Peace In Troubled Times (Live)

Please make any final adjustments that you need to now,

Either to your body or to your nest.

So I'm just taking a moment to really feel each and every being that is here and to sense our togetherness.

So these two quotes that I would like to bring to our session this evening.

The first one was said by the Native American holy man,

Black Elk.

And he said that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men.

There can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men.

And I know and feel that to be true,

But it can often feel like that peace is inaccessible sometimes with everything that is going on in our lives.

And so this poem by the beautiful poet Dana Faulds really I think speaks to that.

So as the energies of your mind and body start to settle down,

Really feel and hear and receive Dana's words in this poem that is called Enough.

She says,

It is enough right now to taste one moment of peace.

Of course I want more,

But at least the door is open.

It is enough to draw a conscious breath and let my hands relax,

Fingers releasing their tight grasp on things outside of my control.

It's enough to shed a layer of stress as if taking off a jacket or a pair of too tight shoes.

Ease of being has to start somewhere.

This breath is my first step.

And so beautiful friends I invite you this evening to give up trying to or to even take on all the troubles of the world,

All the troubles you may be facing in your own life.

Just really feel and know that you don't have to take any of that on right now.

What if it's enough,

Just for now,

Just to be here.

How does that feel in your body?

What if there was nothing that you needed to fix or change or make sense of?

What effect would that have on your mind?

Not just a nice idea,

But right now you don't need to take on anything but this breath.

Just letting everything else go and let's just breathe together.

Inhaling right down into your belly.

And then just giving the exhalation away with a long and soft sigh.

And in your own time as the energies of your mind and body settle down naturally let's just breathe together.

Let's let our breath be the starting point of opening to the true peace that is within each soul.

Really slowing down.

Going ever so slowly.

Not forcing your breath,

Not pushing your breath or grasping but just let your body breathe.

And see if you can let your breath go really low right down into your belly.

And as you take a few of these slow and really low breaths you may want to place one hand over your heart and the other over your abdomen as a way of letting yourself know I'm here.

I'm listening.

I'm committed to giving this body my full attention.

Just breathing together really slowly like you have all the time in the world to take in that life giving nourishing breath.

And then giving everything up as you let the exhalation go.

Giving up trying to get anywhere different.

Giving up trying to make anything happen.

Giving up all the managing,

The containing and don't even try to control your mind.

It's enough to draw a conscious breath and let your hands relax.

Fingers releasing their tight grip on things outside of our control.

This breath is our first step to the true peace of your deepest being which is right here,

Right now.

When your body feels safe to just let your breath be natural see if you can stay with the natural feeling of your breath as your body breathes all by itself.

Right now can you feel a very subtle sensation in the inner passageways of your nostrils as the breath comes in and as the breath leaves.

Just noticing,

Feeling the parts of your body that are naturally moving as your body breathes.

The gentle rise and fall of the abdomen,

The feeling of relief that every breath out offers.

To just let it all go and to trust that it's really safe just to be here and just to breathe.

Opening to the sounds but without naming them,

Just sounds in the distance,

Sounds nearby.

The sound of this voice,

The feeling of your body,

Maybe waves of emotion just allowing all of it to come and allowing all of it to go in the space of you that has already said yes to whatever is here right now.

So let's not add a no,

Bringing a yes even to the no if it's here.

Right now it's enough to shed a layer of stress as if taking off a jacket or a pair of too tight shoes.

Truly feel the release as you just let the whole story of your life fall away and all the stories of the world dropping away just for now.

Feel where your body makes contact with the surface beneath,

Just the feeling and just let the weight of your whole body melt into that support.

And let your body be completely and utterly held,

Muscles,

Bones,

Nerves,

Organs all so grateful to be touched by the healing balm.

That naturally arises as we open wider and wider to just being,

Feel where your head meets the pillow,

Just the feeling and let the weight of your head be held.

Just giving up the weight and let there be a softening of the whole face,

Truly allowing the mask to melt,

No image to uphold,

Nothing to hold in.

Whole face softening and feeling the sensation inside the mouth,

Just noticing the feeling of the tongue as it rests in the mouth.

The natural fluid inside the mouth,

The natural taste inside the mouth,

Just noticing.

Let the hinges of your jaw loosen and just let your lower jaw drop softly away from the upper jaw,

Giving up all doing in an attitude of surrender.

And just allowing everything to happen all by itself,

No doer,

Let the doer,

Let any effort drop away.

The throat settling down,

The plane of contact between the lips,

The feeling where upper lip meets lower lip,

The plane of contact between eyelids.

The sensation where upper eyelid meets lower eyelid and the eyes held in the support of each socket,

Eyes giving up their weight and all the tiny muscles around and behind eyes.

Softening,

Your eyes can rest now,

Nothing to protect or defend,

Temples softening,

Eyebrows releasing and letting go.

Space between eyebrows,

Softening open,

Forehead soothed,

Calm,

How would it be to completely give up,

Trying to figure anything out,

Nothing to remember,

Nothing to plan.

Just here,

Now and now,

Whole head light,

Pure sensation,

Back of the head,

Base of the skull held,

Supported.

Neck softening into that support,

Shoulders sinking down,

Arms giving up their weight.

The feeling back of arms,

Making no effort and allowing everything to come to you,

The simple feeling in this moment,

Hands.

How can you tell right now in this moment that hands are present,

Referring only to the current sensation.

Second fingers,

Third,

Fourth,

Little fingers,

Tips of fingers,

Right side of chest,

Left side of chest,

Your precious heart held in the healing balm of your own being,

Your heart And tasting that peace,

Heart beating,

The gentle rise and fall of your ribcage and abdomen as your body breathes.

The sweetness of your deepest being penetrating every cell of your body,

Whole spine releasing and letting go.

Hips giving up their weight,

Tailbone softening down,

Giving up the weight of the legs,

Feeling the sensation of the thighs softening,

Knees,

Calves,

Ankles,

Feet,

Soles of feet.

Right now in this moment being with the direct immediate feeling soles of feet,

Soles of feet,

Appearing right now in this moment just like this,

No judgement if your mind wanders,

Just very kindly and gently unhook and keep coming back to now,

Big toes,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

Little toes,

Tips of toes,

The whole body is invited to give up a deeper layer of holding if it's ready to let the clenching soften,

Releasing of the tight grip on things outside of our control,

Really safe to rest here as an undefended presence and so beautiful friends let's drop together into just being and I invite you to rest here and do absolutely nothing,

Just present,

Aware,

Wide open to the true peace within your soul,

Giving up that last trace of trying and just let yourself drop into the welcoming compassionate space of just being,

Just being,

Just being,

Just really get a sense of what remains when all the stories of our lives and the world fall away just for now and we're just here with what's present moment by moment wide open to it all with no middle man,

No directing,

Feeling everything but doing nothing,

The comfortable,

The uncomfortable,

The pleasant and the unpleasant,

Undefended,

Feel where your body makes contact with the support beneath,

Feel how that support has your back,

That your body is held,

Feel the sensation in the palms,

Waves of vibration,

Life happening right here right now and here we are for it,

Together,

Grounded in the true peace of our interbeing,

Whole body tingling with life and let's welcome in a few more of those really slow,

Really low breaths,

Breathing in that peace with a really slow,

Really low breath right down into your belly and just giving the exhalation away with that long and soft sigh and just really enjoying the simplicity of a few slow and deep breaths,

Freely given,

Let your body receive the breath that is here in abundance for you,

Freely given,

Feeling the movement of your breath,

Inhaling like you have forever,

With no mind to the next breath but just fully here for this breath and as we lie in the receptive,

Open space of just being,

Let's call forward a prayer for our lives,

Just really taking a moment to check in and to call forward and acknowledge what really matters to you,

What do you really,

Really want in this life,

What matters to you and let there be a clear seeing of what doesn't matter,

What's outdated,

What no longer serves you and how do you want to show up in this life and let's spend just a few moments calling forward the help that we may need right now in your life,

What help do you need,

Just silently asking for that help and trusting that it will come and let's take note now of all that we're grateful for,

Just calling forward all that you're grateful for,

Really feeling each blessing,

Feeling your gratitude in your body for all that you have already.

Thank you for being here friends,

I really hope that in the coming days and weeks that we remember that we don't need to take on all of our problems at once or all the problems of the world when we feel overwhelmed and like there's too much to handle,

Just to remember that it's enough to taste just one moment of peace and although of course we want more but let's at least be open to the possibility of the true peace that is within the souls of each of us.

It's enough to draw a conscious breath and let our bodies relax remembering that ease of being has to start somewhere and that in any moment the breath can be our first step.

So dear friends,

I sincerely hope that we come to feel and access and know the true peace within ourselves even as all the noise and the chaos that goes on around us is by taking time out in this way that we gain easier access to that and particularly when we come together with an openness to the possibility of being grounded in a peace that cannot be taken away,

That can never be disturbed,

It's uncaused and that we can know that even in the midst of hardship,

Just an openness to that possibility and a coming together like this to taste one moment of it,

One moment is enough.

So beautiful friends,

I wish you peace in your hearts and peaceful days ahead.

Yeah,

Thank you for being here,

Thank you for being here.

Take your time,

Just take a moment now to really check in with your body.

Yeah,

Go easy on yourself and go really,

Really slowly and see if you can stay anchored in peace.