holding compassion and love {a guided audio meditation}

 

On a day like today, when many of us wish we could do more for the people suffering the devastation in Haiti from yesterday's earthquake, I would like a share a meditation with you that can be used to hold people in your heart with compassion and love.

There are some good resources out there that share information about organizations accepting donations and other things. This article at USA Today seems particularly clear and helpful. Denise has also shared some great links in this post. Please share any other links or information you have that you trust.

The following meditation is one that I turn to when I learn someone is experiencing difficult times or grief and I cannot be right there to offer support in person. I light a candle and imagine them and close my eyes and begin to find my breath. This meditation can also be used when you want to send compassion and love to someone on any day. The truth is, we all need compassion and love and sharing it is a beautiful gift we can give one another. 

When you are ready to begin, find a comfortable place to sit where you will not be distracted or interupted. Then click on "Holding Compassion" below. The meditation takes less than ten minutes. If you have questions, please feel free to email me.

Blessings and light,

Liz

Holding Compassion

you will.

i can hear you laughing as though someone might just be about ready to tickle you. you laugh so loud and long until you can hardly breathe. i wonder what time of day it is and what happened five minutes ago, five hours ago in your world. i see you, a little girl who has a little brother as evidenced by that plush ball perfect for a crawling baby brother in the photo. i see you and know that in this moment you felt just as loved as you did before he came into the world. before you wished on a penny at geno's and came back to the table to inform everyone you had wished for a baby brother. i know that sofa that pulled out into a bed where your grandparents would stay when you moved to the house on oak road. but now, now that sofa is in the family room and i can see the green chair and the built-in bookshelves and hear the rolling stones or is it neil diamond now playing on the record player. i see that you are safe in this moment of from the depths of your soul laughter. i see that you are smiling that huge showing the gums smile that people who really know you see when you feel safe. i can see you and hear you and imagine how soft your cheek might feel if you rushed up to the person taking this photo and hugged that person so close so you nuzzled your cheek against his neck and breathed in aqua velva and love. 

i think about all this as i sit here feeling a baby move inside me. this baby we've been told is a daughter moves inside me tonight and i call my mother to tell her and then, i sit inside the circle of it all and remember how loved you are, how loved we are. and even though the road to this moment of contentment and truth will be filled with so much you cannot even imagine and it won't always be safe to smile and be you and wish on pennies, in this moment of giggles and looking into the camera, know that you will find your way. 

yes, baby girl, you will find your way.

the moments (of the last few days)

point defiance park view of puget sound . january 10, 2010

i have been more tired than productive (and productive is something i need to be) this weekend and last week was filled with quite a few emotional highs and lows in that way life is sometimes, but tonight, i am moved to share the moments of the last few days...

soaking up every word of a homemade life: stories and recipes from my kitchen table by molly wizenberg (i will write more about it soon. it is more like a gift than a cookbook. i am simply smitten with every page and am savoring the last few chapters like the last godiva chocolate).

watching julie & julia for the first time. what a joy that movie is. signs point toward me spending more time in the kitchen soon (hopefully when my mom visits next week, we can cook together and i can push away from nausea and lean in toward the goodness of cooking for and with my family).

taking a walk along puget sound with jonny. spotting a seal. sharing a few dreams. watching a little boy with his parents, so quick to explore on legs that have probably not been walking for too many weeks.

curling up with millie on the new red sofa. she seems to be very interested in my belly these days.

feeling grateful for friends who listen (especially when tears are falling on this end of the line).

angel hair pasta. really, i simply cannot get enough. and luckily i have a husband who doesn't mind cooking it (and everything else we eat around here these days).

enjoying a (new to me) movie called possession. the title invites one to think it is much different than it is. i found it to be a beautiful movie weaving two stories, one from the past and one now. a little poetry, a lot of romance, some heartache, wonderful music. i must investigate the book i think.

letting go of needing to answer email right away. i know it can be maddening to wait for someone to reply, but just remember, sometimes that someone is taking a break from the computer or just trying to get by or growing a human or spending time with family or breathing in and out or doing the best they can. (i will write back when i can. promise.)

spending time on etsy adding some things to my favorites, such as this and this and this.

naps under vintage quilts, one made by my great-grandmother and others thrifted. vintage quilts invite the best naps i think.

and in this moment, i wonder how things are in your world. what things did you fill up your weekend with? how are you? what are you wishing these days?

blessings and light, liz

an audio interlude: something unstoppable (from the archives)

In the last few months, I have spent some time in my blog archives. I have done some writing, some heavy lifting, some soul work in this space during the past 4 1/2 years and I want to share pieces of it every now and then. I have decided to do this through audio posts as I think there is something powerful about hearing an author share her own words. (Not to mention I am enjoying my new blue snowball, a gift from my brother.) And, to be honest, the exercise of listening to my own words aloud pushes me to hear myself, to hear my own wisdom and truth. You should try it some time with your own writing.

I hope you enjoy taking these trips into the archives with me every now and then... To hear the post, just click on the words "something unstoppable" below. (The original post, with links, appeared here.)

something unstoppable

notes for the journey. january begins.

 

jam + mascarpone + fresh doughnuts (a very good thing) . lola, seattle, washington

i have been collecting ideas, posts, thoughts during the last few weeks as the new year has approached and arrived. a few that have caught my eye and made me pause (or want to participate):

jen lee's journal along . i am looking forward to opening this journal and writing from my gut this month.

pen's farewell to fear . stay tuned for a photo of my letter inspired by pen.

leonie's invitation to create your goddess year . downloaded this and plan to give myself the gift of time to write in it very soon.

lisa's view of each day as a living prayer . these words keep twirling around in my mind as i look for ways to bring the intention back into each day.

susannah's new desktop wallpaper . this image + words has been a much needed reminder these last few days.

glimpes into katie's journal . i want to reach through the screen and touch these pages. and then i want to invite myself to katie's studio and create create create alongside her. (how i wish i had the time to participate in misty's art journal along this month. maybe when this writing is done i will jump in.)

spending time reading habit . hula is posting over there this month and i was reminded to add it to my daily reading. how i love this blog.

and you? have you found anything lately that has caused you to pause or want to participate? please share...

senses. a glass for one.

{see}

{hear}

{touch}

{smell}

{taste}

{and know}

the space around your heart {a guided meditation}

 

a capture on a walk with jonny . december 29, 2009

As 2010 begins, the plans and hopes I have for the new year twirl inside my head. Some of these swirling thoughts involve this space of mine and how I want to nurture and tend to it. A few years ago, I shared some audio posts in the form of meditations and my poetry, but the site that was hosting these audio files shut down not long after I started. I am going to revisit audio posts now that I have figured out how to add them to my website (how I heart squarespace).

As we look to all that a new year can bring, I invite you to listen and participate in the following guided meditation. As you click on the words "space around your heart" below, find a comfortable way to sit, close your eyes, and listen.

Blessings and light to you and your loved ones,

Liz

space around your heart

interlude . pieces of 2009, behind the lens

In this little film, I have gathered pieces of 2009 and strung them together, adding words, music to find my way toward remembering, toward knowing where my journey has taken me this year...

(The idea to create this video, this reminder and write this poem came to me after I watched Shona's video a few weeks ago. If you don't know Shona's blog, you should.)