Sanctuary

Create inner peace in a crazy world.

from Writing by Heart by Meredith Heller | Posted 3/15/24 | Updated 3/24/24

Bones Most of us can agree that the world is one crazy place to live in these days, and yet it's home. So while we can't always change the chaos outside us, we can create sanctuary within.

Writing is one of the best ways I know to do this. Writing provides a refuge in which we can pause, commune with deep self, and nourish ourselves back into equanimity.

My other favorite way to find peace in this wacky world is through spending time in nature. When we attune with nature we recalibrate to earth's rhythms, connect with our ancient ancestry of soil and stars, and remember ourselves as part of the great mystery. Join me now as we make safe sanctuary and touch the still point in this whirling-dervish world.

Ancestry

Mountain Who are we? Where do we come from? How did we get here? What is our ancestry? And by ancestry I mean more than just our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on.

I mean how we are connected to the ancient molecules of life. We have atoms in our bodies that are 13 billion years old, birthed in the heart fire of stars and in the belly of water droplets. We contain bits of all life-forms.

What do we share with dinosaurs and dragonflies and dirt? With ferns and ginkgo trees and bristlecone pines? There are saltwater oceans in our blood and tears, and stardust in our skin. Our root system feeds on everything that has returned its body to the earth. What's your ancestry? Where do you come from? What are you made of? What bits of ancient life are singing through you?

Body/Mindfulness: Close your beautiful eyes and settle in. Make yourself comfy. Feel the places where your body meets what's underneath and behind you, allowing you to feel supported as you soften and melt open. Feel your breath breathing you in waves. Relax into the vast cosmos of your inner being.

Say hello to the swirling, pulsing energy that is you, that is the universe. Feel how your energy is connected to the whole matrix of life. As you breathe in and out, imagine the breath of all life breathing through you, as you. Stay with this feeling of interconnectedness as you allow ideas and images to come to you about who you are, what you're made of, where you come from.

WRITE NOW! Write all the ideas and images that come to mind as you explore the bigger picture of your ancestry, asking yourself: Where am I from, what am I made of, what ancient and current life is breathing and beating through me right now? Dig down deep. Reach far and wide. Acknowledge the stars and the soil that live in your wild bones.

Write about the oceans in your blood, the lightning in your marrow, the jungle monkeys swinging in your limbs, the whales singing up your dreamtime. Life is one big organism, and we are part of it. Anything goes. Have fun!

Next: Everything Contains Everything

Meredith Heller is a poet, singer-songwriter, avid nature lover, and educator who leads writing workshops and wellness retreats. ....