As you’re looking at your device, reading these words, I’d like you to notice that you’re seeing.
Seeing is happening. You’re receiving images, shapes, colors…
I’d like you to explore what it’s like to “just see.” Slowly, softly scan your environment without getting too caught up in the content of what you’re seeing.
You can let your vision soften. Maybe even let it become a little fuzzy.
Let your eyes roam about your surroundings (again: slowly, softly), taking in light and shadow, objects and space. Receiving the sights above and below you, from side to side, in front of you and behind you.
Keep it simple: “Seeing is happening.”
Go ahead and spend some time doing this practice. Take as much time as you’d like. I’ll wait :)
***
Now I’d like you to notice that hearing is also happening (assuming you’re hearing-enabled). Sounds arise and fall away. Some sounds are nearby, some far away.
Spend a few moments receiving sounds. You might notice that your mind drifts off into thought worlds. No problem! Just invite it back to hearing.
No need to try for anything in particular. You don’t need to make hearing happen. Just make room in your awareness for the play of sounds that are naturally coming to you. You’re welcome to close your eyes.
Again, take as long as you’d like.
***
Still with me? Great! You’re doing the good work of being a human animal, sensing the world around you. When we do this, with a receptive and tender spirit, we often feel more connected, more in the flow, more in our hearts and less in our heads.
Now I want to invite you to feel your body. Take it nice and slow. What’s there?
Notice how there’s an expansion and contraction of the breath. Maybe you can also notice some pulsation of the blood.
Maybe there’s tension or pain, numbness or tingling in certain areas. Maybe there’s warmth or coolness. Maybe, overall, your body feels pleasant or unpleasant or simply neutral.
No need to over-analyze or judge; just spend a few moments making room in your awareness for feeling.
***
Now I’d like you to bring particular attention to your points of contact with whatever you’re sitting, lying, or standing on. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a chair or a bed or the floor or asphalt or grass.
Feel the points of contact, where your body touches the surface below or behind you. Maybe at your feet or legs, butt or back.
Notice how you’re being held, supported.
This is the earth cradling you.
Take as much time as you’d like to feel for—and perhaps even enjoy!—the experience of being held by the earth.
***
“Gravity” is just another way of saying that the earth is hugging us. The earth is holding us closely, tenderly. This is very easy to forget. In our busy world, in our stressed nervous systems, we tend to get accustomed to doing all the holding. We get accustomed to doing all the doing.
But it can be really helpful—really nourishing—to feel held. To give ourselves over to something bigger. To drop our straining, our doing. And, amazingly, the earth is always here, offering its support.
Just as naturally as we receive sights and sounds and sensations, we can receive the earth’s support.
See if you can let your whole being be embraced, even the places you tend to guard from the world. If that feels like too much, then start smaller. Just let the earth hold your big toe. Or your neck tension. Or your persistent worry about x, y, and z. Go slow, be curious.
I invite you to make this less of an intellectual exercise and more of a “felt sense” experience. Play with “leaning in” to the earth’s support. Whether you’re feeling tired or wired, you might find that you’ve got a balancing, rejuvenating resource beneath your feet.
In a world full of stress and suffering, that’s a great gift.