Meditations

Please read our meditation guidelines below before you begin.

Meditations for the Full Moon in Pisces
September 14, 2008
Notice the spontaneous thoughts, words and actions that come into your life, either from within yourself or from someone else. Make a choice not to judge or react quickly but instead to accept each one gratefully for what it is: an attention-getter, an energy-releaser, a spur to action, a necessary change of course — or something else entirely.

Free-write or free-draw for 10 minutes starting with a word of your choice, such as “acceptance,” “compassion” or “soul.” Consciously accept whatever words or images flow from you. Decide not to censor anything that wants to come through you to the page.

Choose to give not out of obligation but out of love, compassion and a concern for global healing. Close your eyes, breathe deep and tune into your giving self. Ask that part of you what act of giving would best fill its impulse toward compassion. Remember that “compassion” means “to feel with,” and ask yourself how your act of giving is an acknowledgment of feelings you share with another person or people.

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Meditations for the End of Summer
September 12, 2008
Consider an image you associate with fall (for example jack-o-lanterns, fog, apple cider). Take five minutes to write about that image. It may be a single story that relates to the image, a free association that takes you far afield, an emotional stream-of-consciousness or anything else. Give your imagination permission to wander.

Sit or lie comfortably with your hands open and palms up. Close your eyes and breathe deeply down into your abdomen. With each in-breath, think, “Thank you” and with each out-breath, think, “Goodbye.” Notice the images, words and feelings that spontaneously emerge.

Go for a walk at half your usual speed, breathing deeply as you go. Imagine that, with each step, you leave something behind on the ground. What is it that’s streaming out behind you from underfoot? What has the last cycle produced that you’re now leaving behind?

Read the related blog post.

Guidelines for Meditation

Meditations are added frequently and reflect the changing seasons, planetary movements and themes explored in blog posts. The meditations above are just suggestions; you can do them however it works best for you. For example:

1. Sit comfortably and gaze gently at a lighted candle, flower or devotional object while allowing your mind to contemplate the suggested image, question or statement.
2. Hold the suggested image, question or statement in your mind, close your eyes and breathe gently in and out, focusing your attention on each inhale and exhale. Do not try to consciously think about the topic at hand; just allow whatever comes to your mind, to come.
3. Walk, dance or move instinctively with the suggested image, question or statement as the gentle focus of your attention.
4. Free-write or free-draw for a period of time in response to the suggested image, question or statement.
5. Before you fall asleep, ask for a dream about the suggested image, question or statement.
6. Talk to a trusted friend about the suggested image, question or statement.

Not all of these will work well for everyone. Find your own way to meditate and trust your instincts. If you find yourself getting upset or overwhelmed, gently stop, ground yourself (touch bare feet to the floor, drink a glass of water or do something else safe and sensory) and get further help if you need to.