Sit cross-legged or in a straight-backed chair.
Breathe slowly in and out, in as if pulling
A bow string, out again slowly, this time
Imagine you’re expelling the negatives
Of living in a polity that hates
Everything it can’t control such as
The respect we give to one another
In the course of living together
Or working toward common goals, never asking
About ideology or legal status,
Just wishing well person to person,
Heart to heart, being to human being.
Breathe slowly, eyes closed, in and out again.
See in your mind’s eye a large broad-leafed tree.
Its leaves shimmer in the wind. They flap
Like pieces of paper or moths against a screen.
Now faces appear on the leaves. They seem
Vaguely familiar, faces from bad dreams.
One’s a pig’s head that grunts its menace low.
A woman’s face twitches in delight
At the harm she causes the poor and weak.
An orange face smirks its self-satisfaction
At the lies it vomits in contempt for all.
Breathe in and out again. The faces wither.
A fresh wind dries them out. They curl, tatter
And blow away into a gust of oblivion.
Night shepherds them into eternal darkness.
Relax and know they will not come again.
They will frolic forever in nonbeing
Nothingness, nullity, an empty void.
Know that you are safe, joyous and whole.
Repeat as needed again and again
Until you feel the truth of what you’ve seen.
