The Light Inside

18:17

18:17

The Light Inside

by evie marie oconnor

Rated

5

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

9

how you see changes what is seen ~ a meditation and guided exploration in how you are paying attention. in practice, and in the ultimate practice of life, it is not just what you approach, but how you approach it. meditation asks not for just any kind of awareness, but loving awareness; the capacity to see both kindly and clearly. so many of us have been taught the opposite; that criticism is the most reliable strategy for change. this guided practice reminds listeners of another way; that acceptance is not apathy, but honesty. and that honesty and compassion diffuse the charge inherent in judgment, and create space for clarity and conscious choice. the light inside is a nod to the generous work of Ram Dass, and a return to the forever teaching that if we are not practicing with love, then we are not really practicing.

Meditation Loving Awareness Self Compassion Acceptance Self Awareness Emotional Healing Mind Body Connection Presence Ram Dass Self Transformation Inner Critic Acceptance Practice Presence Practice Ram Dass Teachings

Meet your Teacher

evie marie oconnor

Nantucket, MA, USA

Meet your Teacher

evie marie oconnor

Nantucket, MA, USA

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this guided meditation on the light inside, The light of awareness, The light of loving awareness. Settle into a comfortable seated or reclined position and give yourself permission, Space to transition out of whatever it is you're arriving here from. Stretch it out, Shake it off, Shrug your shoulders and ultimately soften into this space, This little pause from the rest of your day to get quiet, Be still, Turn inward and be present. With everything exactly as it is, With you exactly as you are, There is no ticket required for your admission and no way that you're supposed to feel, Think, Look or be besides just like this, Just like you are here and now. You can trust that as you shift the posture, Not just of your body, But your mind, That your breath will shift in response. It will entrain to the more spacious, Inclusive way of seeing and way of being. Pay attention mostly to how you are paying attention, How you see changes what is seen. In meditation, It is not just what you're approaching within you, But how you approach it. And it is not just any kind of awareness we practice, But loving awareness, The capacity to see both clearly and kindly. Because if we are not practicing with love, Then we are not really practicing. It's easy to see in the outside world that the source of light really matters, That the quality of light impacts and informs the image that is seen. And so it is with our inner landscapes, How we see changes what we see. The practice is to witness the thinking mind, The worried mind, The distracted mind clearly and honestly, But also kindly and compassionately. And this can be a pretty significant, A pretty radical shift from the way many of us speak to ourselves in the privacy of our own minds. Many of us were taught that criticism catalyzes change. Many of us are well-practiced in judging ourselves harshly, And unapologetically. And it's a paradox. The inner critic, It arrives to protect, To ensure that we notice all of our shortcomings first, Before they can be weaponized against us by someone or something else. But what arrived to protect often paralyzes, Often closes us off from the very connection that we seek. Do your best not to judge the part of your mind that judges. Be careful not to criticize the part that criticizes. But notice, Bear witness to these intricate self-protective mechanisms, And perhaps even offer them acknowledgement, Gratitude for all the ways that they've tried to keep you safe, All the ways that at one time they did keep you safe. When you really start to see reverence emerges all on its own, Because you see that this thing that no longer serves you also once saved you. These behaviors that currently hinder you also once helped you when you did not yet know another way. And what currently might taste like poison was once the only medicine that could get you through the night. It's tender to realize that what is currently cutting us off from life is the very thing that arrived to protect us from life. And it's difficult to witness all of these painful patterns without doing anything about it. And therein lies the paradox that the very things we are being asked to accept and get to know in practice are also the very things that we came here to move past and beyond. So often we have been trained to fight the very things that we actually need to feel, To thank, To come into relationship with so that relationship can evolve and change. We repeat patterns until we are resourced enough to repair them. We don't heal by force, But by feeling, Not by exiling, But welcoming, Allowing all parts to find their place. Yield. Yield to the alchemy of presence. Move as fast as the slowest part permits. Pay attention to yourself the way the sun pays attention to the earth. With a warmth so radiant, It encourages the sprout to emerge from the protection of the seed. Let more light into your mind. Offer yourself an awareness that is radiant, Spacious, Luminous. Offer yourself warmth that encourages softening, Opening, Expanding, And evolving. And as you witness the endless fluctuations of thoughts and worries, Emotions and sensations that emerge, Express, And dissolve within you, Just like the sun casts everything you encounter in a circle of light. Wash and rinse your worried mind, Your anxious mind, In the light of your loving awareness. It is the sun that initiates all life on earth, Catalyzes growth, Calls the trees to rise, The flowers to bloom, Simply through the power of its presence. The sun can melt something solid, Dense, Frozen, Like ice, Into something frozen, Fluid, Formless, Liquid, Like water. And the warmth of your awareness does the very same thing. It can thaw what's frozen, Wake up the parts that have been asleep, Illuminate the dark places. Your presence is in and of itself alchemical. It creates change, Evokes the endless becoming that wants to happen in and through us. Bring the light of your loving awareness to all the parts and places within you still waiting to be transformed by its presence. Feel the way it softens what's tense, Opens what's closed, Brings light to what's been shrouded in darkness. The alchemy of love occurs not by force, But through patience, Permission, Allowance, And acceptance. Acceptance is not apathy. Acceptance is honesty. Accepting things as they are, Ourselves as we are, Creates a workable space from which to grow. Judgment and shame are not reliable strategies. They're not generative tools. Shame solidifies the very structures that require softening in order to change. Judgment, Criticism, Recruits defense mechanisms that distract from and diminish the field of pure awareness. Force can sometimes provide an instantaneous shift, But not a sustainable change. True change requires intimacy and understanding. Understanding elicits acceptance, And acceptance naturally diffuses the emotional charge, The energetic charge inherent within resistance. Acceptance creates a neutral space of potentiality where life can unfold and change can emerge organically. The cadence is unhurried and the timeline is not our own. There are big peak moments followed by slow, Subtle changes. There are times where it appears that nothing is happening at all, Only because everything that is happening is invisible, Like the seed that silently sprouts deep underground. It's difficult to notice in real time, Difficult to trust in real time, But in hindsight, It's easy to see that the long way reliably leads home. And all the necessary repetitions and so-called regressions, They reveal the places still bracing for impact, The parts still holding on tightly to certainty and control. And as we continue to visit these places, As we continuously bring presence to places within us that have long known our absence, We allow for an even deeper dissolution of the armor around the heart, A more complete softening of the sharp edges within the mind. We repeat patterns until we're resourced enough, Supported enough, Safe enough to repair them. We do not heal by force, But by feeling, And by recognizing that this isn't something we do just once, But repeatedly, Reverently. The journey from the thinking mind to the feeling heart is a perpetual pilgrimage, A continual willingness to follow your breath as it guides you down and in and through the body, As it allows you to become ever more awake, Aware, Alive in the body, Which is so much more than a body. It is the home, The home for your spirit this time around. The context that allows your soul to experience this world, This realm, This incarnation as you. It is so much bigger than our minds could ever understand, So let your practice take you beyond your mind. Let the light of your loving awareness illuminate all of these other places within you, A remembrance that gets to happen over and over, A journey downward and inward, On repeat forever. If you'd like to stay in your practice longer, Press pause and continue on your own. If you're ready to close, Let's end in a bow together to the teachings of Ram Dass that have supported and uplifted so many and have been so present with me personally and especially through this meditation. As always, Thank you for your presence, And may you bring the light of your practice with you wherever you're headed next, Because ultimately we're practicing for life, Learning how to offer loving awareness not just to our inner worlds, But to the outer world.