A Come-As-You-Are Meditation
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“The point is that our true nature
is not some ideal that we have to live up to.
It’s who we are right now,
and that’s what we can make friends with
and celebrate. “
Pema Chodron
Awakening Loving-Kindness
How much time do we spend,
How much energy do we expend
Trying to fix ourselves
Trying to make ourselves
Better?
Trying to—
Lose weight?
Meditate?
Be more spiritual?
Make more money?
Fill in your blank
______________.
Seeking:
The right
Person?
Job?
Haircut?
Retirement plan?
How much time do we spend,
Wanting ourselves to be different?
What subtle aggression
We wage
Against
Ourselves.
Pushing ourselves
Trying to grow into
What we think
We
Should
Be.
Such great irony
Resides within
This being-human-gig.
We are—already home.
This journey is one
Of self-acceptance,
Rather than
Self-improvement.
Start where you are.
That’s the place to be.
That’s the place
Where
Energy
Can be
Accessed,
Where
Grace
Can
Meet us.
Consider Kripalu yoga on the mat.
Do you want to learn how to do Tadasana,
The Mountain posture?
Arms above your head,
Fingers interlaced
Fully extended?
To get there,
You need to be
Where you are
Right here
Right now.
Start where you are!
Hands next to your sides,
Hands at right angles.
Whatever.
From there,
From acceptance of There,
From that presence,
We can
Grow
And
Change.
We jump over
We skip over
We
Interrupt
The natural
Evolution
Of
Change.
Be where you are.
That’s the doorway.
Bring yourself
As you are
To
The
Moment,
As it is.
That is the doorway.
That is unity.
~~~
Here is a five-minute guided meditation I’ve created for you, entitled (of course) A Come-As-You-Are Meditation. Get comfortable. Please do enjoy.
~~~
Playing for Change is a global non-profit, uniting musicians from all over the world to create music and connection and oneness. Here are 16 musicians from Hungary, Morocco and the US, for a global rendition of the Nirvana classic, “Come as You Are”.
I’m not a Nirvana fan. When this song was written in 1992, I was fully immersed in the Kripalu ashram, working so hard at being spiritual.
Kurt Cobain’s lyrics wouldn’t be mine. The repeated gun reference is off-putting for me. But nevertheless, as contradictory as the lyrics are, the song opens my heart as it is filtered so stunningly through these world musicians.
Check them out. Oh, I love these women musicians!
Playing for Change presents—Come as You Are
~~~
Dear Friends,
Whatever your moment is,
Me, too—
Let’s breathe and relax
Into it.
The sooner we do that,
The easier it comes,
The easier it goes.
In gratitude,
In possibility,
In hope—
All blessings,
Aruni