Begin to settle your body and your mind.
Give yourself permission to rest.
Allow your body to be supported by the ground.
Or in the chair beneath you.
You are safe and comfortable in this space.
Take a deep breath in.
Filling your lungs with the ability to see,
Feel,
And discern clearly.
Exhale,
Feelings of doubt.
Again,
Breathe in the truth of your own discernment.
And blow out all negative feelings that no longer serve you in this moment.
Now imagine yourself once again.
Standing at the edge of your familiar meadow.
You notice the sun shining down,
Warming the earth with its beautiful life-giving energy.
Notice the forest ahead of you.
Welcoming you inward.
As you take a single step toward the forest,
You notice that a heavy bag rests on your back.
Turning the bag towards you.
You observe that it is filled with large rocks.
Each rock represents a story that you have told yourself about your inner senses and your relationship to them.
You pull out the first one,
Noticing its weight.
When you hold it in your hand,
You see that this rock demonstrates your expectations about clear seeing.
Perhaps you like this rock,
Or perhaps you do not.
You do not need to decide how you feel about it.
Just place it down gently in the meadow.
Next,
You reach into the bag and pull out a second rock.
You understand that this rock represents your expectations about clear knowing.
Does this rock call to you,
Or do you find it burdensome?
Either way.
I invite you to place it down in the meadow beside the first rock.
You reach into the bag again and pull out a large seashell.
This shell represents your opinions about clear hearing.
Maybe you can hear the ocean in this show.
Or maybe there is no sound at all.
Sit it down gently beside the other rocks.
You reach into the bag once more and pull out a fourth rock.
You sense that this rock represents your perspective on clear feeling.
Does this rock call to you?
Or do you find it difficult to hold?
Sit it down beside the others.
You notice that the bag you were holding is now much lighter.
And may not be entirely empty.
But that does not matter for today.
Place the bag down gently on the ground beside the rocks and shells it once contained.
Where you are headed,
You have no need for this bag.
When you're ready,
Step onto the forest path for another visit to the cave.
Move along the path.
Noticing the sounds of nature around you.
Noticing the feeling of your steps on the path.
Noticing the scent of leaves and damp earth.
There is a breeze blowing through the trees,
Rustling the branches overhead.
As you wind along the forest path.
You see the cave entrance up ahead.
Continue to the mouth of the cave.
And when you're ready,
Enter.
When you step inside,
The world around you shifts,
With the sounds of the outside world becoming quieter and more muted.
You hear the sounds of the cave taking shape.
You hear the steady drip of water somewhere ahead of you,
And the small sounds of rocks and gravel crunching under your feet.
You feel the breeze being drawn from somewhere deep in the cave.
As you move through the cave,
You notice the chambers that you have visited in the past.
You notice the chamber where you learn to use your inner vision,
Your inner hearing.
Your inner sense of knowing and your inner sense of awareness.
You pass the chamber with tree roots coming through the ceiling.
And the chamber with the hot spring inside.
Continue past these chambers.
Up ahead of you.
You notice another chamber.
There is low light in the chamber coming from the passageway behind you.
And some openings in the wall.
Your eye is drawn to something large in the center of the chamber.
Standing back,
You observe the object that you see in front of you.
You move around it in a circle,
Keeping your distance.
You notice that from different perspectives,
The shape changes.
Sometimes it appears flat and smooth,
While from other angles,
The shape appears rough and lumpy.
Some areas are tall,
While other areas are quite close to the ground.
In some areas,
The shape even appears to reflect light,
While in other areas it seems to absorb it.
As you walk around the object.
You notice the sensation of something in your pocket.
You reach down and pull out a few small pieces of paper and a pencil.
You unfold the paper,
Noticing that it is blank.
You decide to use the paper to make notes or sketches of the object in front of you.
Helping you to figure out what it might be.
Spend a few moments investigating the object and making your notes.
When you're finished.
Find a place along the wall.
Where you can rest and observe this object in the center.
As you're resting in the chamber.
You reflect on this object.
Which appears different from the varying angles that you investigated.
You go through your notes to see what you have jotted down.
From one perspective.
It may look like a tree root.
From another angle,
It may look like a large animal.
Yet another angle and may look like mere shadow with no substance at all.
Suddenly,
A large gust of wind blows through the chamber,
Pulling the paper out of your hands.
Within seconds,
The paper is lost to darkness,
Somewhere beyond this chamber.
While this may frustrate you in the moment,
You also realize that it isn't necessary to fully understand this object or immediately know what it is.
The simple fact that it exists in this space and that you experienced it is enough.
There is no need to construct a story about what this object may be or your relationship to it.
You are intrigued by the object.
But it is time to go.
Bid the object farewell,
Knowing that you will return to investigate it.
Turn away from the object and begin to make your way through the cave,
Past the familiar chambers.
Offer your gratitude for them and the lessons they've taught you so far.
Every time you walk through this cave.
The path to those chambers.
Becomes clearer to you.
As you reach the cave entrance,
The sounds of the forest reappear.
And you step back out into a summer afternoon.
You take the familiar winding path back to your forest meadow,
Where you find the sun just beginning to dip on the horizon.
You notice in the place where you left the rocks.
They are no longer there.
Take a deep breath in.
Feeling the fresh meadow air fill your lungs.
And with your exhale,
You may begin to wiggle your fingers and toes.
Allow small movements to reenter your body once more.
Offer yourself a moment of thanks and gratitude for the journey to the cave.
And to learning more about yourself.
Once you're ready,
You may reopen your eyes and rejoin the present moment.
