Potato Meditation
When you feel more rested and grounded, everything gets easier. Try this simple meditation to feel some deep earthy peace:
I love to do this meditation at dusk, by the light of one golden beeswax candle. Even when I tell myself I don�t have time to do this (too much to do! Not enough time!) I know that if I do, it will help me to get everything done with a much better grace (and much faster!) than if I didn�t. It is truly time well-spent.
1. Take a potato, if you have one, to a comfortable place where you won�t be disturbed. Before you go, preheat your oven to 425F.
2. Now take a moment to pay attention to your potato. How many of us have ever really appreciated one before? What is the texture like? Some are gritty, with little crystals of dirt clinging to it. After all, it grew underground--it still carries lots of earthy energy with it. Notice the shape: lumps, bumps, hills and crevices--potatoes can be very earth-like. What does it smell like? Notice how heavy it is in your hand, how substantial. Potatoes were the main source of nourishment for many people, once. They are a kind of symbol of the simplest, most basic and substantial food.
3. Now bring your awareness to your breathing, and gently focus on your heart center. Give a moment of thanks for having enough to eat when so many go hungry. Give a little gratitude to this humble potato for offering itself and its nourishment to you today. Know that its body will become a part of your body, in the way of all life on earth.
4. Once your oven is preheated, wash your potato, enjoying the way water brings out the smoothness of its skin, then pat it dry and put it in the oven. (You may want to prick it a few times with a fork so steam can escape.) Set a timer for 45 minutes.
5. Now you have 45 minutes to do nothing but be, rest, and become aware of your body. Any pain or tension there? Just be with any places that call for your attention, placing your hands on those places, if possible, and breathing, not trying to �fix� it, but allowing the energy that flows through all things to flow through you. If you feel relaxed and comfortable, take time to enjoy that. Give yourself some time to feel cradled by the warmth and darkness. Nap, if you like.
6. After a little while, your potato will begin to fill the room with its fragrance. Raw potatoes are hard and pearly. Yours is baking into a mellow creamy softness. When the timer rings, put on an oven mitt and remove your potato. Cradle it in your mitted hand for awhile.
7. Notice how it steams and how it smells. When it has cooled enough, place it anywhere on your body that wanted attention. Enjoy the lovely therapeutic warmth soaking into skin and muscle. Imagine the potato�s sweet earthy energy penetrating all the way to your bones, bringing ease and nourishment.
8. When it has cooled enough, open up your potato and savor the sudden burst of steam and whiteness that emerges from the dark and earthy outside--just as the sun�s rebirth at winter solstice emerges from the time of darkest, longest night to fill the earth with the dawning of new life and hope.
9. Sprinkle your potato with sea salt and savor each mouthful, knowing that you are eating all the earthy little hills and valleys you noticed before. This potato is a gift from Mother Earth, formed in the earth, of the earth, just as our bodies are made of earth�s elements.
10. When you have finished, take a moment to thank the earth. Then return to your life with greater awareness of your deep connection with potato, body, earth, and the blessings of sun�s return.