From Shampinyata,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Everyday Magic for Ukraine.
Today we strengthen our hope.
Welcome to the Circle.
Welcome to Everyday Magic for Ukraine,
Where we honor Ukraine and also practice self-care to stay strong as allies.
If you're new here,
Welcome.
I'm really glad you've joined us.
The intention behind these meditations and this podcast is that we are creating a circle together.
When you listen,
You are part of the Circle,
And it doesn't matter where you are or what time it is,
We transcend space and time and come together in this place that we call the Circle.
And usually we get started with some kind of simple activity to bring ourselves more into the moment,
To say hello to the body,
Do some breathing,
Calm,
And center.
So today for that simple exercise,
I would love to invite you to just look around and see what colors you can see.
So let's say blue.
Can you see anything blue around you right now?
And how about yellow?
How many yellow things can you count?
And if seeing is something that your body doesn't do very easily or at all,
Perhaps,
See if you can touch things.
Can you feel an example of a rough surface and maybe a smooth surface?
Or a cool one or a warm one?
So just take another minute.
Notice blues and yellows and any sensations with touch if you'd like to explore in that way.
This is simply an invitation to come into this moment with your body.
Kind of filter out of your brain and come into your senses.
Come into this present moment.
So today our focus is to strengthen our hope.
And to do that,
I invite you to go on a little journey with me.
The first part of the journey is to connect to your heart.
So you might take a breath into your heart.
Notice how your heart is feeling today in this moment.
And let's imagine,
Let's just play and imagine that you're in a room with your body.
Let's imagine,
Let's just play and imagine that your heart is like a cave.
A very beautiful,
Sacred cave where the essence of you resides.
You might imagine journeying into this cave,
Feeling the cave walls with your fingertips,
Moving effortlessly and gently deeper,
Deeper into this cave that is your heart.
Notice that this cave is full of the vibration of you.
Your hopes,
Your dreams,
The things you value,
The ways you want to show up in the world,
The kindnesses you hold toward yourself and to others,
The love you hold toward yourself and to others,
The love you hold toward yourself and others.
And notice that there is a flame inside this cave.
We're going to let this flame represent hope.
Drawing near to this flame,
Notice how is your flame of hope today?
What does it look like?
What does it feel like?
How big is it?
How bright is it?
What is strengthening it?
What is maybe dimming it?
And I'm going to invite you,
If you'd like,
To call in any ancestors or friends or family and I'm going to invite you,
If you'd like,
To call in any ancestors or guides or deities,
Gods,
Goddesses you might work with,
Anybody who you just intuitively would like to have with you right now in this cave of your heart,
Looking at this flame of hope.
I invite you to consider with them,
Feel with them,
What does this flame of hope need?
What would it need to grow a bit stronger,
To burn a bit brighter?
To burn a bit brighter.
And just trust your intuition.
You know what you need.
Your hope is as living a being as your heart.
And see if your hope can be strengthened a little bit in this moment.
And you can just let this flame grow and brighten and strengthen in this safe space of your heart.
It's okay to be hopeful in this moment.
It's okay to have hope.
And now,
Decide in yourself how you would like to move forward.
Would you like to take the strengthened hope with you when you leave this cave?
Take it in your heart as you finish your day today or your night tonight?
Or would this be a place where you'd like to safely keep your strengthened hope in this safe cave?
So it's here.
It's here for you whenever you might want to come and visit,
But you don't have to take it out into the world with you.
And decide what feels best to you.
And then just follow that.
And I invite you to take a breath with me as we begin to prepare to leave this lovely cave.
May we always remember to tend to our hope with great care and great love.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being here today.
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.
