I am not in a space where I can easily create and edit a video, so I thought I’d do two things, write you a gratitude letter and create an audio of our guided meditation practice. That way, we are still connecting through the practice of gratitude, engaging our senses, and moving into Presence.
Hello My Beautiful Friend,
Today I’m in South Boston, sitting outside of my hotel. The weather is balmy and I’m accompanied by the hum of bees, the steady flow of traffic, and my dad, who is sitting across from me binge watching his new favorite show, “The Innocents” on his smartphone. We’re here to help my daughter move into her dorm and get settled into her new life as a college student.
I’m a mix of emotions, elation, sadness, apprehension, fear. I love these emotions. They are mine. In allowing them to arise and be, I feel my heart center being stretched to the edges, which is a slightly painful sensation. Not emotionally painful, but painful in a way a hike up a steep hill can bother the legs. The blood pumps, the muscles swell and expand, the breath deepens; all of it is sign of aliveness and vitality. It is deliciousness.
How about you? How are you feeling this morning (or whatever time you’re reading this letter)? What is your heart full of or haven’t you thought about your heart today?
Anyway, when I randomly opened my book, “The Wizard of Us” by Jean Houston my eyes fell to this passage:
“The human heart beats about 100,000 times each day, and 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime. Weighing less than one pound (lighter in women than in men), it pumps blood through an intricate system of arteries, veins, and capillaries at an astounding rate of eleven pints a minute, almost 2,000 gallons a day, and over 700,000 gallons a year with strength that could shoot blood up to thirty feet. It does all of that without you having to give it a single thought. Thank your heart for doing a great job of keeping you alive.” (pg.73)
I love being caught in the swing of synchronicity. I love hearing Spirit speak to me in this way. Such joy!
This passage though, also brings me to the heart as the center of our lives. Heart and Soul are companions, you cannot experience one without the other. The physical and energetic heart are one with Soul. Soul speaks to us, not through the brain, but through the faculty of the heart. The Heart/Soul pangs, throbs, and expands. It jumps for joy, grieves, and creates. The Heart/Soul sees things as they really are, piercing the false narratives of the mind. Haven’t in ever said to yourself, “I know in my heart that…” Oh yes, thank God/Spirit/Universe for the heart in all its forms!
So, my beautiful friend, shall we meditate together giving gratitude for the heart, for its intelligence and its grace?
Practice:
Place your feet flat on the floor, close your eyes, and tilt your chin slightly down so the back of your neck is nice and long.
Take three “ha” breaths, and feel yourself becoming more present. Feel the weight of your body in the chair or on the floor.
Relax your shoulders away from your ears, relax your face, relax your hands, fingers, legs, feet, and toes.
Feel the breath in the body and become very still. In the stillness, imagine you can feel the heart beating in your chest. Imagine you can feel the heart pumping blood throughout your beautiful body. Imagine, it circulating, delivering nutrients to the muscles, the brain, the bones, imagine it everywhere inside of you.
Finally, imagine the heart as light and pumping light throughout the body.
Feel the heart in the body. Feel the heart of earth. Feel the heart of humanity. Feel the oneness. Feel the graciousness of life. Give thanks. And so it is.