3 Minutes to the Divine

This is a meditation that came to me during time spent sitting with my clients and doing deep relaxation.

At the heart of Eastern philosophy and at the very core of Chinese Medicine is the concept that we don’t know… that when are honest and look at ourselves and the world around us we discover that really we don’t know anything. It does not mean that we don’t know certain information and details, of course we do, but Life itself, the how and the why, remains a big mystery.

So our lives are built on the unknown and this directly impacts our health in a very physical way. Moment to moment we have a choice – ‘Do I trust Life/the unknown’ or ‘Do I fear Life/the unknown’. The outcome of each is very, very different.

Trust equals deep relaxation, connection to the moment, peace then arises and our thoughts and actions can be informed by this peace. We can respond to the moment appropriately, there is a ‘down-to-earthness’, a flow, an ease, lightness. We can access our spontaneity, creativity and humour. Physically our breath deepens, our heart rate slows, our blood pressure drops, and cortisol, the stress hormone, lowers.

Fear equals physical, mental and emotional tension, we disconnect from the reality of the moment and become reactive. Our thoughts and actions are driven by the fear and we may become, controlling, frozen, aggressive, anxious, dreamy or any other number of ineffective states. Physically there is bodily tension, shallow breath, increase in stress hormones, a shift into the flight or fight response and so on. Over time the physical impact of fearing the unknown/Life can be massive.

So here is my simple and very direct way to anchor into trust and peace

Sit or lay down. Put all your attention on the sensation of pressure on your body (back, bum, legs etc) and really notice the pressure, it is real, it is concrete, so to speak and you will notice you are totally safe and supported. The couch/chair has got you. You can totally let go, nothing will happen. Right!

• So what is supporting the chair? – the ground.
• What supports the ground? – the Earth (literally Mother Earth). That sensation on your bum is the planet supporting you and all your friends and family. An entire planet. Can the planet support you? Yes of course it can.
• What is supporting the Earth? – The gravity of the Sun, or to put it simply, The Sun. Right now you have a planet and a star supporting you. This is not an abstract concept, it is concrete reality, you are safe!
• What is supporting the Sun? – The Galaxy. Yes that simple feeling of support that is so real and safe, IS the planet, the Sun and the Galaxy supporting you. You really can relax, they have got you!
• What is supporting the Galaxy? – The Universe. Now it’s getting really big, so feel, literally feel the sensation of support under you that is so safe, so mundane, so normal. That IS the Universe supporting YOU!
• What is supporting the Universe????? – We just don’t know, nobody knows, it is a total mystery, the unknown. Yet notice the sensation on your bum. Whatever it is, it IS real, it IS supporting you right now, nothing is happening; you are totally safe in that support. It is also supporting all your loved ones, which is great as it means you don’t have to be mentally supporting them in your mind.

What is this feeling that is so real, so mysterious and yet so mundane at the same time? Well we have several different words for it; you choose which you prefer – The Unknown, The Divine, All that is, Source, God. Whatever you call it, it is real, and it is supporting you right now. Whatever this is, it created you and everything around you. Stay with the physicality of it, the simple sensation of pressure on your body, this your mind can deal with. Have your mind notice how safe, supported and simple this is. This is something our minds can begin to trust because it is real, it is here now and it is tangible.

Allow the body to soften, for peace to arise and for Life to flow, all is well, Life really has got you in the palm of its hand.