Letting Grow meditations, season 1
practicing to release the small self and live into our true identity
Blessing orb for transitions
We all need support to go through the transitions in our lives, and this meditation offers a way to call on our inner wisdom for help and guidance. This practice begins with relaxing the body, then guides you through a visualization practice that invokes your ability to stay grounded through change.
Is this me?
In this guided meditation, we’ll explore our experiences with thoughts and sensations, really asking if any of them is us, is a permanent, unique self. If you’re not finding anything you can call a self, can you rest in that space of not knowing? Learning to be in the space that opens when we realize we’re not our conventional identity is one way into deeper spiritual growth. Enjoy today’s inquiry into our true nature.
Space meditation
Today’s meditation is all about recognizing and relaxing into the space in our minds and in our lives. The more we can appreciate space, the less we’ll try to cram something into every moment of our lives. I hope you’ll use this meditation as often as you need to and come to embrace the space in your life
Renewal in a sacred pool
This week’s meditation uses the imagination to take us to a sacred cave with restorative waters, where we’ll take off the old clothing of an outdated part of our identity, climb naked into the waters, and come out refreshed and ready to take on an identity that’s a better fit for who we are now. I hope this virtual journey through the death of the old and the gestation of the new can help you move forward if you’re having a hard time letting go of something.
"Training run" to practice at the time of death
Today's meditation practice is one I've used and been so grateful for in the past. It's not exactly traditional in Tibetan Buddhism, but it uses the power of visualization to practice leaving this lifetime in the way you choose, doing some kind of spiritual practice -- like using a mantra or settling the mind on the breath -- or holding an inspiring figure or ancestor in mind.
Taking in what's positive
Today's episode is a meditation that’s all about noticing and resting in what’s good in our lives. We have what’s called a negativity bias: our brain’s tendency to rewire quickly in response to threats but slowly or not at all in response to opportunities. It’s helped our species to survive and evolve to become the dominant one on the planet, but it’s less helpful these days when our threats aren’t rare things like getting chased by a lion but everyday things like getting stuck in traffic. (Or not getting stuck in traffic because there’s a global pandemic.)
So we need to balance out our natural negativity bias, but we can also go further and learn to look for those moments when our buddha nature – our true, divine face, so to speak – shines through and spend some time soaking them in. This meditation can be a way to connect with that awake and loving aspect of ourselves, which comes naturally to our awareness during the bardo of clear light.