I don’t remember when I discovered her. She emerged one day sitting in front of me, watching me. She was quiet and patient, attentive and welcoming. I could feel her compassion as she watched me, fully present, loving me.
Loving me no matter what I was feeling or saying or demonstrating.
Loving me no matter who I thought I was or where I was going or should have been.
Just loving me.
In my daily practice of 15 minutes of silence, I am patient.
Sometimes I feel attentive and sometimes not.
Sometimes I am peaceful and sometimes I’m a jitterbug.
Most times I don’t know where I’m going and I am content to be with me.
I am trusting this process.
I discover my wisdom
Her first and last name is mine.
Her middle name is compassion.
The more I observe her, I get to know me.
Imagine my surprise when I realize she has been with me all along
Silence opened the door
Self-compassion welcomed her
I let her in.
by Anna Swir
There are moments
when I feel more clearly than ever
that I am in the company
of my own person.
This comforts and reassures me,
this heartens me,
just as my tridimensional body
is heartened by my own authentic shadow.
There are moments
when I really feel more clearly than ever
that I am in the company
of my own person.
I stop
at a street corner to turn left
and I wonder what would happen
if my own person walked to the right.
Until now that has not happened
but it does not settle the question.
Participants’ Reflections:
I am blown away. Since I got Covid, I’ve been in a state of bliss. I feel like I dodged a bullet. But for the last few days, I’ve been depressed. Today, what you said this morning really clicked with me. I realized I’ve been meditating for an hour and thirty-five minutes straight. I do my walking meditation. I did 20 minutes with my Muse biofeedback device. And then this one. And I feel that I am transported into a state of bliss. One of the things that came to me, when you talked about your alter ego, it took me back to when I was a little child. My grandmother read to me from the Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stephenson. The most famous poem from that is My Shadow. I used to be fascinated by the shadow and now I realize it has real significance in terms of our thinking and being able to be an observer in our lives. Thank you so much.
It was validating yesterday when someone mentioned she could see herself sitting in front of her, being with her. It’s so validating. What we share together validates us in many different ways—tiny little words, images, whatever it is. I’m realizing how valuable our wisdom is and when we speak it, we share it. It helped me believe that my wisdom presence is absolutely there. Maybe this is the whole point of sitting in silence, we become aware of this wisdom part of ourselves that sits with us. It is profound. Thank you, every one of you who chooses to share. Even in tears there is validation.
The line from your reflection today that jumped out and hung there like a jewel for me was ‘her middle name is compassion.’ My goodness, this concept of loving myself first is very new in my world. I’ve been in many other-oriented roles. Her middle name is compassion. The way you went on to describe no matter what mood you are in, she is there, with compassion. That it is yourself as well. It was very rich. I am going to carry that with me. It reminded me that perhaps it’s time to have another chat with myself in the mirror. Thank you.
This sparked in me thoughts of the poem Halfway Down by A.A. Milne about Christopher Robin. It’s about sitting halfway up, halfway down on the stairs. It’s not a defined place.
That poem reminds me of yesterday’s reflection about being lost on a journey and not knowing where I am. It’s about accepting that I am in the middle of somewhere. Thank you for today’s reading. I remember the day I met up with my inner soul wisdom. She’s been with me for a while now. I’ll never forget the day I met her. It is true, her middle name is compassion. I never thought of it that way. No matter how I am treated by anyone or whatever is happening, I know she is loving me and supporting me, no matter what I do. It’s an incredible feeling to know that I am totally supported like that. Thank you.
In the past year, for everyone and particularly for those who live alone, our Self has had to be so much stronger. For me especially, I’m not used to doing meditation, and meditation has really helped. So thank you.
I love the idea of images and ideas hanging like jewels in front of me because that does happen from these meditations for me. Some sharings last all day. The piece that hung for me today was the last line ‘I go left and wonder what would happen if my own person went right.’ I sat and imagined what would happen. It’s at the same time where I’m asking myself what’s next. I went into the meditation wondering what do I need to know today, and I opened to the thought of going left instead of going right. It was clear guidance saying to take care of the physical stuff before I take care of all the other stuff I want to do. So today, I will be beautifying my space and gathering some things I need to gather. Thank you very much.
I was listening to my cat purring so beautifully, this low hum. It’s a resonance that has so much feeling to it. That’s what all of us are like together. Purring, our hearts and our feelings, listening to one another. It’s comfort because we help each other. All of our different perspectives are wonderful. We are compassionate for one another. I’m trying to learn to be compassionate to me. Thank you.
Thank you for the reading today. I’m going through something really hard. I have a bipolar, schizophrenic sister with dementia. I had to move her to another state into a behavioral unit. I’m trying to be with my compassionate self and trust it’s the best thing for her, but it’s horrible. I just want to have her be safe and not hurt herself.
Thank you for being part of this community where we all feel safe enough to share from wherever we are, because when we find our voice, we validate for ourselves the pain we’re in, the joy we’re in, the fear we’re in, however the feeling. It’s so important to be validated. Just by being present here we are validating each other. I hope you all have a gentle day, aware of the wisdom within as you breathe, knowing that if you can’t find it, you just have to turn towards it.