904^th Week: Self-Acceptance and Wholeness

One of the themes I’ve explored and lived with over many years now is my experience of the importance of acknowledging and honoring all aspects of our wholeness. I’ve also been keenly aware of the fact that life on this planet thrives most efficiently within communities, ecologies of diversity. We know from science that natural environments thrive most dynamically when they contain a wide diversity of life forms, working together as a complex community. I think it’s the same with our own, individual selves. Our wholeness contains and expresses the unique diversity of characteristics, talents, challenges, qualities, expressions that each of us embodies. Through our unique wholeness, we contribute to the “ecology of life” within which we live.

Over the years, I have also found myself orienting to an experience of “being lived” by life. My sense has been, and continues to be, that each of us—whether human or some other-than-human, more-than-human earth-kin being—represents an opportunity for life to have a unique experience within and through each of us. Our unique wholeness offers life the opportunity for diverse experiences and expressions, honoring this planet’s seeming preference for diversity.

For this week’s practice in conscious living, I invite you to explore the following guided meditation and see how it feels for you to imagine “being lived” by the life that expresses itself within and through everything on this planet, as well as acknowledging, honoring, and embracing the wholeness within you, leaving nothing out. It’s your wholeness that makes you unique in all the world and it’s your wholeness that allows you to contribute to the diversity that our human family offers to the planet’s ecology.

• To begin, take a few moments to settle in and allow your body to recognize the support of the surface under you even a bit more now.

• Follow the next out-breath down into your internal home base, your internal center of gravity.

• Notice the steadiness that’s always present in your internal home base. It’s an aspect of your wholeness that is never disturbed, no matter what may happen in your life.

• Next, notice that this is also the place where you connect with your radiating core presence, with your unique energy signature. This energy signature radiates throughout your whole body-mind being and then on out into the world around you. Your presence touches everything you encounter.

• Imagine a kaleidoscope with many beautiful chips of glass, perhaps of many colors. Remember that each time the kaleidoscope is turned, the chips of glass create new patterns, bringing some pieces into the foreground as others drop back into the background. As the patterns change, notice that nothing is added and nothing is removed. It’s all about the shifts that come from foreground/background dynamics.

• The kaleidoscope is a metaphor for your wholeness. Aspects of you shift and move from foreground to background depending on what you experience, where you are, and which aspects of your wholeness are called into the foreground. It’s all part of the ongoing dance of being.

• An important part of this process is to invite yourself to accept the fact that your wholeness is what it is and what you can bring to this dynamic expression is awareness of what is currently in the foreground and what is in the background. There may be times you want to shift what has popped into the foreground, for example, and perhaps invite your ever-present steadiness to come from the background into your more immediate experience.

• Next, notice your experience when you take a moment to consider that life is living you in every moment, expressing as you through your unique wholeness.

• Take a few moments simply to be present to this awareness, in whatever way it makes sense to you. Also, be sure to allow any mixed feelings or confusion that might accompany this exploration. Just be present to the sense that life lives you in every moment, expressing as you through your unique wholeness. There is no one else on the planet who is just like you. You are a unique gift to life, a unique opportunity for life to experience and express…

• Now, take a moment to again follow an out-breath down into your internal home base. Touch into an awareness of, or imagine, the steadiness that’s always there and spend a few moments resting in the steadiness.

• When you’re ready, take a moment to recall the kaleidoscope and your dynamic wholeness, the gift you offer the life that lives you in every moment.

• Then, begin to come back by wiggling your fingers and toes, open your eyes and gently look around your environment, perhaps listening to the sounds around you, and come all the way back.

As with all these practices, please be sure to bring along curiosity as your constant companion and to pat gently on the head any judgments that may arise. Allow them to move on through without your having to do anything about them. And, please be sure to allow any mixed feelings that may arise. They are aspects of your wholeness and are part of the uniqueness of your being. 

There are two recordings for this practice. The first is of the written portion that describes the theme of this week’s practice. The second is a recording of the guided meditation. As you listen to the meditation, be sure to put the recording on pause when you need more time and please remember never to listen to guided meditations when you are driving or operating dangerous machinery.