Deborah Lipp

Soon it will be Winter Solstice, and light begins to return. Now is an excellent time to meditate on darkness.

Prepare a dark and silent space for meditation. Ground and center.

Visualize the darkness. Allow light to drain away, and see yourself in the dark.

What waits for you here?

What secrets belong to the dark, that can be revealed by exploring this space?

In the space of silence and sleep, what can be known?

Know that sleep and rest in the dark is refreshing and renewing, and always returns you to the light. Know that the light will always be there for you.

Today I was thinking about how odd it is to get fan mail. People have a perception of me, and I have a perception of me, and they might meet in the middle, or they might not.

That’s true for everyone.

Sometimes we’re misjudged. Sometimes it’s negative. Earlier this week, I got a strange email. A guy had asked me if it would be more convenient to do X than Y. I said yes it would, and thank you for considering my convenience. His response was that this proved to him I was selfish. It was some kind of test and I failed. What I actually failed at was being too trusting and honest; I took him at face value instead of realizing I was being tested. So his negative impression was a misjudgment.

Sometimes a misjudgment is neutral; it’s not negative or positive, just incorrect, like someone being wrong about your age or background. They might, indeed, be wrong about your spirit.

So, the first part of this meditation is to allow your self-knowledge to shine through misperceptions.

Ground and center.

From your center, allow a glowing light that is you, your true self, to shine.

Brighter and brighter, the real you radiates light that leaves your body and surrounds you.

Visualize the people near you, sending ideas, judgments, and perceptions that just don’t fit. And now visualize the light of your center clearing those misperceptions away. As light devours shadow, the truth about you wipes away judgment.

There is a second way we interact with the perceptions of others, and that is when our own perceptions are negative or false, and we can see ourselves most clearly through the eyes of another.

Sometimes I am massively frustrated with my own stupidity, and yet people I know tell me I’m smart. It can help to take that information in, to allow myself to know that I am seen as smart in a way that enriches my self-perception. If you think of yourself as unlovable, it is wonderful to meditate on the people who love you, and to feel their perception correct yours.

When my friends tell me how brave I am, it is easy to think, ‘Oh, no, they’re wrong. They wouldn’t think that way if they knew how terrified I was.’

But maybe they’re not wrong. Maybe they understand that behaving bravely in the world (the part they see) is a truer test of courage than feeling afraid while doing so (the part I see).

So, the second part of this meditation is to allow perceptions in.

Still grounded and centered, continue to focus on the bright light of your center. Make sure that light feels secure and stable, it will never fade. You know yourself.

And now, knowing yourself, allow loving and truthful perceptions in. Allow your knowledge to wake up, to expand, as a result of the things others say to you.

Hear the words your friends have said. Hear, in your mind, the voices saying “I love you,” “You’re so smart,” “You’re so kind,” and any other things that they said.

Sometimes it is hard to take those words in. Take them in now. Feel how the light that is you glows stronger and brighter when enhanced by loving perceptions.

Building on my earlier post on learned helplessness, I thought a meditation on breaking free from learned helplessness would be meaningful.

Ground and center.

Ask yourself, When do I feel helpless?
Visualize a situation in which you feel helpless.
Perhaps there is a pattern. Perhaps this is a situation in which you always feel helpless. Or perhaps it is one instance that sticks in your craw. Perhaps you recall thinking, Why didn’t I act? Why did I freeze? Why did I take it?
Know that you have power.
Know that helplessness is not a natural part of you.
Breathe in power.
Breathe in ability. Say to yourself, I am able. I am strong.
Visualize the situation again, and visualize yourself acting.
Where you once stood still, visualize yourself walking away.
Where you you once kept silent, visualize finding your voice.
Breathe in power, and as you exhale, breathe that power into the situation.
Fill the situation with power, and see yourself behaving with that power.
See yourself glowing with power.
Notice how good it feels.
Notice how much strength is in your muscles.
Notice how free your vocal cords are.
Notice the swing in your step.
Allow yourself to smile.
Power feels good.
Visualize the situation again, with yourself acting appropriately and powerfully, and tell yourself that you will never again be helpless in that situation.
So be it.

This is the first of my weekly Sunday meditations. Since all meditation should begin with grounding and centering, let’s do that.

Sit, stand, or lie down. Breathe comfortably.
Find your center. Find the part of your body that feels like the place where you reside. Breathe in and out from your center.
Allow all your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and energies to come home to your center. You’re not out there, worrying about tomorrow. You’re centered. You’re not thinking about yesterday. You’re centered. Let all the little distractions come home and be at peace.
Notice all your energy gathered in your center like a glowing ball.
(If you’re standing) Take a tendril of that energy, and send it down through your legs, your feet, out the soles of your feet…
(If you’re seated or lying down) Take a tendril of that energy, and send it down through your spine, out the base of your spine…
into the Earth.
Feel yourself rooted in the Earth.
Feel yourself supported by the Earth.
Feel the energy of your body mingling with the firm, strong, nurturing energy of the Earth.

You can spend a long time in meditation just doing a grounding and centering exercise like this one, or it can be a quick thirty-second prelude to whatever you do next. Grounding and centering is a basic mind skill, and everyone who meditates or does ritual should be able to do it quickly and easily.

Try it when you’re upset, when you’re distracted or unfocused at work or school, or when you feel disconnected or disoriented.