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Planting Seeds of Peace
RC Meditation
(Spring, 2002: 6/24/02)

 
© 2002 by The Reluctant Channel and Pati Beaudoin, all rights reserved.

This meditation may be copied and distributed provided the copyright information is included.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Are you breathing quickly, or slowly? Does your breathing feel labored, or natural? Is your breathing deep or shallow? Do you want to change the way you are currently breathing? If yes, do this now.

The first task will involve focusing on light and gentle rain. Imagine that you are standing outside on a spring day and feel the rain falling from above. Feel the rain on your head, and on your hands. Tilt your head so that you can feel the rain on your face. This rain is a cleansing rain. It is meant to feel good and refreshing. Focus on this rain now. Smell the scent of the fresh rain. See the rain falling onto the leaves of the trees around you. Hear the rain as it descends on the pavement. See this now.

Imagine a field of planted seeds. This field is extremely large, and has rows and rows of seeds. In fact, as far as your eyes can see, all you see are seeds. These seeds may be seeds of grass, wildflowers, plants, trees, shrubs. It does not matter what kind of seeds you imagine. Imagine this field now. See, smell, and feel the rain falling on this field of seeds.

The seeds are symbolic of what we plant everyday in our relationships with others. The rain is symbolic of the nourishment that we provide our relationships. Let us take a few moments to reflect on the different types of seeds we plant and nourish everyday. Imagine two adults who are in love with each other. You many think of yourself and a loved one, two people you know, your parents, or some imagined couple. Picture them eating a meal together. They are sitting across from each other at the table and are engaged in a conversation. Take a moment to see them and hear their conversation now. The content of the conversation does not matter. What matters is how they are looking at each other, the tone of their voice, their body language. Are they looking at each other with love or with hatred? Does their tone reflect respect or disregard? Does their body language invite or repel closeness?

Observe now and notice the seeds that are being planted and nourished. Are they planting and nourishing hatred, disregard and repulsion, or love, respect and closeness? Everything that is getting planted and nourished in this conversation will have opportunities to be further nourished in other conversations. Some of the seeds we will want to see grow, and other seeds will not be as useful. For example, feelings of love, respect, and closeness will help humanity. However, feelings of hatred, disregard and repulsion will not be helpful. It is important to keep this in mind when we engage with others. Each interaction provides us an opportunity to facilitate growth and peace for the planet, or to facilitate hatred and war for the planet.

Think back to your field of seeds. See the field of seeds now. Let us now take a moment to sense feelings of love, respect and closeness. You may sense it by feeling these feelings, by thinking of the words, or remembering an experience or person that made you feel love, respect and closeness. Now take this image and plant the image in a corner of your field of seeds. Do this now. Now imagine rain falling gently on your field of seeds, including your corner of love, respect, and closeness. Know that this rain is a nourishing rain and that this rain will help your seeds of love, respect, and closeness grow.

Now picture a parent teaching a child a task. It does not matter how old the child is, nor does it matter what the task is. You may imagine yourself as the parent or as the child. Or you may think of an imaginary parent and child. It does not matter. What matters is how the parent is teaching the child. Is the parent patient or impatient? Does the parent ridicule or encourage? Does the parent show pride or shame in the child? Notice the seeds that are being planted and nourished. Is the parent planting and nourishing impatience, ridicule, shame, or patience, encouragement and pride? Everything that is getting planted and nourished in this teaching moment will have opportunities to be further nourished in other teaching moments. Some of the seeds we will want to see grow, and other seeds will not be as useful. For example, feelings of patience, encouragement and pride will help humanity. However, feelings of impatience, ridicule and shame will not be helpful. It is important to keep this in mind when we engage with others. Each interaction provides us an opportunity to facilitate growth and peace for the planet or to facilitate hatred and war for the planet.

Think back to your field of seeds. See the field of seeds now. Let us now take a moment to envision feelings of patience, encouragement and pride. You may envision it by feeling these feelings, by thinking of the words, or remembering an experience or person that made you feel patience, encouragement, and pride. Now take this image and plant the image in the corner of your field of seeds, right next to your corner of love, respect and closeness. Do this now. Now imagine that it is raining gently on your field of seeds, including your corner of patience, encouragement, and pride. Know that this rain is a nourishing rain and that this rain will help your seeds of patience, encouragement, and pride grow.

Finally, picture two leaders negotiating a peace treaty. It does not matter who these leaders are and what type of peace treaty they are negotiating. What matters is how they are proceeding with the negotiation. Do both parties feel equal, or is there a clear sense of a lack of balance of power? Is one party threatening and intimidating, or are they both listening to each other with patience and respect? Do they both genuinely want peace? Notice the seeds that are being planted and nourished. Are the leaders planting inequality, intimidation, falsehood, or equality, patience, respect and sincerity? Everything that is getting planted and nourished in this negotiation will have opportunities to be further nourished in other negotiations. Some of the seeds we will want to see grow, and other seeds will not be as useful. For example, feelings of equality, patience, respect and sincerity will help humanity. However, feelings of inequality, intimidation, falsehood will not be helpful. It is important to keep this in mind when we engage with others. Each interaction provides us an opportunity to facilitate growth and peace for the planet, or to facilitate hatred and war for the planet.

Think back to your field of seeds. See the field of seeds now. Let us now take a moment to envision feelings of equality, patience, respect, and sincerity. You may envision it by feeling these feelings, by thinking of the words, or remembering an experience or person that made you feel equality, patience, respect and sincerity. Now take this image and plant the image in the corner of your field of seeds, right next to your corner of patience, encouragement, and pride. Do this now. Now imagine that it is raining gently on your field of seeds, including your corner of equality, patience, respect and sincerity. Know that this rain is a nourishing rain and that this rain will help your seeds of equality, patience, respect and sincerity grow.

Now look at your whole field. As far as your eyes can see, you see rows and rows and even more rows of seeds. You also know that you have three very special sections of seeds where you have planted seeds of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Watch as it rains over your rows of seeds. See how your seeds are beginning to sprout into young plants. See these precious little plants now. See how the gentle rains caress the young plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality, and sincerity. See this now. Hear the rain, smell it and see it. See how your plants have budded into grown plants. See them now. Look at your special section of mature plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. See them now.

Take a deep breath in and out. Take another deep breath in and out. Do it again-a deep breath in and out. Look at your field of mature plants. In your field, you see light workers digging the plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity out of the soil. As they dig out each plant, seeds from the plant fall back into the soil, so that new plants will be available in the next season. As they dig out each plant, they tie the plant to a special balloon that will take the plant to an area of the world that needs the gifts of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. The shape, color and size of the balloon does not matter. Whichever balloon you select, that balloon will be the perfect one for that particular plant. Now look up into the sky. You see that multicolored balloons illuminate the sky. All you can see are balloons with plants attached to them. Let us follow some of these balloons now.

Three balloons are going to a building. In this building there are three adjoining rooms. Powell is in the middle room, Sharon to the right, and Arafat to the left. Each leader receives a plant of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. See this now. Now see each leader untying the balloon, taking the plant home with him, and planting it in his backyard. See this now. Know that by planting this plant of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity in their backyards, they have ensured that each season, the seeds of that plant will generate new plants and soon they will all have gardens of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Let us imagine this now. Imagine gardens of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity in the homelands of the peoples of the United States, the Israelis, and the Palestinians. See how these gardens replace the gardens of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood that currently exist in these countries. See this now.

Let us follow another set of three balloons. These balloons are headed towards Colombia, South America. See them now. They land in a field of illegal drug crops. See them land now. Three lightworkers from Colombia spot the balloons landing and untie the plants from the balloons. See the light workers planting the plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity in the field of the illegal drug crops. See this now. Know that by planting these plants, they have ensured that each season, the seeds of the plants will generate new plants and soon the field of illegal drug crops will be overwhelmed by a field of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Know that other balloons have landed in other drug fields in Colombia and other lightworkers are planting the plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity in those fields. Imagine fields of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity in all of the drug fields of Colombia. See how these fields replace Colombia's current drug fields of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation, and falsehood. See this now.

Let us follow another set of balloons. This time it is up to you to select where you would like to see the balloons go. Some of you may pick a foreign country, some of you may select your own backyard, some of you may select your parent's backyard, others of you may select the backyard of someone you know in your community. Still others of you may decide to send more balloons to the Israelis, Palestinians, people in the United States, or to the drug fields of Colombia. It does not matter what you select. What matters is that you are planting plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity and these plants will eventually replace plants of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. Imagine this now.

Take a deep breath in and out. Do this again. Take a deep breath in and out. One more time, a deep breath in and out. Due to different experiences that we have all endured as children and as adults, we all feel and express from time to time varying degrees of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. Some of us may have these feelings more often and more intensely. However, we all have them to one degree or another. We need to realize that we do not need to hold on to these feelings. We can let them go. In addition, due to different experiences that we have all endured as children and as adults, we all feel and express from time to time varying degrees of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Some of us may have these feelings more often and more intensely. However, we all have them to one degree or another. We need to realize that we can hold on to these feelings and we can encourage them to grow.

Let us do some of this now. Concentrate and focus on the feelings of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. In a moment, we will be breathing them out. Now concentrate on the feelings of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. In a moment, we will be breathing them in. So, in a moment when I say breathe out, you will be breathing out your feelings of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. When I say breathe in, you will be breathing in feelings of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Okay. Take a deep breath in of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Breathe out your feelings of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood.

Let us do this again. Take a deep breath in of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Breathe out your feelings of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. One last time. Take a deep breath in of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Breathe out your feelings of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood.

Now look at the column of light that shines above you. Know that this column of light follows you and continuously bathes you inside and out with love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity. Also know that just as the plants of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity replaced the plants of hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood; the more you can take in, experience and express feelings of love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity, the less need you will have for hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood.

Our last task involves seeing a body of water. The body of water may be a pond, a lake, a pool, a bath, a river, an ocean, the sea. It does not matter. What matters is that this body of water is appealing to you. Select your body of water now. This body of water is the perfect temperature for you-neither too hot nor too cold. Imagine yourself walking into the water. Perhaps you only want to get your toes wet. Perhaps you want to totally immerse yourself in the water. You may be fully dressed, fully undressed, or wearing a bathing suit. It does not matter. What matters is that you are fully comfortable. Imagine yourself in the water now. Feel how good it feels. Feel this now. Know that this is the way the world will feel when there is less hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. Know that this is the way the world will feel when the love, respect, closeness, patience, encouragement, pride, equality and sincerity replaces the hatred, disregard, repulsion, impatience, ridicule, shame, inequality, intimidation and falsehood. Let us take a moment to feel how good this feels. When you are finished, you can open your eyes.

(c) Copyright 2002, all rights reserved. Permission is granted to share this information with others as long as it is shared in its entirety and the copyright information is included.

This healing meditation can be found on Philip Friedman, Ph.D's website on "Integrative Healing" at
http://www.integrativehelp.com or directly at:
http://www.integrativehelp.com/archives.html

 

 

 

 
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