Priscilla Stuckey

Reconnecting people with nature through writing and spirituality

Nature :: Spirit

the blog of Priscilla Stuckey

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A loving-kindness prayer for the solstice

Cover of Stephen Levine's book Healing into Life and Death, source of the solstice meditationAt the pause of the solstice, when the sun completes its farthest journey and turns in a new direction, we too can pause to breathe deeply and welcome a new year. This simple loving-kindness meditation comes from Stephen Levine:

May I dwell in the heart.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be healed.
May I be at peace.

You can say it first to yourself, breathing in on the first line, breathing out on the second, and so forth, welcoming loving-kindness deeply into your own being. Repeating the four lines a few times is a good idea. It may take several repetitions before you enjoy its effects in your heart and body.

After sincerely wishing yourself healing and peace, it is possible to turn your attention to others, wishing them freedom, healing, and peace as well. The recommended practice is to start with loved ones who are close to you and then turn your attention gradually toward those who are not your friends or allies, sincerely wishing them love and peace as well:

May you dwell in the heart.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be healed.
May you be at peace.

This is one of the simplest ways to find equanimity in difficult times. It helps you find your own heart, which is the first step in helping the rest of the world recover its heart as well.

May you dwell in the heart.
May you be free from suffering.
May you be healed.
May you be at peace.

About Priscilla

I am a writer and spiritual counselor with a passion for changing the modern story of nature and reconnecting people with the Living Source inside themselves and all of nature. I received a PhD in religious studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and have taught graduate-level environmental humanities, feminist studies, critical thinking, and thesis writing at Prescott College in Prescott, AZ, and Naropa University in Boulder, CO.

Nature advocacy started for me years ago in Oakland, where I founded a small nonprofit land trust to preserve a nearby creek. In various places around the American West, I cleaned and restored urban creeks, fed baby birds in wildlife rehab, and cofounded a local rights-of-nature group.

My first book, Kissed by a Fox: And Other Stories of Friendship in Nature (Counterpoint, 2012), won the WILLA Award for Creative Nonfiction. Tamed by a Bear: Coming Home to Nature-Spirit-Self (Counterpoint Press, 2017) is a spiritual memoir of the first year of listening to Spirit’s voice through shamanic-style journeys.

My partner, Tim, and I live on Maui, where we are learning to know the life in the sea.

Reader Interactions

Responses to A loving-kindness prayer for the solstice

  1. Sally says:
    December 21, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    Yes it’s time to heal our lives, relationships with one another and whole, living planet ?… Blessings to you, Dear Priscilla and Tim ever and always

    • Priscilla Stuckey says:
      December 21, 2016 at 3:38 pm

      Thank you, Sally! Blessings in the new year.