Lovingkindness And Mother Nature

Hey there,

My name is Connor Burns.

Thank you for joining me today for this very special meditation on the celebration of our planet and Mother Nature.

I invite you now to find whichever resting position is most comfortable for you,

And perhaps opening yourself up to the intuitive listening of finding that fully relaxed,

Comfortable position,

And however that looks for you in this moment.

I'd like to offer the option of joining this meditation today with your eyes open if that's more comfortable for you,

And perhaps taking in the entirety of the room,

Or simply one point.

And if it's preferable or more comfortable for you to close the eyes,

I'd invite you now to do so.

And as we begin our meditation today,

I'd first like us to invite our awareness into the physical body,

Bringing awareness to any sensations that we may be aware of.

Moving from the tips of our toes,

Through the legs,

Up into our torso and midsection,

Down the length of the arms,

And then up the length of the spine,

In through our neck,

The head,

And the small delicate muscles through the face and our jaw.

And expanding our awareness to invite in whatever may be calling out.

Noticing perhaps the temperature of different areas of the body,

Noticing sensations.

Perhaps we notice and are aware of feelings or emotions,

And to invite ourselves to notice where in the body we are experiencing that.

And perhaps we are aware of corresponding experiences such as other sensations through the body.

Do we become aware of different colors?

Do we become aware of memories that may be coming up in response to the experience that we notice?

And fully opening ourselves up to the awareness of this experience that we are having in this moment.

And perhaps becoming fully aware of the different thoughts,

We might even consider them distractions,

That may be moving through our mind.

And similar to watching data pass by a screen.

Is it possible to observe our passing thoughts and any distracting thoughts that may be passing by as though we're watching data being presented to us on a screen.

And this data informing us and doing exactly what it is meant to do.

So the function of the mind,

Our imagination,

Our awareness of the future,

Our memory of the past,

Just serving its function just as it does as it is meant to do.

Inviting us with the information that we need to act appropriately in the moment.

And perhaps we invite our awareness now into the natural gifts and rhythms of the physical body,

Starting with our breath.

And even without direct focus,

The breath continues to function.

Without trying,

Our heart continues to function.

Without thinking about it,

Our body,

Our organs continue to serve us.

And this way,

We remain alive in this body.

And perhaps we can become sensitive to this energy that moves through our body.

And perhaps we can play with the idea of observing the energy moving through our body in the way that the heart sends blood throughout the body,

Through the veins.

We can experience this energetic sensation of movement through the body.

And the same energy that keeps us alive,

The same energy that helped us to grow from small children into the older adults that we may be now.

And when we think about ourselves walking through a lush forest,

A wooded area,

Looking around and seeing the trees and seeing Mother Nature participating in this same energy.

And we look at a tree and its tendency to live,

To be alive,

To grow,

To survive.

And there comes times when the leaves fall and the tree may change shape,

Even just in appearance.

But this too offers opportunities for future growth and future life.

And perhaps we can relate back to ourselves,

Thinking of times in our lives in which we felt as though things were taking a step back and in our mind may have been challenging.

And the reality may have been that it was very challenging.

And as the seasons begin to change,

Continue to change,

Maybe we've had the experience where we notice once again our natural tendency to grow,

To live,

To thrive,

To overcome because it is our very nature,

Because it is the source of who we are.

And perhaps it is in these ways that we are no different than nature,

That we are in fact one with nature because at our source we are the same.

And with our compassion and our thoughtfulness,

We've developed respect and compassion and are in the practice of treating others the way that we would like to be treated.

And for some of us this extends not just for human beings,

But for all living creatures.

And in this way we can extend our respect and the way that we treat all living things which would include mother nature,

Our planet,

And considering the ways in which we individually participate,

And to contemplate on the ways in which we offer our compassion and our respect for our planet,

Considering the ways in which we participate,

And considering the ways in which we would like to participate more,

Or perhaps ways in which we may feel there's still much to learn.

With the fundamental understanding that the way in which we treat ourselves,

The respect and the compassion that we strive to offer to others,

Other human beings and other living creatures,

Should also then be the same respect and compassion that we offer mother nature.

Because as we've experienced,

Fundamentally there is no separating us from this planet,

From the living creatures on this planet,

And from every human being on this planet.

Fundamentally we are all the same.

We all want to be treated with respect.

We all want to be treated with love.

We all want to be treated with compassion and understanding.

We all want to be helped,

And we all want to help.

I invite you to imagine in your mind's eye the mass of this earth in front of you,

As though in a way you could reach out and touch it.

You can feel the presence.

You can feel the seven billion plus human beings,

And even more living creatures.

You can feel their presence moving about on the surface,

Living their lives,

Going through their dramas.

You can feel the energy of mother nature,

And the power of the trees and the water,

And the magnificent balance of it all.

You can see it.

You can feel it.

And energetically I invite you to wrap your arms around the planet,

Not only offering it comfort,

Not only offering it security,

But offering it your complete love and your complete attention.

In this moment you are the protector.

You are the one to keep this planet safe.

In this moment you are the source of compassion and love for mother nature and for all living beings and creatures.

And because the system that we live in works as a mirror when we offer our love,

When we offer our security and our compassion,

What we receive back is exactly that.

What we offer comes back.

The ways in which we treat other people comes back.

The ways in which we treat our planet comes back,

And we are all better off for it.

And perhaps we would like to end today by taking a moment to offer a prayer or a well-wishing to the planet,

To all living beings on the planet,

And including ourselves as well.

Offering our well wishes or our prayers for all beings to be happy,

For all beings to be healthy,

For all beings to be free from suffering and to live with an ease of heart,

And for mother nature to be safe,

For mother nature to be treated with respect,

For mother nature to be free from suffering and to continue to thrive in the ways that we know that she does.

You