Welcome to this meditation for when you're feeling burdened and weighed down.
Coming to stillness gently and gradually.
Come into a comfortable upright position.
Attentive yet relaxed.
Spend a few moments settling and arriving.
Gather yourself from the day.
From all the places that you've been.
All the conversations that you've had with other people and within yourself.
Gather yourself in from all the places where you've given.
And gently let every part of yourself arrive here.
Be aware of the space that you're in.
Attuning to any sounds that you can hear.
As you're ready,
Begin to close down the external and move your attention inward.
Notice yourself in the chair or on the floor.
Notice how you're supported and held.
Allow your weight to sink.
Allow that support to rise up to meet you.
And now begin to bring all of your attention to your breath.
Follow the inhale and the exhale.
Taking some deep,
Wide,
Expansive breaths.
Receive the sustaining gift of oxygen.
And as you breathe,
Let yourself sink.
Notice any places where you're carrying tension or tightness.
And breathe into them,
Allowing them to let go and release.
You are here in this moment.
Nothing is demanded or required.
Simply be here.
Arrive into your body and let yourself be held and supported.
Now begin to become aware of the burdens that you're carrying.
Notice where they are in your body.
You may feel a weight on your shoulders or a tightness in your chest.
Gently bring your attention to the burdens without attaching to them.
You may quietly want to name them and acknowledge their presence.
Name what you're carrying that feels like a burden.
Notice any anxiety that's present.
I'm going to read an excerpt from Mirror by Stars book,
Wild Mercy.
Here,
Come here.
Take a moment to set aside that list you've been writing in fluorescent ink.
The list that converts tasks into emergencies.
Items like feed the orchids become,
If I don't accomplish this by 11am tomorrow morning,
The rainforests are going to dry up and it will all be my fault.
Or if I fail to renew my automobile insurance,
I will probably crash my car and everyone will die.
Or this friend just had her breast biopsied and that friend's brother-in-law beat up her sister.
And my aunt just lost her job with the symphony and my nephew is contemplating divorce.
And I must call them all and listen to them for an hour each and dispense redemptive advice.
Pausing here,
Notice if any of those words capture your attention and resonate.
Once more,
Being aware of the burdens and the weight that you've been carrying.
Gather your burdens in a basket in your heart.
Set them at the feet of the mother.
Say,
Take this great mama,
Because I cannot carry all this for another minute.
And then crawl into her broad lap and nestle against her ample bosom and take a nap.
When you wake,
The basket will still be there,
But half its contents will be gone and the other half will have resumed their ordinary shapes and sizes.
No longer masquerading as catastrophic,
Epic,
Chronic and toxic.
The mother will clear things out and tidy up.
She will take your compulsions and transmute them.
And she will take your sins and make them a part of you.
Clear things out and tidy up.
She will take your compulsions and transmute them.
But only if you freely offer them to her.
Now imagine gathering all of your burdens and one by one placing them into a big basket.
You may want to name them as you place them in.
You may simply want to put them in there one by one.
Continue this process until you have placed every burden and weight and worry into this great basket.
Now imagine that basket being taken by the great mama,
By love,
By tender compassion.
Know that in offering these burdens,
They are seen,
They are cared for and they are responded to.
You no longer need to carry them.
Let the great mama,
The beloved,
Divine love take care of them for you.
However you want to offer your basket or let it be taken.
Imagine that happening now.
And then return to stillness and rest.
Imagine yourself curled up in a safe,
Warm,
Nurturing space.
Know yourself seen and deeply loved.
Know that you matter and that every burden you carry,
Every person,
Every situation,
Everything that causes you anxiety or stress is important.
Receive the gift and the grace to not carry your burdens as a heavy weight,
But to surrender them,
To share them.
Receive what you need from love.
Receive what you need in this place of rest.
May this practice of unburdening become natural and easy for you.
May you continue to crawl into the broad lap of the great mama.
Nestle against her ample bosom and take a nap.
May you notice when your burdens get too heavy to bear and may grace allow you to surrender their weight.
And as you do,
May you return to love and lightness.
May you know what you need and receive it.
