Morning Meditation 

Theme: Healing that takes place when we learn to accept our bodies and identities

Reflective reading: Read Cassidy Hall’s description of the healing that took place as
she learned to accept her body and identity slowly and contemplatively, returning to
lines that stand out for you:

Everyone carries their own true self in their own way, in their own words, and in their own
time…

My true self is the way I rest my ear on the chest of a tree, listening for its heartbeat.
My true self is the part of me that keeps asking questions, stays curious about my own
blossoming, and holds myself—and the world—with open hands…. As we unclench our fists,
shedding internalised norms and expectations, we step toward everything alive, toward
everything wild, toward the truth of who we are.

As the years passed, I began stripping away my beliefs about myself from these broken
expectations and witnessed a significant change. My body, my existence, my identity began
to feel more magical, alive, and true. I continued to release ideas of myself related to
society’s expectations, and I began caring far more about what feels like me—what
resonates and reverberates with the ground of my being, what rhythms are in sync with my
body… I frequently hiked in silence, which helped me love my body’s capacity for endurance
and appreciate my mystical and often sensual relationship with nature. Going to the nearby
Temescal Canyon, I’d quietly climb to the ocean overlook to feel the elements around and
within me. I was refilled with my natural rhythms, recognising the gift of my body and
embracing the erotic (read as life force; vitality) energy I carry.
It was on that same trail that I experienced an intimate entanglement with my true self and
an interconnectivity to everything alive.

As I hiked toward the peak one morning, I unknowingly grabbed my own hand, holding it ever so tenderly. As I realised the affectionand love of the moment, I stopped, closed my eyes, and began to weep. While embracing
this moment of love between myself, my body, and the beauty surrounding me, I gathered
myself and kept walking. I continued holding my own hand, embracing the moment of deep
connection between my true self and the world around me. The true self exists in the vessel
of our body. And to be in touch with our true self is to be in touch with the erotic, to be in
touch with everything alive.

Closing Prayer (Thomas Merton):
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot
know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I
am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire
to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I
hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will
lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you
always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are
ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Live Jesus in our hearts
forever!