Day 39
The full moon rose last night (the first of 2 super moons in 2021, my googling tells me! Astrology-loving folks, if you know more about what this all means, leave a comment below! :)).
The moon is one of the words that called us here together.
Remember these, from Rumi?
A new moon teaches gradualness
and deliberation and how one gives birth
to oneself slowly. Patience with small details
makes perfect a large work, like the universe.
What nine months of attention does for an embryo
forty early mornings will do
for your gradually growing wholeness.
Even though we’re one day out from our official end together — for now.
It’s truly a moment to begin again.
Each day, in some way, offers that to us.
And so too does the moon on her monthly cycle.
So remember, you always have an invitation to come back to yourself, to return to your practice, if you simply look up and around to receive it.
And if ever things feel painfully slow or stuck or even like they’re backsliding, listen closely for these whispers…
… gradualness
… deliberation
… how one gives birth to oneself slowly
… patience
… small details
… attention
… your gradually growing wholeness
LEAVE A COMMENT: I’d love to know — what does your gradually growing wholeness look and feel like today?
For me, it’s actually making my goals more specific and time-bound as I enter the second half of this pregnancy. Which means a shorter but more essential “to do” list :)
For today’s practice: Three options.
Continue with the full Loving-Kindness Meditation (“LKM”) below
Try an abbreviated version of LKM: A hand to the heart and these lines I shared on Sunday from the Radiance Sutras:
“There is a space in the heart where everything meets.
Come here if you want to find me.
Mind, senses, soul, eternity — all are here.
Are you here?
Enter the bowl of vastness that is the heart.
Listen to the song that is always resonating.
Give yourself to it with total abandon.
Quiet ecstacy is here,
And a steady, regal sense
Of resting in a perfect spot.
You who are the embodiment of blessing,
Once you know the way,
The nature of attention will call you to return.
Again and again, answer that call,
And be saturated with knowing,
I belong here, I am at home.”
An even shorter version of LKM: A hand to the heart and these lines I also shared on Sunday: “Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu” — “May all beings everywhere be happy, healthy, and free. And may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some small way to the happiness, the health, and the freedom of all.”
Ok, FOUR! Spend five minutes filling out the out boarding / thank you survey, which will help refine and align this program for you, for me, for everyone else to come in the years ahead. THANK YOU!