From Champignyada,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Everyday Magic for Ukraine.
Today we will do Tonglen for Ukraine.
Welcome to the circle.
So today is one of those days when you don't need an object,
When you are welcome to come and join us and sit with us in circle just as you are.
So today we will be doing Tonglen practice for Ukraine.
And Tonglen is a Buddhist practice also called taking and sending.
What we'll be doing is visualizing taking in the pain of others with our in-breath and sending out whatever they need with our out-breath.
It's a little bit counterintuitive but it's a practice of connecting and of showing up in a selfless way to be with others who are having a hard time.
This is a practice that we can use for ourselves when we are having a difficult time and we can use it for our loved ones,
Our friends,
Our relatives,
And even people we don't know.
Tonglen is a practice that wakes up our compassion and helps us transcend the small little world that we live in day to day.
So to begin I invite you to find a calm place within yourself.
If you're multitasking while you're listening to this meditation just see if you can find sort of an extra layer of calm and quiet within yourself as you listen.
There's a wonderful article by Pema Chodron There's a wonderful article by Pema Chodron in Lion's Roar where she says breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us.
Use what seems like poison as medicine.
As I said kind of counterintuitive right?
So to get started let's go back to the pond that we have gathered around in the past when we've done Tonglen and just allow yourself to land at this pond to sit in a way where you can see the sun reflecting off the surface and you can hear the birds in the trees and maybe if there's some wind you can see and hear the ripples on the surface of the water.
Just bring yourself fully present at this beautiful pond this beautiful peaceful place of beginning.
And now from this place of calm and the connection to the pond and to the earth and to the sun and to the circle you're sitting in bring your mind and your heart to Ukraine.
Allow the images in your mind in your heart to be a place of peace and of calm.
Allow your heart to come into focus.
You might see one person you know or one community you know or you might see kind of a general picture of Ukraine.
And begin to breathe in and then out.
Just breathing no content breathing in and out and again in and then out.
And as you keep breathing see what it feels like to breathe in some of the challenges faced by Ukraine,
Faced by Ukrainians,
And then when you breathe out to breathe out the opposite of that.
Breathe out solutions and calmness,
Safety.
So we're just experimenting breathing in some of the hardship and breathing out ease and peace.
Just gently breathing in challenge and breathing out peace.
And breathing in hardship and breathing out ease.
Breathing in pain and breathing out comfort.
And as you breathe you're honoring the reality of what is happening and you are being one with it.
You're not turning away or running away.
You're staying here.
You're staying with it and you're honoring it and then breathing out the opposite.
Breathing out the healing and the love and the care.
You are being with this hardship like it's a friend.
Breathing in the challenges and breathing out the opposite.
Breathing in and out.
And as you breathe you can notice the alchemy that's happening here.
The way your presence with this situation is changing it in some way,
Some undefinable,
Indefinable way.
It's maybe only in the ether but it is happening.
You're connecting.
You're breathing in and you're breathing out.
And we'll take three or four more breaths together in this practice.
Breathing in the hardship and pain and heartbreak and breathing out gratitude and love connection.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just being here as a witness and last breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And then very gently you can allow the image of Ukraine to fade away.
You can begin to transition back to the pond and notice again the sunlight on the ripples on the surface of the water.
Just allow yourself to be in the sun.
You can feel the sunlight on your face.
And as you're ready you might begin to transition back out of this meditation,
Back into the space that you're standing,
Sitting or lying in.
Hmm,
Maybe wiggle fingers or toes.
Maybe let your body do a little bit of movement,
Whatever feels right.
I'm grateful to you for joining us for some Tonglen today.
If this type of meditation spoke to you,
You can look back through our older episodes.
We had a short series of Tonglen episodes a few months ago.
I'll put a link in the show notes of the other episodes where we explored it and feel free to listen to those.
May we always remember to breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Your presence,
Your energy and your heart make all the difference in healing our world.
Remember to breathe today.
Breathe and expand.
And I hope you join us again next time.
Please consider inviting a friend.
