2 Meditations: Widening Our Frame

Both of these meditations incorporate James A. Pearson's poem, "Meanwhile," which landed like a gift in my inbox at a particular time in my life. It was a time when something so big was happening in my own life that, at first, I didn't understand how the world kept obliviously spinning. Have you ever had that feeling? Maybe with a birth, a death, some big life event -- your world is forever changed and you can't believe that everyone else doesn't also recognize the enormous difference in the world.

Pearson's poem "Meanwhile" articulated this feeling -- and also offered a path to towards compassion and connection. The world does keep spinning. And, what a gift that is. We can shift our frame from "me" to "us." In the inherent interconnection of "us," there is loving support.

This first meditation is 26-minutes long and was recorded on the evening of Tuesday, April 7. Go to 2:27 to skip the intro and get right into the meditation.

The second meditation is 17-minutes long and was recorded on the morning of Wednesday, April 8. Go to 2:33 to skip the intro and get right into the meditation. This meditation also references the 4 Buddhist Brahmaviharas (or divine abodes): compassion, loving-kindness, equanimity, and sympathetic joy. All four of the Brahmaviharas invite a disolution of self and an embrace of our interconnection. It is this embrace of interconnection -- and movement from our small "I" self -- that speaks to me from the poem, "Meanwhile," by James A. Pearson.

If the Brahmaviharas are of interest to you, you can find more meditations (and some commentary here: Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Equanimity, and Sympathetic Joy.