Sculpture by Debra Bernier
As Mother Earth’s energies move, so too do our own. Shifting into this season of fall rivers of unexamined grief can cry for our attention as our Spirit longs to let go and release all that which keeps us from being in life with a fuller, deeper presence. When we allow ourselves to touch the layers of grief within we give our Spirit the freedom to flow with the rhythms of life.
A Meditation on Grief
“Take the time to create an atmosphere of support. When you are ready, begin by sensing your breath. Feel your breathing in the area of your heart. This can help you become present to what is within you. Take one hand and hold it gently on your heart as if you were holding a vulnerable human being. You are.
As you continue to breathe, bring to mind the loss or pain you are grieving. Let the story, the images, the feelings come naturally. Hold them gently. Take your time. Let the feelings come layer by layer, a little at a time.
Keep breathing softly, compassionately. Let whatever feelings are there – pain and tears, anger and love, fear and sorrow – come as they will. Touch them gently. Let them unravel out of your body and mind. Make space for any images that arise. Allow the whole story to unwind. Breathe and hold it all with tenderness and compassion. Kindness for it all, for you and for others.
The grief we carry is part of the grief of the world. Hold it gently. Let it be honoured. You do not have to keep it anymore. You can let go into the heart of compassion; you can weep.
Releasing the grief we carry is a long, tear filled process. Yet it follows the natural intelligence of the body and heart. Trust it, trust the unfolding. Along with meditation, some of your grief will want to be written, to be cried out, to be sung, to be danced. Let the timeless wisdom within you carry you through grief to an open heart.”
Grief Meditation from Jack Kornfield’s The Wise Heart