A meditation celebrating the power of stopping together

In this practice framework, each letter of the word “breath” serves as a reminder of our responsibility to respect and promote equity.

Before you begin this practice, have a deep sense of gratitude. Thank you to all those who have come before us and who have paved the way for us to sit in this moment with a sense of relative safety. Thanks to their tireless efforts, we are able to exist and move in the spaces we move through every day. We recognize that we share the responsibility of leaving the world a better place than we found it. In this way, you can recognize your own sense of belonging by taking the time to develop a sense of belonging at the beginning of your practice.

In this mindfulness framework, each letter of the word “breath” serves as a reminder of our responsibility to ourselves and others to respect and promote equity. “B” urges us to breathe and seek a sense of belonging. “R” stands for restoration and renewal. “E” exercises impartiality. “A” activates and advocates. “T” asks us to trust in power. “H” means healing.

A guided meditation celebrating the power of stopping together.

Let’s pause for a few breaths so we can focus on breathing for belonging. When you focus on the positive elements of belonging and gratitude for all that made it possible, you begin to feel a sense of restoration and renewal. Affiliation. Restoration and renewal. The first two letters of our Equity Breath prepare us to embrace the world with as much positivity and energy as possible. With this in mind, for the sake of belonging and our collective recovery and renewal, please take a moment to breathe. Allow a welcome pause. Take a few breaths and focus on recovery and regeneration. Take time to turn inward and focus on belonging, recovery, and renewal. Let’s take a look at the rich diversity of people in our lives and daily interactions. In doing so, we reflect on how we exercise equity, and how we activate and advocate for that equity; in other words, what the “E” and “A” in the expression equity are. start. Now we can turn our attention to opening our hearts and minds to the vast intersections of the world. This allows you to consider things like: Who holds power across communities and across aspects of society? What is ingrained in the way we live, work, and play? May we take the necessary steps to recognize and value each of our many identities in our collective efforts to advance intersectional equity. May we exercise fairness through genuine care and concern for one another. Through sharing, openness, and curiosity. Expanding access and opportunity through open invitations to participate, and through collaboration and co-creation with affected people in institutions, systems, and communities. We orient this practice toward justice, keeping in mind those most affected. May we all breathe for the safety of ourselves and each other. May we all breathe together for justice, for the positive change we see every day in the march towards social justice. May we honor and foster the relationships necessary to promote equity in our world. This cannot be done alone. Let’s pause again, take a few deep breaths, and focus on our great potential to exercise equity. Activate and advocate. We are now anchoring ourselves in a fair breath towards the end of our practice. We use the breath as a tool to focus on the breath for belonging, restoration, renewal, exercising equity, activation and advocacy, faith in power, and healing through hope. Hold yourself with the utmost compassion and move into the last two elements of impartial breathing so that you can trust the past and heal through hope. Fix our awareness on the breath. Just focus on breathing in and out. Be aware of your body and release all tension and pain. Now, let’s turn our attention to our hearts. Welcome kindness into our hearts and bring awareness to our emotions. Stay considerate. smile. Relax and release with your breath. As you become aware of your own suffering, notice how it manifests in your body, emotions, tone, words, and actions. Try to accept suffering with deep compassion. Relieve suffering with the power of beautiful breathing. Recognizing suffering as a pattern in the world. Visualize how it affects many people. Accept this pattern of suffering, be compassionate, and feel peace with each breath. What are you conscious of when you notice the suffering of others? What do you feel in your body? What are your feelings? Accept everything with compassion and allow yourself peace and peace of mind. Then, slowly bring your attention back to your breathing. Welcome the peace and release tension with each exhale. Notice the suffering of those who have privilege. Recognize guilt and disconnection. Feel this energy and hold it with deep passion while releasing it easily and sending a feeling of relief. Return your awareness to your entire body. our head, heart, hands, and feet. From this recognition, honor your deepest intentions to address suffering and what we need to do to create the conditions for flourishing. Reinforce and raise awareness of the next steps to take. How does this feel in your body, head, and heart? Hands and feet? who are you? what are we? From this day forward, may we continue to keep the flame of determination, courage, and faith burning, no matter what difficulties or hardships may arise.