This meditation guides us in invoking loving presence in the face of difficulty.
It's a version of Tonglen,
The Tibetan practice for awakening compassion.
Please sit comfortably and take a few full breaths.
Let this life breath help you to come home into the body,
To settle,
To relax.
Beginning this meditation by bringing to mind a place that you consider a sacred space.
It might be a place you know,
Perhaps one of great natural beauty,
A place in nature,
In the mountains,
The ocean,
The woods.
It might be a part of your home that feels safe and beautiful and sacred.
Or a place of worship where you gather with others.
It might be a place in your imagination that's a refuge,
A place of healing and beauty.
And as you imagine and visualize and sense this place,
Let it be right here for you.
Notice what you see visually,
The colors,
The forms,
Breathing in the fragrance,
The scent of the place.
Sense that this space is infused with loving presence,
With a sense of safety,
Kindness,
Comfort.
Let yourself be at home in this sacred space and sense how it can invite you to open to whatever within you really wants a healing attention.
Taking some moments to reflect,
To sense if there's a difficult situation in your life right now,
Perhaps a situation of loss,
A place of conflict with another.
Some circumstance that brings up fear,
Hurt,
Perhaps distress,
Grief.
Let yourself sense what's so challenging,
What's the worst part of this for you.
What are you most afraid of?
What are you believing can really go wrong?
As you do,
Notice how you're experiencing this situation in your body,
In your heart.
As you sense the natural vulnerability that can arise,
Feel your longing to connect with loving presence,
To be held in unconditional love.
The poet Rilke writes,
I yearn to belong to something.
I yearn to be held in the great hands of your heart.
Oh,
Let them take me now.
Into them I place these fragments,
My life.
With a silent prayer,
In your own words,
Call out for loving presence.
With sincerity,
Call for such presence to be here with you.
You might sense what arises in your mind when you call on love.
For many,
There can be an embodiment of compassion and wisdom.
It might be bringing to mind the Buddha and sensing the spirit of wisdom,
Of compassion that flows through that being.
Or it might be bringing to mind Kuan Yin,
The Bodhisattva of compassion.
Or perhaps Jesus.
It may be an all-merciful God that comes to mind.
It might be your grandmother.
It could be a friend that you trust.
For many,
It can be our dog,
The unconditional affection of our pet.
It may be a tree you know well that gives you shade and rest.
Especially if we've been feeling lonely or separate,
It can be hard to trust the love of another.
So sense where you feel even a tendril,
Where your body or heart feels just a sense of loving that's present.
And let yourself meditate and open to and invite that love to reveal itself.
Take your time and be patient.
Invoking loving presence is a life practice.
Imagine whoever comes to mind – the Buddha,
Your grandmother,
A friend – that you can see the eyes of this being and see how those eyes can gaze at you with understanding,
Acceptance,
Love.
Let the care that shines through these eyes be a kind of energetic presence that can hold you,
That you can relax into.
This is the spirit of the beloved,
The loving presence that can hold this life.
Allow this living love to stream into you,
To flow in through your brow,
Your throat,
Your chest.
Breathing in,
Let this loving touch you in the places of the most deep vulnerability.
Like water flowing over a rocky stream bed,
Let this love flow over and through whatever hurt and pain is here,
Touching,
Permeating,
Cleansing.
Let it move through you,
Breathing in,
Feeling touched deeply and breathing out,
Surrendering vulnerability like a stream releasing itself into the sea.
Sense how fully you can surrender,
Letting your hurt and fear,
Pain and sorrow,
Dissolve into this merciful presence.
If you contract in doubt or fear,
Gently feel your suffering and reach out once more towards compassionate presence,
Towards loving presence,
And let go into this tender openness.
Breathing in and letting whatever is unfolding within you to be touched,
Be bathed with love.
Breathing out and offering this experience as if with two hands,
Making sacred what is here,
Offering it into the space of the awakened heart.
And now,
Listening deeply,
Sense if there's a message from this wise,
Loving presence,
A message to any place in you that feels contracted,
Vulnerable,
A message of care,
Of guidance,
A message of what is important to remember.
Whether there's words,
Images,
Silence,
Feelings in the body that arise,
Continue to breathe with what's happening.
Breathing in,
Allowing yourself to receive this life,
This love,
In the depth of being.
Breathing out,
Surrendering into this openness and presence.
As you let go and let go,
Feel yourself merging,
Becoming one with this field of awareness,
This field of love.
Know that the beloved is really your deepest nature,
Your own awakened heart.
Inhabiting this vast,
Caring presence,
Bring to mind others who've struggled with the same fears,
The same losses,
Disappointments,
Betrayals.
Letting yourself breathe in for these beings,
Breathing in and being touched by the realness of their vulnerability.
And with the out-breath,
Sensing the suffering of these beings held in the boundless space of heart.
Discovering the edgeless presence that has room for all beings,
The heart of the beloved.
May all beings be filled with loving presence,
Held in loving presence.
May all beings realize this radiant awareness as their true essence,
As their home.
May all beings be happy,
Know the natural joy of being alive.
May all beings touch great,
Natural peace.
May there be peace on earth.
May there be peace on earth.
May there be peace everywhere.
May all beings awaken and be free.
