Easter Meditation

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Easter comes with the beginnings of spring, like a child with a fresh and eager curiosity for life. The cold, dark days of winter have passed, and the colors tenderly peek out again. Greens and pinks and golds sprinkle the trees and fields. Like Christmas, Easter is a Christian holiday that holds a global, secular presence in the world as well. Maybe you were raised in a devoutly Catholic home, or perhaps the extent of this holiday for you is avoiding bumping into the heap of Easter egg baskets at the grocery store with your shopping cart. No matter your religious background or current beliefs, Easter can have a unique significance to each and every person because it speaks of grace, redemption, and renewal to all. The heart of Easter beats with a truth that all of our hearts can resonate with, and we hope you will not miss the opportunity to hear its message for you this year. We've created a short meditation for you this Easter season, and we hope you will take some time to enjoy it today or this week –

1. Find a quiet space in a place where you feel safe. Kneel, sit, or lie down, whatever is most comfortable for you (without the risk of slipping into zzzz's)! This exercise usually works best at the beginning or end of your day, to quiet your mind and re-align your heart.

2. If possible, light a candle. Light profoundly impacts us - it gives us strength, courage, and hope in the darkest moments. Even a single, small flame of a candle can powerfully encourage the heart. Even better, find a candle with a scent you love; a comforting fragrance can soothe many cares and worries. 

3. Close your eyes, and begin to take deep breaths through your nose and out your mouth. Visualize each inhale you take as beautiful, piercing, cleansing light and each exhale as dark, smoky fumes that no longer serve you. Focus on this imagery and feel its reality. Slowly practice this cleansing breath 10 - 20 times. 

4. Meditate on these words taken from a beloved prayer by St. Francis of Assisi –

Make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Read this prayer to yourself or say it out loud three times. The first two times, simply listen for a word or phrase that sticks out to you. The third time through, pay attention for any images that come to mind.

5. What words or phrases had an impression on you? Did any images spring to mind? Dwell on these things. What are they trying to say to you and what truth do they wish to speak into your life? 

6. Gather what you've heard and end in a prayer of gratitude. Prayer is the soul's true language. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart." Prayer is conversation with God, any other power or deity you recognize, or simply a song of one's heart. Begin with thanks for this day, this time, and the message you were given. Offer up any anxiety and sorrow that is weighing on your heart today, and ask for guidance and strength to live more deeply into this truth for your life.

If you enjoyed this blog, check out: "Your Holiday Dress Code", "'Tis the Season to be Red, Hot, and Fabulous", or "Thanksgiving Morning Meditation."