Meditation Invitation

Like many other bloggers around the world, I have followed the journey of Darlene and her son, Mark, with a lump in my thoat and an ache in my heart. Also like many others, I light candles in his honor and pray for the entire family.

And while this has been what I could do from afar, it has not felt like enough in the face of the enormous challenges faced by these dear people. Reading the comments on Darlene's posts, it seems many others feel the same.

While we can't all show up at Mark's bedside or hug Darlene in person, together we can do something real and positive—a simultaneous healing meditation.

Please join me in meditating* for Mark and his family on Saturday, January 13 from 2:00pm** to 2:15pm, Central Standard Time.

* If at all possible, please sit outside, on the ground, so that we all have a direct connection to the Earth.

** If you're not sure what time that is in your area, check timeanddate.com Click "Full World Clock" and then "Converter" and select US, Central Standard time and 2:00pm. It will quickly tell you what time that is in your part of the world.

I plan to do a very specific type of meditation called tonglen and invite you to join me in this practice.

Tonglen involves deep compassion for ourselves and for those who are suffering. After a period of preparation, the meditator consciously breathes in the pain and fear and suffering of the person for whom they are meditating, allows the love and compassion in their heart to transmute those things, and then breathes out love and peace and healing. It often helps to imagine inhaling the pain and fear as a dark cloud or as smoke and then to imagine exhaling golden light.

This is a serious mediation and requires strength and true compassion from the meditator. I consulted Liz Elayne of Be Present, Be here who is a yoga teacher. Here's the guidance she offered:

My teacher shared this meditation with me when several loved ones in my life were ill and it became part of my personal practice for several months. Because this meditation is a strong one, it is important to have an awareness of your own strength and how you feel physically and emotionally. Anyone, even someone who has never meditated, will be able to particiapte in this meditation; however, I suggest that you check-in with yourself before the meditation begins. One way to do this: Sit quietly, eyes closed, and notice how you feel physically and emotionally. Think about the idea of breathing in your own suffering and notice how that feels. Take a few breaths as you notice what comes up for you. If thinking about this feels okay for you, think about breathing in the suffering of another person. If either of these check-ins invites you to think that this practice might be too strong for you at this time, you can practice this meditation using only compassion and healing. In this case, you would inhale compassion and exhale compassion and healing.

Another important piece is to start this meditation focused on breathing in your own suffering and then exhaling compassion for yourself. My teacher explained a simple lesson to me that has had such a big impact on how approach this meditation and compassion in my life: You must feel compassion for yourself before you can feel compassion for and another. If you are new to meditation or to tonglen meditation, you might want to practice a personal tonglen meditation over the next few days, focusing on breathing in your own suffering and exhaling compassion and healing for you. This would be a great way to experience this meditation in preparation for our community experience on Saturday."

If you have questions, go here to find a discussion of tonglen written by Pema Chodron.

If meditation is not part of your faith tradition, you're welcome to join us in any form of prayer that is. It be wonderful if we could send streams of golden light to Mark and Darlene and the rest of the family from every corner of the globe. Please help spread the word. Talk to people. E-mail others who might be interested. Post an invitation with a link to this post if you feel comfortable with that. Let's invite all like-minded souls to join us as we breathe healing and compassion into the Universe for Mark and his family.

Sincere and humble thanks to you all.