Hi everyone,
I'd like to share a meditation with you today to bring gratitude into our hearts for Mother Nature.
So this is a meditation with Mother Nature and I will be using poetry and guided insight and some matras with you.
So let's start by just checking our posture and breathing in deeper than usual.
Breathing out through the mouth to settle the nervous system.
Our posture should be relaxed,
Comfortable while also being alert.
Our head is reaching to the sky,
Father-son and our sitting areas grounded,
Stable,
Held by Mother Nature.
Sometimes when we start to meditate we find that we are a little bit tight in the body and so I invite us to do some stretching if that feels right.
We can shrug our shoulders in circles going one way and the other way.
We can bring our shoulders up to the ears and then let them drop with an exhale.
Bring our head down and reaching,
Stretching the backside.
Also stretching the sides of the neck one way and the other way.
Maybe making slight half circles in one direction and another direction.
Coming back to neutral and looking down at our shoulder.
That stretches another side of the neck and up into the other side.
To warm up the sitting area we can roll around,
It's called stirring the pot,
In one direction and then in the other direction.
We can also stretch the whole body by reaching over to one side and the other side.
Doing this at your own pace and for as long as seems right for you.
Give you a little twist to the side,
Looking over the opposite shoulder and balancing out to the other side.
Hopefully things are warmed up,
Stretched out.
Let's bring our attention to the body now.
I will ring the bell when the formal practice is beginning,
But right now we're still setting up our space.
Noticing the breath going in and out of the body.
At any of the normal or general breath anchors,
Either the nose,
Upper lip,
The chest or the lower belly.
Noticing a few deep breaths going in and out.
Breathing in.
I know I am breathing in and breathing out,
Releasing the breath with the world.
Noticing the hands,
Maybe on the thigh,
Maybe in a mudra,
Maybe clasped.
However is the most comfortable for you or however is your practice.
Just as a little guidance,
I have noticed for myself,
I tend to be a fidgety meditator.
And so I actually clasp my hands like this because it helps,
For some reason it helps my fidgety fingers to be able to relax if they know they're held.
Just something to share.
Incidentally,
Take any of my guidance that as it is relevant and as it feels right for you and release any guidance that just isn't meant for you today.
So now I invite our formal practice with the sound of the bell.
So opening up the circle,
Purifying,
Clearing the air.
The bell is a way to symbolize or signify to our brain and our body that we are in a sacred circle,
Sacred space now,
Or if you prefer,
A spiritual environment.
The most common mindfulness or meditation attention anchor is our breath.
So I invite us to come back to the breath throughout this meditation.
Any time we notice that we've drifted,
That our mind has gotten distracted or wandered away without any judgment,
Just simply gently,
Compassionately coming back to the breath.
Alternately,
We can use sound in our environment as an anchor.
We can use body sensations,
Hands,
Fingers can be an anchor.
Coming back to the fingers,
To the hands,
Even coming back to the feet as they touch the ground,
Either sitting in a chair or in a meditation position on a cushion or pillow.
So we're not trying to avoid having thoughts because our mind does that naturally and habitually.
We're just noticing what's going on right now.
Breathing in,
I know that I am held.
Breathing out,
Releasing that breath to all beings that share this space.
Knowing that there is interbeing,
That we are connected to all of nature,
Through our homes connected to the earth,
To the sky.
And we are outdoors,
We are connected to all beings through our breath,
Through the elements,
And simply through the space that we share.
So when we sit in meditation with Mother Nature,
We bring gratitude to her generosity.
All that she shares makes available to us,
Not for our pleasure as such.
I prefer to think of the sharing as a mutual relationship.
Needing each other.
So at the beginning of a meditation sit,
We start out with best intentions to be still,
To be relaxed.
Each moment is a different moment.
So if we don't live up to that initial expectation,
We are reminded that there is no expectation in meditation.
In vipassana meditation we are simply noticing what is.
And at the beginning of meditation,
We feel pretty good usually,
Maybe a little distracted.
We're seated and we're comfortable.
And as meditation progresses,
With awareness we will notice that the mind may get bored.
And we'll want to start thinking about what's going to happen next,
When will this be over,
What happened before.
And so as is the power of the mind,
When we notice that is going on,
We simply acknowledge that it's happening and then decide and make a choice to come back to our present moment awareness.
Whatever we've decided to use as our anchor.
That progression of meditation,
Those different phases,
If you will,
From the excitement of the initial sitting down,
Getting going to the middle part of the practice where it's pretty common to be distracted.
That therein is the practice.
And with a longer sit,
Inevitably we do reach a balanced harmonious state in which we feel in the zone,
Call it the meditative zone.
It may last for a split second,
It may last for a few breaths,
It may last for a longer span.
And when we are there,
Bringing a smile to the lips,
Some warmth in the heart,
Compassion that we are here now.
Thank you.
As we continue in this practice of present moment awareness,
Insight and curiosity,
I'd like to share with you the beginning of a poem written by Kai Seidenberg from her publication entitled Poems of Earth and Spirit.
And I thank her for making this possible to share.
The poem is entitled,
What If?
What if the leaves stirred to singing by the breeze sing with even more joy when they notice you are listening?
What if the small white flower quivers with delight when you notice her tiny yet honorable contribution to the beauty of this world?
What if that brief moment is all she needs to know that her life is worth living,
All her efforts not in vain?
What if the trees feel the depth of your pain and are quietly reaching toward you,
Offering solace with everything they have to give?
What if?
So I invite us to sit with that mantra,
What if?
For several minutes of silence,
Welcoming whatever is,
Being aware,
Being open,
Being curious.
And we'll finish up our practice later with the rest of the poem.
Thank you.
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What if the whales diving into the deep blue can feel your love for them,
Even across all that open ocean?
What if the water,
Weary from her endless journey,
Is replenished by your gratitude,
Which gives her the strength to keep going?
What if the earth herself longed to feel the caress of your naked feet on her warm brown skin?
And what if the granite mountain,
No matter how remote and immovable he may seem,
Feels a quiet shiver of joy when you are touched by his majestic beauty?
What if?
What if?
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What if by this time in your meditation you are feeling quite settled,
Noticing the moment,
What is in this moment,
In the body,
In the surroundings,
In the breath,
In the heart?
What if all that came together in this moment now,
And in this moment,
And this one?
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As we get to the end of our practice together,
What if we showed Mother Nature the gratitude that mirrors that gratitude that she exudes to us?
Meditating with Mother Nature can be done anywhere,
Anytime.
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With the sound of the spell,
Our circle comes together.
I thank you for your practice.
And if your eyes are closed,
I invite you to open them and look around your environment where you are.
All that comes together to make this space a comfortable one.
And this green plant is joining us for the end of our practice,
Reminding us of that amazing beauty of Mother Nature.
May we show gratitude every day.
Thank you.
