Aun Year

January: Finding Our Center

January Meditation

Fourfold/Four Square/Box Breathing

Breathe in clarity and breathe out confusion 5min/day

I am still every age that I have been. Because I was once a child, I am always a child. Because I was once a searching adolescent, given to moods and ecstasies, these are still part of me, and always will be… This does not mean that I ought to be trapped or enclosed in any of these ages – the delayed adolescent, the childish adult – but that they are in me to be drawn on… If I can retain a child’s awareness and joy, and *be* fifty-one, then I will really learn what it means to be grownup.

Madeleine L’Engle

Understanding Your Story

We are supposing that the main character (MC) is you. So let’s describe/depict/collage/draft/craft/video/audio who you are as a character in your story.

The way you want to express yourself is the important part

Don’t treat these questions like “homework” or try to answer every one. Instead, make time to meditate on the list and then pick the one question that speaks to you most. The goal is to figure out which questions are“yours.” Which questions capture ? Which one contains “your work”? And what is that question trying to get you to notice or acknowledge?

  1. Describe/depict how you perceive your body
  2. Describe how you perceive your mind
  3. Describe/depict how you perceive your emotional center
  4. Describe/depict how you perceive your health
  5. Describe/depict your favorite family story What comfort do you draw from it?
  6. Describe/depict your worst family story What did you learn from it?
  7. Describe/depict your understanding of your ancestors’ journey to the New World. If you don’t know, what mass media portrayal of European ethnic groups do you identify with?
  8. Describe/depict the values you learned from your parents
  9. Describe/depict the values you learned from your friends/peers
  10. Describe/depict the values you learned from other people in authority
  11. Describe/depict your current values, what is important to you
  12. Describe/depict the values the deity/deities/sages/philosophers of your childhood
  13. Describe/depict the values the deity/deities/sages/philosophers of your young adulthood
  14. Describe/depict the values your current spiritual practice brings you
  15. Who first helped you find your true self?
  16. Who first helped you find “the fire in your belly”?
  17. What do you do to stay in touch with the fire in your belly?What if you find your center when remembering the nicest thing someone ever said to you?
  18. When was the last time someone asked you about that which lies at the deepest center of who you are
  19. Is it possible that the discovery of your deepest self lies in paying attention to the person that annoys you the most?
  20. Who were you before others told you “You’re too much!” or “You’re not good enough!”?
  21. Does the idea of “following your bliss” play a role in your life right now?
  22. What three things most moved you toward your center this past year? Have you ever felt like you “are finally catching up to who you are”?
  23. It’s said that we are every age that we have been. What younger self do you most want to tap into right now?
  24. What would enable you to tell your white friends about how their behaviors keep you from or knock you off your center?
  25. What happens inside you in the silent moments? What do you hear? What do you feel?
  26. What have you learned about navigating those times in life when we lose track of our center?
  27. What’s your question? Your question may not be listed above.

If the above questions don’t include what life is asking from you, spend the month listening to your days to find it.