By Valerie Reiss, filling in for Amy.

I don’t know about you, but when I read about all the impending ecological doom, I feel pretty helpless. My heart clenches into a little fist of “No” so I don’t have to think about where the elephants will roam or the birds tangled in our grocery bags. Much less if this planet will be inhabitable in 30, 50, 100 years. So I started hunting around the interwebs for a meditation that could help me process all of this information. I found nothing.

So I made this up (borrowing from Buddhism):

Earth Meditation
Sit comfortably in a quiet spot. Close your eyes and start bringing attention to your breath. Just notice it, without trying to change it in any way. Notice if it changes naturally just because it’s being noticed.

Say this:
May I be safe. May I be whole.
May the earth be safe. May the earth be whole.
May all people everywhere be safe and whole.
May all creatures everywhere be safe and whole.
May we feel our deep connection to the earth. May the earth feel honored and loved by us.

Go back to noticing your breath. Feel your sitz bones sinking toward the floor. And imagine yourself growing roots through the floor, through the building, through the foundation of the building, into the rich soil of the earth. Sinking deeper and deeper. Now imagine your heart is radiating pure divine love. Love for the earth, for the dolphins, for the fish, for the teeny tiny ameaobas, for the delicate ferns, for the swelling, swaying oceans.

Say this:
I am sending light and love to all beings.
I am sending light and love to the earth.
May we unite and may we know that we are safe, whole, and connected.
May we treat each other and the earth tenderly.
May we treat each other and the earth as divine.

Still your self, go back to your breath, noticing each wave in and out. Sense those roots you’ve sunk into the soil and feel yourself nurtured, like a plant, through the roots. And go back to your heart, still radiating all that crazy-beautiful earth-love.

Breathe in and out a few more moments. Feel the roots, sated, coming back into your body. Feel your heart fluttering back to its normal, beating, loving state. See the earth glowing, shining a little bit extra from receiving your love.

Say this:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Amen, Awomen, Ah, love, Ah, earth.