects us to one another without exception.
- Explore whatever sense of connection you experience as you acknowledge and honor the light and wholeness in everything around you. Be sure to notice whatever sensations, emotions, or thoughts may arise as you do this and be sure to allow mixed feelings if they are present.
- Spend as much time as you want resonating with whatever sense of connection has arisen in your experience. We live in a world abundant with earth-kin of every kind and we are never outside the wholeness that is our radiant planet.
- When you’re ready, reorient to your own body-mind, noticing the support that’s here in this moment for your body and for you, and become aware of the sensations in your body as a result of doing this practice.
- To come all the way back, take a moment to look around you, taking in the colors, shapes, sounds, patterns of light and shadow—whatever your senses notice as you bring the practice to a close.
As with all these practices, please remember to bring along curiosity as your constant companion, and to pat gently on the head any judgments that may arise, allowing them to move on through. And, please be sure to allow yourself to adapt whatever works for you in this practice and to let whatever doesn’t work for you to simply be there without having to engage it.
To say it again, “We’re all in this together”, and it’s together that we will move through whatever arises in our world. It’s my sense that the heart and its particular quality of perception and awareness is a powerful place to orient ourselves as we meet the challenges of this time.