Dr.
Manulani Aululimair said once that we become clear through our conflicts,
Not despite them.
This short meditation will help you find grounding when you feel anxious or unsettled feelings come up in your body.
During this time,
We will settle into extended moments of silence as we focus on gently pacing our breath,
Observing and seeing our thoughts and naming our emotions so that we can allow them through and let them come to pass.
As native people,
As people of the land and water,
We have always found solace in our homeland and place.
And much like the roots of a tree,
We find stability here.
In the midst of the elements like the rain and the wind,
A tree stays rooted and grounded.
Where the branches of a tree grow up and reach to the celestial sky,
Its roots link us forever to the original source of who we are and where we come from.
By remembering who we are and where we come from,
We can find balance,
Peace,
Clarity and strength.
And so here in this moment,
We will allow the wind and the rain to come through as we remain stable and at peace.
We are rooted in this knowing.
You are rooted.
May you be resilient,
Strong and graceful in the face of challenge,
Fear or the unknown today.
Let's take a few moments here to find a comfortable position as you find your space,
Settle in.
You can close your eyes if you choose.
You can also gaze slightly forward.
Now here,
Notice your breath.
Notice the ways that your belly rises and falls in cadence with your inhale and your exhale.
As you inhale,
Right below your belly button,
Your diaphragm rises and as you exhale,
It settles.
Notice that here.
Just allow your breath to come naturally without trying to change it.
Notice here how your lungs expand and contract with the rise and the fall of your belly.
And here we're going to just take six slow breaths and it's like this.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three and four and hold it here at the top.
And then you're going to exhale slowly for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hold at the top and exhale slowly here.
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two and one.
Let's do this four more times.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three and four.
And here you want to notice your thoughts.
Just let them come to pass.
We will be able to come back to them in a moment.
Take a moment here to see yourself as an observer,
As if you were standing outside of yourself.
Allow your awareness to look outwardly from your thoughts to feelings in your body.
Notice the places where you are experiencing tension.
You can release that tension right here.
Feeling lighter with each breath.
You'll notice your thoughts come up.
And as those thoughts,
As they arrive,
What do you hear?
Is it fear,
Anger,
Frustration,
Sadness?
You can name them.
Say,
I am scared,
Or I am angry,
Or I am afraid.
Sometimes it helps to see yourself as an observer,
As standing outside and looking in.
You're better able to notice your thoughts here.
What is it that's coming up in your mind?
And then you name it by saying,
I am.
Now you have that I am statement in your mind.
And we're going to attach another label for that.
Instead of saying,
I am,
Let's replace that with,
I am feeling.
I am feeling scared.
I am feeling frustrated.
You can notice it and feel it.
And as an observer,
You could even use a third person statement by naming yourself.
Kapiolani is scared.
Kapiolani is frustrated.
By looking closely at your feelings and naming them,
We're stepping in closer and observing.
Just as an observer from the outside looking in.
What are you feeling?
Remember,
We are simply observing.
We are not our feelings.
However,
We do experience them.
We can choose to allow our thoughts to pass through.
And in the face of our fears and anxiety,
We can settle in to the firm knowing that we can go back to the source of who we are,
To our roots,
To remember our ancestors and where we come from,
And to find strength and courage in spite of our fears.
May you be resilient,
Strong and graceful in the face of challenge,
Fear,
Or the unknown today.
And always remember that is there where we become clear through our conflicts,
Not despite them.
