Opening thought: How easy it is to forget about our self, our bodies, our minds, and spirits when we are hyper-focus on others and the world around us! Why not take a gratitude-filled moment to think about who we are to ourselves ?
Centering Meditation Guided Meditation for Self Love . This 5-minute meditation by Michelle Chalfant it promotes relaxation, healing and self- love. It’s a wonderful meditation for emotional healing and/or physical healing or for anyone seeking greater peace in their lives. I will sit on Thursdays at 7:00 pm and think of you.
Meditation Reflection: You can take your journal and write a few notes on your experience of this meditation.
Centering Poem: Love After Love - Derek Walcott
The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.
Close reading – To do a close reading you take the text and read it first silently, and then out loud to connect with the language, the words, the story of the poem or text. Let the words seep into your body, let thoughts, images, emotions and memory surface and highlight what in the text is stirring such memories . What comes up for you? What words, sentences, thoughts stir something within you? You can sit and write a poem or story, whatever comes up.
Centering Reflection & Writing:
As you read what you wrote reflect on the following: What do you notice? What are you aware of? What do you feel? What are you curious about? To reflect on the reflection is a practice of bibliotherapy.
Closing & Centering Ritual: This week, find a comfortable place, with good light, grab something to write with, and a clean sheet of paper. Write a note of gratitude to your self. Do not think of who you wish you could be at this moment, but open yourself to loving on who you are today.
To learn more about these centering rituals check our page, Centering Ritual
Thank you Dr. Ortega for allowing me to use your centering rituals first published in Open Plaza. They have been the inspiration for grounding, centering, and creative self-expression. Today, I have used Dr. Ortega’s “opening thought”, recommended poem, and “centering ritual”. Other parts of todays centering were added by me.