Forward...Together - Insight Live November 19, 2024

Welcome everyone.

I'm so glad that you're here.

I'm so glad that we are having this time together and I want to begin as usual just inviting us to have a moment of stillness.

Really letting ourselves arrive in this space,

Letting ourselves land in our bodies.

Because this isn't just a moment of connection with community,

This is also a moment of connection to ourselves,

Right?

We are connecting to our innate resilience.

We are connecting with our innate stability.

And sometimes we can forget that it's there.

So I'm just inviting us to slow down now and really reconnect with that.

And being together can help us remember,

Right?

So a few moments to breathe,

Few moments to be in the body.

We'll take just a few minutes to do that.

So letting go of whatever came before now.

And also letting go of what will come next so that you can really be here,

In this space,

At this time.

Whoa,

Rick,

I'm sorry.

I'm not sure what's going on with the audio.

A couple of people have said that too.

I don't.

Well,

We've seen.

Okay.

Okay.

So I'm checking.

It looks like the settings have my volume the best it can be.

So I apologize for the trouble that some people are having with hearing.

Oh,

Good.

Okay.

All right.

Okay.

Well,

I'm really glad.

Okay.

Hi,

Michelle.

Hi,

Elizabeth,

Amy.

All right.

Wonderful.

So yes,

Just a moment to settle,

A moment to settle,

A moment to be here,

A moment to recognize our togetherness at this time.

Nothing else to do but be here.

And we'll do this for about two more minutes.

Letting yourself breathe,

Letting yourself settle.

And when I say that,

What I'm offering is this idea that we don't have to run away from anything that's here.

We just have to notice.

So we're not trying to fix anything.

We're not trying to change anything.

We're letting ourselves be with.

So be with our experience,

With compassion,

With kindness,

With patience,

And with deep love for our human experience.

Sometimes we will be afraid,

But that doesn't mean that we have to be afraid of our feelings or that we have to hate our feelings.

Our feelings come up because they want to be cared for.

And really let yourself soften into that,

Noticing what's here and holding it tenderly,

Maybe even breathing deeply if that feels good in your body.

Or if it doesn't,

Maybe just noticing how you are being supported in this moment,

Your bottom on the chair or your feet on the floor,

Maybe your hand on your heart center.

Yes,

I'm available to myself.

I'm here for me.

I'm here in this community.

One more deep breath in.

Long,

Slow exhale out.

And now let's begin.

How's everyone doing?

We're holding a lot.

I just love to hear from you.

We can offer each other some support and care.

Can you all see and hear me?

Okay,

This is the strangest thing with my connection.

This is actually perfect for what's going on right now.

Being with uncertainty,

Being with challenges,

Being with difficulty,

Sometimes it's a very small thing like your internet connection.

And sometimes it's a much larger thing like being worried about finances,

Being worried about the state of our country,

Being worried about the state of our economy,

Being worried about the state of our culture.

And so we have lots of opportunities to practice our practice.

And I saw that Rick said earlier that what he is really working on is just trying to be with what's happening.

And I had a really nice quote that I wanted to share from you all from Adrienne Marie Brown about that very same thing about how this really is our time to be intentional.

This really is our time to recognize the places where we do have power and decide to use that power for good.

Now,

Does that mean that we're not going to sometimes feel worried and anxious?

Yes,

Of course we will.

But is that necessarily a bad thing?

No,

It's not because we're living in uncertain times and that's a natural response to uncertainty.

And so what is our responsibility then to ourselves and to our feelings and to our communities when we're having some of these experiences of fear and anxiety?

Certainly not to collapse,

Certainly not to lash out or let ourselves be held hostage by fear.

No,

It is to tenderly care for these feelings and then figure out how we can move from what I've heard Otis Moss talk about as the difference between pathetic grief and prophetic grief.

So I'm talking about the kind of grief that does have or would have us collapse,

The kind of grief that sends us in circles of immobility,

The kind of grief that would have us only lost to our despair and lets us lose sight of possibility,

Lets us lose sight of joy and it is not connected to any kind of action.

And so we're going to use our fear,

We're going to use our grief as fuel going forward,

Right?

And so I found this really lovely quote from Adrienne Marie Brown that I wanted to share with you.

I'll make sure I find the right page.

She says in her book,

Immersion Strategy,

I am living a life I don't regret,

A life that will resonate with my ancestors and with as many generations forward as I can imagine.

I am attending to the crisis of my time with my best self.

That sentence really speaks to me.

I am attending to the crisis of my time with my best self,

Right?

Because how we show up even now really does matter.

And so what that means is,

Yes,

We are still required to be our best selves,

We are still required to act,

We are still required to be hopeful,

We are still required to be responsible to and for ourselves and to and for each other.

This does not give us a pass.

This does not mean that we should give up.

This means that we should gird up,

We should gear up because there is much to do.

So let me begin this again.

I am living a life I don't regret,

A life that will resonate with my ancestors.

When someone asks us what we did during these times,

How will we respond or what will we say?

And with as many generations forward as I can imagine,

I am attending to the crisis of my time with my best self.

I am of communities that are doing our collective best to honor our ancestors and all humans to come.

This is a Adrienne Marie Brown emergent strategy,

Right?

And so I just really wanted us to hold that idea together and maybe offer each other some ways that we are showing up for ourselves,

For our communities,

For our hopes for our communities,

Ways that we are resisting,

Ways that we are connecting with our resilience and ways that we are trying to learn and understand so that we can be our best selves in this moment.

In good times and bad.

And so Serena says,

Thank you so much for holding and creating this beautiful space.

Yes,

I love that point,

Serena,

Because that's exactly right.

The way that we come to train our attention is really going to be the thing I think that saves us.

How we use our attention really matters and so we can choose to only notice what's wrong,

What we don't like,

Who we don't agree with,

Why they're thinking and doing the things that they're doing.

Or we can widen our lens a bit,

Maybe a lot,

To also notice what we're getting right,

Who we can see as a full human being,

Where we have power,

Moments of joy and ease.

There's a lot we can pay attention to and so we want to be able to,

Yes,

Care for our deep grief,

Care for our deep disappointment,

Care for our worry,

Be with our uncertainty,

And at the same time,

Notice moments of ease and joy,

Pay attention to and care for,

Nurture those moments as well.

Even this community together is a lovely moment.

Being with people who care about each other and want to be available to care for each other really matters.

What need can I help meet in this moment?

Yes,

That's exactly right.

It's an important question and also questions about how we can be our best selves.

So we might ask our questions like,

How am I feeling and what do I need?

Because when we do that,

Then we are more available to care for ourselves so that we are less likely to cause harm.

We are available to be with other people in a way that's healing and nurturing,

Open and curious.

But if we only walk around with our anger and our grief and our fear,

The way that we're able to connect with other people is going to be limited.

And this is really a time when we need to be able to see other people clearly so we can build connections and we can build community.

The kind of world that we want to live in is built on community and mutual respect.

Thank you so much,

Joyce.

Let's see,

Something is dying,

Something is trying to be born.

What is trying to be born is not as loud and angry as what is dying.

Yeah,

You can feel because it's in you.

I saw this before the election and it really resonated.

Yes,

And I love the idea of that.

Johnnergy,

Do I have that correctly healing?

No,

I love the idea of it because we have been so fearful of death as a community.

And so that's a really lovely metaphor.

Death is really frightening and death is really scary.

But when something is trying to be born,

It's an opportunity to rebuild or re-see or re-imagine something in a very new way.

And that's also very scary.

So even change that we want is really scary.

And so we have to find ways to be with our fear,

Be with the scariness in a way that helps us get through it.

I like to think of it as,

And I've used this analogy before,

I like to think of it as a car,

Right?

I mean,

This is going to be a little bit of a long road.

And so when we are preparing for a long road,

We don't just jump in the car and get on the road.

No,

We prepare,

We take the car into the shop,

We get the tires fixed,

We make sure that the engine is good.

We make sure that there's enough gas in the car.

And when we don't do that,

What happens?

The car might break down on the side of the road.

And we need to offer ourselves that very same thing right now so that we can be,

And birthing is a painful,

Sometimes arduous,

Scary process,

Right?

We have to be prepared for it.

So when we are preparing for it,

We make sure that the gas is in the car,

We make sure that the tires have enough air,

We make sure that the engine is in good shape,

So that we are prepared to be with the experience,

With all of the energy,

All the clarity,

All the love,

All the strength that we need to get through it well.

Yeah,

So thank you so much.

Thank you,

Serena.

I'd love to hear what else you all are holding.

And I'd just like to ask you a question.

How can,

I wrote down a couple of questions,

I wanted to remember to say,

How can you use your discomfort as not just information,

But motivation?

What's propelling you forward?

What's going to keep you from being stuck?

And again,

We're paying attention to both,

Right?

So yes,

The grief is there,

And also the determination is there,

The forward momentum is there.

Who can help you hold accountable?

Who can walk alongside you?

Who are you walking with and for?

So in those days when you feel like you might collapse,

What helps you get through?

What is your big why in all of this?

I'm pushing myself to bring my light into the world.

Yeah.

And the world needs your light,

Carolyn.

The world needs your light.

I'm walking for my family and myself.

Yes,

Daniel.

Yes.

And Beth says,

Art is propelling me forward,

Plus the motivation not to let the uncertainty and the angst take over my life.

Yes.

Yeah.

Thank you,

Beth.

That's a really important point too.

We still get to own our own spirits.

We still get to own our own hearts.

We still get to own our own minds.

We still get to decide what matters to us and what's important.

And you've heard this expression about the thing that you pay attention to grows,

Right?

And so what would it be like to pay attention to hope?

What would it be like to pay attention to love?

What would it be like to pay attention to possibility?

What would it be like to pay attention to our own power and using that power to impact change and communities and people right in front of you?

Because we learn from each other as human beings.

We build a culture.

We build community one exchange at a time.

We decide what's acceptable and okay by listening to and learning from each other.

We model what's appropriate for each other.

We learn about who we are from each other.

Preparing for the unknown with the knowledge that my ancestors braved much of the unknown.

Yes,

Yes.

So we know how to do this.

We have been through difficulties before and we are going to get through this.

And Jim says,

I was in another argument in my head with the other side and then thought of a quote from the Dhammapada that begins,

He beat me.

He defeated me.

He robbed me.

Thinking such thoughts,

Hatred is born.

Yeah.

You know,

You know,

One of the things that has been really helpful for me is,

And I love that quote.

I didn't see who that was from,

About from the Dhammapada.

I have been thinking a lot about not just why people made the choices that they made during this election,

But how did your life experiences lead you to this moment and these choices?

So really trying to think of it not as a shaming or a blaming thing,

But really just trying to understand how your life has shaped you in this way.

I think that's a really important way of kind of starting the conversation and really helping myself connect to the humanity of the other.

Because it's still true,

Regardless of a person's position,

That all of us want to be happy and safe and free from suffering.

And the way that people think about getting there maybe doesn't always align,

But that in place,

I think,

Does align.

And that does give us a foundation,

A beginning place,

To kind of help see the humanity in each other.

So what life experiences led you to these particular choices that you made at this time,

These political choices that you made at this time?

And being able to ask myself these questions helps me have more compassion for people that don't necessarily agree with me.

And Laurie says,

For mine,

It's been going through cleaning,

Clearing,

Processing the home down to the music collection I have,

Reviewing what still resonates and what I need to release.

Yeah.

And that's so important too,

Because sometimes we go along and we don't even give ourselves the opportunity to question,

Why am I making these choices?

Why do I have these things?

Why am I doing these things?

I mean,

These are the very things that we expect from other people,

But our choices should be considered ones.

Where do my values come from?

Where do my beliefs come from?

Rick and Laurie must be related.

You all might have to send each other some messages.

And Laurie,

You're also clearing space.

You're making more space for what's to come.

It's that birthing that someone talked about earlier,

Or letting go in the dying,

We're getting rid of,

We're opening new space,

Clearing,

Right?

And that's really important for us too.

I bookmarked another quote.

This is another one from Adrienne Marie Brown.

This is on page 37.

All that you touch,

You change.

All that you change,

Changes you.

The only lasting truth is change.

God is change.

That's from the parable of the sower.

And what's really resonating with me in this quote is the part that I talked about before,

Is how we show up in the world really does matter.

The things we say to each other,

The things that we do to each other,

And the things that people say and do to us,

They all impact us and help shape who we are and how we see the world,

Right?

And it reminds us of our power.

All that you touch,

You change.

So you are a collection of your experiences,

The people that you have talked to,

The places you have been,

The things you have read,

The things you have eaten,

The weather you've been exposed to.

All of that is now a part of you.

And so when you really take a moment to think about that,

That means that everywhere you go,

You are helping create change in the people around you.

And there is a study,

I don't remember the,

I think it's the Rensselaer Institute that says that if 10% of the population holds an unshakable belief,

That eventually the rest of the population will come around.

And if you think about a lot of the significant shifts and changes that have happened in the United States over the last 100 or 50 years,

Some of those things were at one point unimaginable.

But the change happened because people believed that they could happen.

They worked to make it happen.

They had the conversations.

They did the advocacy.

They showed up on the hard days.

They began again,

Even with their grief.

They believed in each other.

They encouraged each other.

They walked together.

And we will do the same.

So Serena says,

A beloved psychologist once taught me that anger is hurt or fear of being hurt.

Look for the hurt behind the hate,

Can be agonizing,

But also enlightening.

Yeah.

And I do think that's so important if we're really thinking about why people are making the choices that they're making.

It could be helpful to assume,

But kind of look behind,

Like what's behind some of the things that we're seeing people,

The things that we're seeing people say and do,

The sometimes really ugly and hateful things that we're seeing people say and do.

And Roberta,

Nice to see you.

Prayer and meditation,

Each is a new beginning and don't get stuck.

Yeah.

That's been so important for me too,

To be able to track myself moment to moment because there are moments when it does feel so deeply painful and so heavy.

And rather than push it away or run away from it,

I just kind of notice it and I trust myself to be with my feelings.

I trust myself to care for what is here and I notice too.

So where is it exactly in my body?

Are there places where it is not?

And as I'm tracking and noticing,

I can also notice the sensations as they rise,

As they shift,

And as they fall,

And as they change.

And I just say that to say that pain is not permanent.

It's not constant.

Nothing is permanent.

Nothing is constant.

It's not solid.

And so it's really important to,

Yes,

Acknowledge that the pain is there and it's also important to notice when the pain is not there.

So it goes back to what I was talking about before in terms of being able to train our attention.

I can notice when pain is there and I can also notice the moments when pain is not there.

It could be something really simple like if you're thirsty and you drink a glass of water that's just right and you notice it going down your throat and can you really be present to that experience of the water going down your throat and how refreshing and good and cool it feels?

That is a moment of ease and these moments add to our resilience.

These moments add to our energy.

They remind us that we are still available for joy and they help us connect to our best selves so that when we go out into the community we are reminded that joy is still available,

That it's still possible.

And we're not going out in that pathetic,

Collapsed kind of grief.

We're going out with grief,

Yes,

But grief that's connected to motivation,

Grief that's connected to possibility and grief that's connected to what can I do,

How can I use my power to transform communities that essentially feel broken.

How can I be the bridge?

How can I be the healing?

Yeah,

We begin again as many times as we need to.

And Rick says,

I'm very aware of old thoughts and feelings that have been triggered and new.

So it's interesting to experience that from this point of my journey.

Yeah,

So just let yourself be with that.

Just listen to yourself,

To your hearts,

To your minds,

To your thoughts with curiosity,

With openness,

With love,

With care,

With deep attention.

And we're not our thoughts,

Our feelings,

Our sensations.

These things come and go.

And we don't have to be afraid.

We don't have to be afraid.

Sometimes we will feel terrible.

Feeling terrible is information.

Feeling terrible reminds us that something is here that needs care for and attention.

So we offer care,

We offer compassion.

We try not to brace against it.

We try to soften into it.

And we try to be patient.

Thank you,

Beth.

Oh,

Tea Lady Nat,

Nice to see you.

I'm definitely digging deeper now,

Trying to make myself more comfortable with my decisions.

Yeah.

And this really is a time to kind of do that dig,

That deep digging.

What's going on with me?

Where is my light?

Where can I shine it?

We might want to start by shining the light inside.

Where are the places where we could make some changes?

Where are the places where maybe we have caused harm?

Because we could get very caught up in pointing fingers about what everyone else is doing.

And the truth of the matter is no one is.

.

.

We all cause harm in some ways.

Sometimes it's unintentional.

And maybe shining that light on the inside can help us see where it's unintentional and help us make different choices.

Hey,

Laura,

So glad you made it.

I have one more quote to read.

All right,

So this is from her book on page 226.

Commitment to self-transformation.

As we change societies,

We must change from operating on the mode of individualism to community-centeredness.

We must walk our talk.

We must be the values that we say we're struggling for.

And we must be justice,

Be peace,

And be community.

I'll read that again.

As we change societies,

We must change from operating on the mode of individualism to community-centeredness.

We must walk our talk.

We must be the values that we say we're struggling for.

And we must be justice,

Be peace,

And be community.

So just listening to that,

I want to invite you to think about what that brings up for you.

Oh,

Lottie is gone.

Okay.

Yes,

Lila,

We have to take care of ourselves and also others.

So it's sort of like going back to the car analogy.

If the car breaks down,

Nobody rides,

Right?

And also,

We do deserve our own love and care.

We do.

And especially as people who care about others,

Who care about communities,

The way that you care for yourself impacts the way that you show up in community,

Right?

So you have to care for yourself first.

And that's not selfish or mean or inappropriate.

It's important.

It goes back to the car again.

If there's no gas,

Then the car is going to break down.

If the tires are not in good shape,

Then the car is not going to be able to drive.

It's not going to be able to ride.

So human beings are the same way.

And we only get this one life.

How are we going to use it?

We can't be available for care.

We can't be available for our dreams if our cups are empty or if we're not caring for ourselves,

If our minds are not right,

If our spirits are broken,

If our souls are bankrupt.

So investing in ourselves really is one way of investing in our communities because individuals make up communities.

We are the community.

And we are responsible to and for ourselves and we are responsible to and for each other.

So I'll just pause here for a moment to see what else you have to offer.

I have one more thing that I'd like to read.

It's from Rick Hansen.

And then we'll do our meditation.

Some of you may have seen this.

It's,

It was,

Rick Hansen put it up on his website on November 7th.

It's called,

Four Ways We Can Respond After the Election.

So I won't read the whole thing,

But I'll read some of it.

How do we care for bankrupt souls?

Rick,

We care for them very tenderly.

Very tenderly.

I think it starts with an acknowledgement that we have not showed up for our souls,

For our spirits in the way that we should have for any number of reasons.

And then once we make that acknowledgement,

We offer ourselves some forgiveness.

And then we offer ourselves deep love and care.

I see you,

I'm here for you.

This has been hard.

You made the best choice that you could at that moment.

And now that you know better,

Now that you have more wisdom,

More love,

More perspective,

I'm here with you to make a different choice.

A choice that honors your soul,

That fills your soul.

And at the same time that it honors and fills your soul,

It also enlivens you.

And it connects you to the innate light that is in all of us.

Sometimes we lose track of it or it goes out or it's buried.

Well,

It doesn't go out,

It gets buried.

And we forget that it's there,

But we nurture it,

We stoke it a little bit at a time with time to ourselves,

Time in places that restore us,

With sweet,

Kind talk to ourselves,

Not beating ourselves up,

Shaming or blaming,

With patience,

With gentleness.

Yeah,

It can be done.

So these are Rick Hansen's tips.

I won't read the whole thing,

But the first tip is strengthen your heart.

When the bottom falls out,

Turn to heart.

So for starters,

Be kind to yourself.

Let yourself feel what you're feeling,

Slow down and take your time.

Be loyal to you.

Get on your own side.

Get a sense of your own fundamental goodness,

The sweet,

Deep,

Deep nature in your core.

Protect your heart.

Pull your attention away from toxic influences.

Try not to ruminate.

As the Buddha taught long ago,

All kinds of painful thoughts and feelings can pass through awareness,

But we don't have to let them invade the mind and remain.

Also,

Of course,

Try to keep your heart open.

Love your friends and family.

Love our big,

Beautiful,

Precious world.

Love heals and feeds us whether it is flowing in or out.

With others who are draining or upsetting,

You can have compassion for them while stepping back or standing up for yourself.

We are all wounded.

If you are like me,

People have let you down or directly attack you.

We make mistakes and feel regret and remorse.

We've had losses such as doors closing,

Loved ones dying,

And dashed hopes for a better future.

We can be honest about our wounds and feel them along with love.

Carry your wounds into love.

Then they soften and are more bearable and we open out into a field of love.

So that's Rick Hansen's first tip of the four.

And again,

This is four ways we can respond after the election.

So I'll skip the second one.

The third one is do what you can.

And Rick offers a quote from someone called Nkosi Johnson who was born with HIV in 1989 and died soon at the age of 12.

And Nkosi became an advocate for people with AIDS and once said,

Do all that you can with what you've been given in the place where you are with the time that you have.

Right?

So really pay attention to that.

And this applies to all of us.

Do all that you can with what you've been given in the place where you are with the time that you have.

Right?

So of course we know that time is not guaranteed.

It's not promised.

But we do have this very moment and we all have gifts that we can use.

And so this takes us back to that prophetic grief.

How will we use our gifts with intention?

Where can we use our power for good?

We can decide.

These are places where we have actual choice.

So how will we use our choices?

Right?

Yes,

I'll read it one more time.

Do all that you can with what you've been given in the place where you are with the time that you have.

And that really can be our charge to ourselves and each other.

We don't get to opt out.

We still have to show up.

The more uncertain and potentially threatening the wider world,

Excuse me,

The more important it is to invest in yourself and the circle around you.

What feeds you?

What protects you?

What makes you happy?

Boring but true,

We get back what we put in to what we eat,

To exercise,

And to meditation and other inner practices.

And he goes on to say,

Also,

I remember seeing a YouTube clip of a big,

Grim,

Former special forces expert on survival who was asked,

Under the worst conditions,

What's the most important thing to have?

And he replied,

Friends.

So talk to people and listen.

Know your neighbors.

Find common ground.

Consider important relationships and what could be repaired or deepened in them.

Out in the world,

Pick the causes you care about and support them.

The petitions you sign or dollars you send may make no discernible difference for the world,

But they will definitely make a difference for you.

So pay attention to that too.

And then the last of the four,

Find peace.

Throughout history,

Most people have lived under tough conditions while still finding their ways to be happy.

If they could do it,

We can too.

Know that most things are beyond your control.

Try to accept this fact and uncertainty and not always knowing.

We won't always know.

We have to figure out how to be with that.

So what brings you peace?

Neurologically,

It helps to raise your gaze.

It also helps me to kind of lift my spine.

Sometimes if I feel like I'm collapsing and I kind of slouch over,

There's like a tightness in my chest and there's no room for the sensations to move around.

So lifting your gaze,

Lifting your spine,

Walking around,

All of that helps.

So neurologically,

It helps to raise your gaze,

Look out a window,

Take a bird's eye view,

Take some breaths with exhalations longer than the inhalations.

That kind of helps soothe your nervous system,

Brings on that parasympathetic,

So puts on the brake.

Tune into the internal sensations of breathing which will help quiet inner chatter.

Look around and see so many things that are unaffected by political ups and downs.

Trees reaching for the sky,

Birds flying,

Friends cooking dinner,

Good music,

Laughter,

Love flowing.

Turn toward whatever are reliable sources of well-being and comfort and wisdom for you.

Perhaps the simple taste of a banana,

Not for me,

I don't like bananas,

But maybe an orange or an apple.

The hug of a friend,

The eager look in your dog's eye or your cat or your iguana or your bird,

The vastness of a night sky,

The onward developments of science,

The perennial insights of the great teachers or the simple rainbow of an oil sheen in a puddle.

In your mind,

There is always the peaceful stability of awareness itself.

To paraphrase Pema Chodron,

You are the sky and everything else is just the weather.

And even deeper is a fundamental stillness in your ground of being.

Slow down,

Be gentle with yourself and you can find this quiet between and beneath all the busy thoughts and feelings and desires.

This innate peacefulness infused with love is our true home,

Even now.

A reliable refuge and source of strength under all conditions,

Right?

Under all conditions,

Including sometimes an unreliable and scary world.

Your own practice and efforts will help many others besides yourself rippling out into the world,

Touching many lives known and unknown,

Seen and unseen.

So let's just pause and notice that.

I love that so much.

It's so beautiful.

And I actually heard that,

As some of you know,

That I'm working on a Master of Divinity and one of my professors started by reading this in class after the election.

And I made sure right away to go to the site and print it because I'm going to keep it as a reminder.

And it helped me so much.

And I hope that it helped you too.

You're so welcome,

Beth.

Thank you,

Michelle.

So I'll wait a moment to see if anybody has any questions or comments.

And then I'm going to go ahead and do the meditation.

So just so you know,

I'll watch the time.

There's nothing you need to do.

And we'll be here for maybe just 10 minutes or so.

Letting ourselves settle into this moment,

Coming back to the body,

Coming back to the breath,

Coming back to this moment.

We're all here together,

Offering each other our presence,

Offering each other a sense of community,

Belonging,

Care.

Sometimes it's really just about being together,

Being with other people who know,

Who see us,

Who get us,

Who understand.

So if it feels right in your body,

I invite you to breathe in that sense of belonging.

You belong here.

You are welcome here.

And maybe the world does not feel safe to you.

Maybe it feels confusing to you.

Know that there are places in the world that are safe and do make sense.

And know that you can create them wherever you go.

Just by bringing yourself to that place,

Just by being yourself,

And just by caring for yourself,

Bringing your best self to communities in crisis.

And again,

If it feels right,

Let the belly rise,

Inhaling deeply,

And letting the belly fall,

Exhaling completely.

And just noticing what you notice,

What is here?

How is your body?

How is your mind?

How are your thoughts?

And is there a particular care that you want to be able to offer to yourself,

Something you want to say to yourself,

Or a place in your body that you want to soften?

And can you remember,

I am with and for myself.

I am here with and for myself.

Reminding myself that I know how to get through hard times,

That I have everything I need,

And that I am with and for myself.

And for my community,

That I'm showing up.

I am the difference.

I am the light.

I'm letting my grief move me to action.

I am remembering where I have power.

Let your body soften.

Maybe do a quick scan.

Are there any places that feel tight or tense?

Can you let your attention rest on places that feel a bit more spacious or a bit more ease?

And can you send warm,

Loving attention to the places that do feel tight?

It's okay for tightness to be here.

It's okay for anxiety to be here.

It's okay for fear to be here.

I see you,

But I'm not your hostage.

You can be in the car,

But you can't drive.

I care for myself deeply so that my wise mind,

My compassionate mind,

My courageous mind drives while my fearful mind is a passenger.

I'm keeping my eye on you.

You're not taking over.

Keep breathing.

Maybe even asking yourself,

What does your wise mind need?

What does your body need?

What does your soul need?

What does your spirit need?

And can you give yourself permission to meet those needs?

It's really important,

Especially now,

To care for all of you from the inside out.

Be gentle.

Be patient.

Be kind.

Be brave.

Be clear about what matters.

Be confident in your ability to manage whatever comes up in your body and be available to joy.

Look for it in small places,

Big places.

Look for joy everywhere because joy is still available.

Even now.

Let's take three deep breaths in.

Breathing in,

Letting the belly rise.

Exhale,

A little bit longer.

Extend the exhale,

Letting the belly fall.

Let's do that two more times.

Breathing in.

And be breathing in peace.

Long,

Slow exhale,

Breathing out love for this whole community.

Big inhale,

Letting the belly rise,

Filled up to the top.

Breathing in love.

And we're all sending it out to each other,

Reminding each other that we are supported,

We are not alone,

That we will go forward together.

And exhale completely,

Breathing out peace.

We are peace.

We can be peace.

We are creating peace within and we are radiating peace out.

We are healing communities with our healed energy.

And I invite you to rub your hands together.

And when they feel warm,

Place them someplace on your body that could use a little extra love or care or attention.

May we all stay connected to our innate resilience.

May we all feel supported.

May we all feel loved and cared for.

May we all have peace and be free from suffering.

May we all be well.

Thank you all so much for joining tonight.

Thank you all so much for your donations.

I'm very grateful.

I'm very grateful for this community.

I'm really glad to be here tonight and I'm sending you all really good,

Warm energy.

Please take good care of yourselves.

Take care of your communities,

Your family.

Thank you so much for your gifts.

Thank you for being here.

Michelle,

Carolyn,

Rick,

Beth,

Steph,

Aaron.

Nice to see you,

Aaron.

Hey,

Chris,

Nice to see you.

Rose,

Amy,

Dave,

Jill.

Thank you so much,

Everyone.

Thank you,

Jim.

I'm so glad,

Lila.

Thank you for joining.

Roberta,

Nice to see you as always.

Serena,

Nice to see you.

Bea,

Nice to see you.

And Rose,

Laura.

I have to tell you what Laura said.

Please come on and do a live.

I said,

Of course I will.

Thank you for asking.

Thank you,

Mindy.

Thank you,

Dave and Karen.

Thank you.

Thank you,

Bea.

Yeah.

Well,

I'm glad that you made it.

Can we do it again?

So what I had originally said is I have so much schoolwork to do.

I have to wait until December.

But then I thought,

Well,

This has to be an exception.

So my semester was over the second week of December.

So I will definitely be back then.

But now I've got papers I have to get turned in.

And it's a lot to do.

But I know this is really important.

I'm so glad for this.

This really felt really good to be here.

And I'm so glad for this community a lot.

I listen to Inside Timer every day.

So this community has really meant a lot to me.

So I log on every day.

And I always really appreciate getting your messages and your notes.

And so thank you very much.

It really helps me a lot.