Meditation for Tammuz

Rabbi C.B. Souther is a freelance rabbi, spiritual director and life coach. Learn more at cbsouther.com.

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In her book, Kabbalah Month by Month, Melinda Ribner explains that the month of Tammuz is a time to “reach deep inside to muster our own resources and see if we have the inner strength and discernment to stay focused and on the spiritual path.” Tammuz is about maintaining the endurance to make it through the heat of the summer, and managing the heat of our passions. In addition to its Babylonian roots, the word “Tammuz” has Hebrew resonances: it means “the completeness (or innocence) of strength.” The essential challenge of Tammuz is to meet the external imbalance (longer days, shorter nights), with internal balance – to be what author Miriam Maron calls a “Visionary Warrior,” by maintaining our boundaries and caring for our inner powerhouses.  

The guided meditation below aims to help us identify those inner resources and meet our Visionary Warrior, so that we may acknowledge the fullness of our own strength. (Heads up — you’ll want materials with which to journal immediately following this exercise.)

 

Guided Meditation

Relaxed, unfettered, and unburdened, a path appears at your feet. You begin to walk it. You’re in a safe place, filled with familiar and comforting sights, sounds, and smells. As you walk, begin to notice your surroundings. Where are you? What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? You maintain a calm pace as you wander through this landscape of familiarity, letting the gentle rise and fall of your breath propel you forward. These familiar views begin to fade away as the path opens up ahead and you begin to walk in a new territory. What does the terrain look like? The sky? What do you see in the distance? You arrive at a fork in the road, and see that the new track.

Sit or lie comfortably in a quiet place. Once you’re physically situated, take three deep, cleansing breaths. Let each exhalation remove another layer of tension, stress, and distraction from the day. Focus on the natural rise and fall of each subsequent breath as you gently acknowledge and let go of whatever stray thoughts cross your mind. Imagine the room you’re in filled with a cleansing, bright light. Breathe it in. Let it course through you, from the top of your head to bottom of your feet. Call attention to each part of your body as the light passes through it. Surrender any remaining tension.

Lead up a gentle slope to a hilltop. Leave the beaten path and climb the hill. When you arrive at the top, take a 360 degree turn to survey the scene. What challenges have you already encountered along your path to arrive at this place? What roads were left untaken? What do you see on the road ahead?

There’s a tree on the hill before you. Sitting in its shade is your inner Visionary Warrior, waiting to greet you. As you approach, notice her demeanor and body language. How does she present herself to you? How does she greet you? What is her dress and what is she carrying? How did she come to possess this object? Which of her gifts did she gain in battle and which did she receive at birth? She offers you her hand. You grasp it, feeling the completeness of your strength, which comes from the totality of all your lived experiences. You feel the innocence of your strength, because there is something innocent in recognizing the wholeness of those experiences, and owning the sum of your parts. Your inner Visionary Warrior’s balance and power course through you as gifts hard-won and naturally given.

As you step away from your encounter in the shade, descend the hill and return to the path, carrying with you all of the gifts of your inner Visionary Warrior. They’re weightless, but their presence is profound. You feel a sturdiness in your bones as you prepare to continue along your path. Focus on the rise and fall of your breath, and bring your attention back to your physical self as you slowly bring movement back to your limbs. With your eyes closed, take three deep breaths. When you’re ready, open your eyes. Take a few moments to write about what you saw, about your encounter with the inner Visionary Warrior, and what gifts you now carry forward with you.

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PERSONAL JOURNAL QUESTIONS

Are you overheating this month? What’s making you angry? What type of thoughts about the world are you noticing yourself thinking?

Are you blaming others for something happening in your life? If so, what? Can you bring clear eyes to what’s happening “above the sun”?  What is your soul telling you is actually happening?

Considering that even Moses lost his temper, who in your life could you give a break for their human expression of anger this month?

How do you cultivate the growth of your soul?

 

 

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