Hi Dear Ones!
Last week, in part one of my three-part holiday meditation series, we talked about the need for more peace in our hearts and in the world. I offered a calming meditation, intended to bring you back to the eternally serene seat of your soul in the midst of holiday stress.
If you are experiencing heightened anxiety at this time of year and want to soothe your mind and spirit, I highly recommend checking it out.
This week, we are talking about suffering. It is not lost on me that for many people, suffering, depression, and loneliness can be greatly intensified at this time of year.
The gaps in our hearts left behind by those we have lost can seem exponentially larger, and old wounds can reopen at the drop of a hat.
Family time is not always a Hallmark movie scene. It can be messy, uncomfortable, and painful. The dissonance we feel in our hearts when our loved ones are not fully aligned with the truth of who we are can be excruciating. Perhaps you feel like your values are not understood. Maybe your sexuality is not accepted. Maybe you are not supported in your chosen career path.
In today’s climate, the chasms between us can feel wider than ever. In this age of spiritual awakening, our need to be seen for who we authentically, truthfully, and uniquely are is gigantic and terrifying.
That desire is magnified when we are around those closest to us, as it’s often the people in our inner circles of friends and family who act as our mirrors, revealing the parts of us that still need healing.
I want you to know that it’s okay not to be healed. It’s okay to feel broken.
Not wanting to attend your family’s annual gathering doesn’t make you a bad person. Not being accepted at your family’s annual gathering doesn’t make you an unloveable person. Not having a family to spend the holidays with doesn’t mean you are alone.
We are all in different places on the path to healing, but our collective goal is the same: to remember our wholeness despite loss and hurt, and to be seen in that wholeness. We want to be loved for our good, our bad, and our ugly.
I am here to remind you are incalculably worthy of the love your soul is longing for, no matter the depths of your suffering or the intensity of your loneliness. Within you exists a wellspring of loving energy, patiently waiting for you to give it the awareness and attention it needs to burst forth.
So, whether you are in the midst of a difficult family gathering or home alone in your bed, when you place your awareness on the unlimited worth, goodness, and potential inside you – even if you don’t yet believe it’s there – it lights up. YOU light up. You return to your power.
Even if that split second of awareness brings the light at the end of the tunnel just one millimeter closer, you break the cycle of complacency. Stagnation ends. Positive transformation begins.
With tender love in my heart for those of you who are suffering this season, I have created a meditation to help you connect to and sustain that awareness of your inner strength. It is meant to awaken stagnant energy and empower you with the knowledge that you are radiantly alive.
There is a home within you. You belong to yourself. Your soul is waiting, eagerly and lovingly, for you to return.
Meditation #2: Energize and Empower
Target: This meditation will rejuvenate the soul that is feeling alone, in despair, or in darkness this holiday season. It will reawaken the prana (life-force energy) running through and around your body via breathwork and physical touch. As this meditation guides you back to presence and reconnects you to your aliveness, you will begin to feel energized and empowered.
Setting Up: Because this meditation will take you through several different phases, I recommend reading the entire description before you begin. This description is merely a guideline. There are no rules here! Think of it as a jumping off point, beyond which you are free to find what feels right for you. If you feel you need a little more guidance, record yourself speaking the description into a voice memo and listen as you meditate.
Find yourself in a comfortable seat. For this particular meditation, it is important that your spine is long and tall, so ensure that your back is supported in a way that allows you to sit with great posture and alignment. Once you are seated, roll your shoulders back and down. This should allow your heart center to lift slightly.
Close your eyes. Bring one hand to your heart and the other to your belly. Begin to take deep belly breaths that move your lower hand out and away from you. Start to massage your heart center firmly in a circular motion. Visualize golden light radiating from each of your hands, pouring into your body and awakening any stagnant energy.
As prana starts to circulate through your body, continue to take long, powerful breaths. If your breaths are not already audible, make them so by lightly constricting the muscles in the back of your throat (think fogging up a window, but with your mouth closed). Feel and listen to the strength of your breath as you continue to massage your heart in circles. If you feel called, imagine that golden light now traveling up the length of your spine on your inhale, and back down on your exhale.
The Mantra: When you feel sufficiently energized by your audible belly breaths and heart-stimulating circles (no need to worry about a timeline here – go with your gut), gently release both hands to your knees, palms facing down. Continue breathing audibly and deeply, and begin to repeat the following mantra to yourself: (inhale) “I am well,” (exhale), “I am whole.” Repeat this pattern with each cycle of breath for as long as you need.
To come out of your meditation, release the mantra. Return one hand to your heart and one to your belly. Breathe deeply into your hands, and whisper a “thank you” to yourself.
No matter what happened during your meditation, your body and soul are rejoicing. The choice to spend this time tapping back into your radiant aliveness speaks volumes to the Universe.
You have just sent out the energetic message that you are worthy of taking up space and creating noise and movement in the world. You have just sent out the energetic message that you belong to yourself, even in times of darkness. You have just reconnected to your eternal companion, your Highest Self. Your soul. Welcome home, sweet one.
If you feel you’ve cultivated enough energy, this would be a beautiful time to jot down a few sentences in your journal about your meditation experience, take a walk, take a shower, or make some coffee or tea. Take advantage of this heightened state of presence and alignment.
Even if that looks like sitting contemplatively with yourself for a few extra minutes, know that you are giving yourself a HUGE gift. Think of this time as wiping away the spiritual cobwebs. Cleaning out your energetic space. Making room for newness, for positive change, for a spontaneous joyful moment.
Reconnecting to your body, mind, and spirit is no small act. It is an act of great courage and faith. I see you. I am with you. I honor you.
For additional meditation tips, visit my previous post.
Stay tuned for meditation #3, coming next week.
With love, from my heart to yours.
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