Welcome to day 48 of 60 Days of Mindfulness. Today we’re going to connect with the oneness of the universe. This meditation can help you see your life from a different perspective and feel more connected to all things, both living and not.

Let’s start by getting comfy someplace you won’t be disturbed. You can be sitting, or if you like you can be lying down. Breathe in deeply through your nose for a count of three… And then out through your mouth.

Good.

We’ll start out meditation just focusing on your name. It could be the one you were given at birth, or the one you chose for yourself. You could even choose to focus on a nickname.

As you continue to breathe deeply, repeat your name to yourself in your thoughts. Say “I am…” and then your name, each time you breathe in, and each time you breathe out.

I’ll let you focus on this for a little bit; breathing in your name, breathing out your name. As you think this chant, you should find that it helps you focus on the moment, and other concerns and thoughts slowly slip away.

And the more you say your name, the more it may begin to sound a little strange. That’s okay; it’s like that with a lot of words, isn’t it? If you say them a bunch, they start to lose meaning and sound different.

Breathe in through your nose… Out through your mouth.

Now let’s change things up. I want you to continue chanting, but now you’ll say shorter version of your name. Maybe the first syllable, or the first letter if your name is already short. Since your name doesn’t feel very connected to you right now, we might as well shorten the chant.

That’s right. Keep breathing steadily.

The more you repeat this phrase, the more other thoughts slip away, including your full name. If you pause for a second, it’s a little hard to remember your full name. But you can simply restart the chant with your shorter name, isn’t that right.

In fact, for the purposes of the rest of this meditation, the name you’re chanting right now is your name, isn’t it? Otherwise why would you be saying it’s who you are?

Breathe in, “I am”… Breathe out, “I am.”

Now that you’ve focused on your name, it’s time to let it go. That might sound a bit scary, but it’s okay. We’re all part of the cosmic energy of the universe; names simply separate us from that oneness.

As you continue to breathe deeply, let’s shift from chanting your name to something different. As you breathe in energy from the universe, think “I am everything.” And as you breathe out, your energy flowing out into the world, think “I am nothing.”

That’s right, breathe in, “I am everything.” Breathe out, “I am nothing.”

Let’s repeat that a couple more times…

Very good.

At this point it’s likely getting hard to remember that you even had a name. The more you chant that you’re everything and nothing, the less it makes sense to have a name. Feel your senses expand beyond your body, becoming one with the universe. You are a part of the universe while also experiencing the universe. And the universe doesn’t have a name.

…

We’re coming to the end of our meditation today. As your awareness of you body returns, you can move a bit, maybe wiggling your fingers and your toes. You’ll start to remember the name you began the meditation with; this is normal. It may feel strange to respond to it as you get back to your life, but soon it will become natural again, even if deep down you know that you don’t have a name.