Chapter 1: What perspective does meditation provide about our true self?
Welcome back. One of the great gifts our meditation practice gives is a sense of perspective, a sense of the truth of my own being, which allows me to let go of an egocentric or self-centered way of looking at my life, my relationships, and even the world at large. Traditionally, this was known as evolving the gift of humility.
Chapter 2: How does humility relate to our connection with the earth?
Humility is a word that comes from Greek. The root of the word is humus, which means the earth itself. When we enter into meditation, we are grounded.
Chapter 3: What is the significance of recognizing our uniqueness in meditation?
We are earthed in a practice that gives us the truth of who we are. We begin to recognize the joy and the giftedness of the uniqueness of our own being, but we are also led to recognize the uniqueness and giftedness of every other being we encounter.
From there, we enter into a complementarity, recognizing that I am necessary to you and you are necessary to me in the great unfolding of meaning and truth and compassion. So today then, we move into another way of making ourselves aware of who we are, what we are, and how we are.
Chapter 4: How can we prepare for a deeper awareness during meditation?
Let's begin. Gently now, we deliberately enter this time of meditation we can make a ritual gesture to mark our entry into this space this time. We sit with awareness, our feet firm against the floor, our back supported by a chair or a cushion, the shoulders dropped, the breath slowing now, gently, the jaw loose and unclenched, Even the facial muscles smoothed and calmed.
As we enter into these few moments of being at peace, we do so gently and joyfully. Knowing that we are about to enter into the awareness that gives us connection, not just to ourselves, but to all of creation. to the present moment, to that place of graced encounter with divine love. And gently now entering once again into the fullness of awareness of the breath.
We breathe in and breathe out, not just with mouth or nose, but with every part of our skin.
Chapter 5: What role does breath play in connecting us to the present moment?
As we breathe, we relax, breathing out all tension, all stress, breathing in peace, breathing in joy. And as we breathe, we are aware of the gift of our breath, a cycle of breath that began at the very first moment we entered this world. a cycle of breath that will continue until the moment comes for us to give our breath back to creation and to leave this world.
We are aware that no matter who we are, no matter how long we live, we have a finite number of breaths. We can look back to the moment we entered this world and see an almost countless number of breath cycles that we have lived through already. And we know looking forward that while it might be difficult to count, there is a finite number of breaths left.
We are always one breath away from eternity. We are always one breath located in the present moment. And so accepting this is the reality of our human existence.
Chapter 6: How can we integrate the lessons of meditation into our daily lives?
Accepting it without panic, anxiety or stress. We dwell now in each cycle of in-breath and out-breath as gift. Each cycle of in-breath and out-breath has a moment in which to encounter the depth of the present moment. Each cycle of in-breath and out-breath has a sharing with the rest of creation. We are, in this moment, aware of the breath as an anchor in time, and as a gateway into eternity.
Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out. Breathing in, I breathe in the gift of creation to me.
Breathing out, I give the gift of my breath to the rest of creation. And for a moment, coming to rest gently in the sensation of our connection with the ground beneath us, whether that's the floor or the earth beneath the floor. Even if we are meditating many floors up The building itself that we are in rests upon the ground, and so we are always in connection with the earth.
And gently imagine yourself placing your hands upon the earth, feeling the coolness of the soil, its solidity, its firmness. feeling the rich mulch of earth beneath your hands, and recognizing that that ground that produces fertile growth can only do so because of the countless generations that have laid down their lives and given their bodily existence back to the earth.
plants, trees, insects, animals, even our own humanity, gifted back so that life can come forth again. In the breath, we are connected to now and to eternity. In the earth, We are connected to all of those generations that have gone before us and to the life that exists now.
We walk upon the earth gently and with reverence, for we walk upon the countless generations that have gone before us and who support our biological life in being.
Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.
And gently now we can make the intention to really notice the earth beneath our feet. To really notice the gift of growing things, of life. recognizing that every bite of food, every drink of water, comes to us through the gift of the earth, comes to us through the gift of all of those countless generations gone before, comes to us ultimately from the gift of divine love.
And so we make the resolution to walk with reverence upon the earth. To place our hands from time to time upon the soil. To place our hands from time to time upon our chest. To give thanks for breath that I share with all beings in the now. to give thanks for the earth that shares with me the life of all of the countless generations before.
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