Tranquility,
Transformation,
Meditation.
Here you will find a peaceful place where you can review your life and be supported in letting go of anything that is not for your happiness as lightly as a tree drops its leaves in the autumn,
Creating room for new visions,
Hopes and goals.
Let this be a welcome retreat from any change or uncertainty in your life by deepening your connection to the natural world,
To your breath and bringing you to rest upon the earth.
Make yourself comfortable,
Close your eyes and then close them once more from within.
Begin to become aware of your breath.
For now,
Just observe it.
Do not seek to alter it in any way.
Simply be with your breath as if allowing yourself to be breathed.
You might like to see yourself entering the warm dark cave of birth,
Retreating to reflect upon the experiences of life,
Growing in wisdom before returning to the world.
Take your time.
Enjoy this place of outward stillness and inner change.
Transformation requires a letting go of old structures before the new ones may be put in place.
So your life may take a form to take you forward in a better way when the time is right.
Become aware of your body,
Of your physicality.
Feel where your clothes touch your body and where your body touches the ground.
Sense the solidity of the earth beneath you,
Holding you safe.
Then,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Sense what is above you.
To your right into your lap.
For a moment focus on any sounds outside you.
And then let them fade into the background,
Taking your attention back to your breath.
And begin to allow your breath to deepen and slow.
With each breath,
Allow your body to soften and any tension to fall away.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Let your breath fill your lungs and chest,
Then let that breath go.
Take another fresh new breath filling your lungs and then simply let it go.
Take another breath and let that one go too.
With your next breath,
Fill first your diaphragm and then your lungs so that your ribs rise and then fall when you let the breath go.
Take another breath,
Filling your diaphragm and your lungs and let the breath go gently.
And then take one more complete breath in this way.
Draw the next breath down deep into your abdomen,
Filling your diaphragm and then your lungs.
Allow that breath to go,
Sighing out all that does not serve you.
Your next breath will arise naturally in the same way,
Deeply and slowly from your abdomen,
Filling your diaphragm,
Then your lungs,
And then release the breath all the way out.
Welcome the next breath,
Again taking it down deep into your abdomen,
Filling your diaphragm,
Then your lungs.
Then let that breath go.
Let it become natural and easy and allow it to take you within.
You find yourself in a garden.
It is a glorious autumn day,
A little blustery with plump white clouds scurrying across bright blue skies.
The leaves are turning color and just beginning to fall.
There is a pathway leading to a gate,
And beyond you can see a wood full of ancient trees,
Bright in the sunlight,
With all shades of russets,
Greens,
Gold,
Copper,
Oranges,
Reds and pink,
Even purple.
Walk down the garden path through the gateway and wend your way towards the trees.
Follow the pathway and ahead of you,
You will see a small grassy glade.
And at its centre is a massive oak.
Its leaves just beginning to carpet the ground beneath.
Walk respectfully towards the oak,
Remembering that as soon as you enter below its canopy,
You are within its sacred space.
Sit down on dry,
Crispy leaves,
Resting your back against the strength of oak's solid trunk.
Gaze up into the green,
Golden and copper canopy of its leaves.
Watch as its leaves shed and fly softly to earth.
Is acorns to fall.
Observe how easily it lets go of them.
Feel the peace of this place.
Become quiet within.
So still that squirrels run along the branches above you and scamper down to harvest the acorns,
Busily digging some of them into the ground around you.
Squirrel knows when to harvest,
How to store.
And how to collect treasures against stormy days ahead.
Everything has its season in the natural world.
And all creatures respond to the natural flow of all the cycles of life.
Except for mankind.
We alone push against the rhythm of nature and then wonder how come we feel so tired and everything becomes such hard work.
However,
When we learn to listen to and feel the rhythm of the seasons,
We can recognize the flow of energy around us and then move to act in accordance.
Then we can accomplish things with ease.
Sparkling synchronicities can occur.
Transformation seems to happen in magical ways.
Become conscious of your breath once more.
Become aware that it has its own rhythm.
The pace of your breath tells you a good deal about the rhythm of your life.
There is an art to pacing ourselves and recognizing where we are in our own cycle of life.
The oak tree does not fall from the acorn.
Acorns do not appear in the spring.
Sometimes we may feel ready to act,
But the world may not be ready for us.
Consider for a moment the oak against which you rest.
It dons its new green robes every spring,
The time of uprushing vital energies,
The time of fertility and beginnings,
A wonderful time to bring new projects and ideas into the world so they can be borne along with that fresh new energy.
Summer is the flowering and ripening time,
Followed by autumn once more,
The time of review and release,
Before moving once more into the time of new plans,
Hopes,
Wishes and dreams of winter.
And winter is the time of rest,
The time to let go of striving,
The time in which to snuggle into your cocoon,
Into your cave,
Into your burrow,
Into your warm and welcoming place.
Bring yourself back to your breath.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let flow.
Let it be gentle and easy.
Then,
When you are ready,
Bring to mind something dear to your heart which has not materialised.
It might be a project or a relationship,
Moving house or changing careers.
Or there may be feelings about a disappointment or loss that it is time to begin to let go of.
Choose something which has not gone quite to plan.
Place a name or a word that best describes this on a leaf upon the oak tree.
Every time something comes to mind,
Find a word and place it upon another being.
Do this every time another word comes to mind.
Take your time.
When you are ready,
Take in three extra deep breaths and release them whilst you imagine a sudden gust of wind shaking those leaves free,
Whirling them around and carrying them off from the breeze until they are quite out of sight.
Remember what we focus on grows and so place your attention on the release,
On the letting go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in deeply and let go.
If some of those leaves remain attached to oak,
Repeat this as often as you need and begin to release any resistance to your need to hold on.
With each out breath release a little more of your desire to decide the timing or the outcome.
Then watch those leaves blow cleanly away.
There is a delicate balance in creating goals,
Preparation and then trusting you will find the perfect timing.
Events happen in life to affect timing.
If you fight against these,
You only cause yourself unhappiness.
If you feel sorry for yourself,
You are giving in to the role of victim.
Sometimes we are forced to recognise that there are larger forces at work than our own small will,
Which dictate the timing and the pace.
However,
Remember that nothing lasts forever.
Change is the essence of life.
Breathe in to any difficult feelings and let them go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let go.
Everything that happens is part of your life's experience.
Loss is simply another word for change.
Sometimes that will be uncomfortable or contain pain.
Sometimes it's not what we would have chosen for ourselves.
Sometimes our experiences will simply feel ordinary and sometimes magical.
Whatever our experiences,
They are our teachers and we have the choice to grow wisely.
Fast growth is not always stable and secure.
Sometimes slower growth leads to a more enduring and better outcome.
The oak against which you rest continues to grow season by changing season into the massive,
Deeply rooting tree of extraordinary longevity,
Endurance and fruitfulness valued highly for the strength of its heartwood.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let flow.
And now bring to mind a change that you would like to make in your life.
Something you would like to happen,
A new goal.
Imagine that you hold an acorn in your hand.
Imagine that this acorn embodies a special new beginning.
Then bend down and plant this acorn tenderly in the earth below the sheltering protection of oak.
Trust that with time and patience it will push its way up and out of the ground,
Become a sapling,
Grow,
Flower and produce its own fruitfulness in rhythm with the natural cycle of life.
Time creates space for evolution,
For new ideas and developments to occur,
For new opportunities to happen.
Allow that when you are willing to wait,
Things unfold.
And a space may open for the unexpected to happen in a manner you could never have organised for yourself.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe and let flow.
Breathe in and allow time and the flowing cycle of seasons to show you a different way.
Allow time to slow.
Allow time to be.
Trust that,
Like oak,
It is time to let go of the old and your life will naturally grow fresh and new in the springtime.
New ideas,
Wishes and hopes,
Like the acorns which bury themselves in the soil over winter,
Will take root and grow when the time is right.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let go.
Breathe in and let flow.
And now become conscious once again of the Earth beneath you.
Of your clothes touching your body,
Of your body touching the air.
Sense what is above you.
To your right into your lap Returning to the room.
Become aware of noises around you.
Take three breaths in through your nose and then out through your mouth.
Continuing to allow a deep sense of peace and tranquility to pervade you.
Begin to move your fingers and your toes.
Stretch and yawn.
When you are ready,
Turn onto your side and pillow your head upon your arm.
Keeping your eyes soft focused or closed,
Come to sitting.
And then offer gratitude for the gifts of your experience and for your breath Retain that calm grounded place within you when you return to the occupations of your life.
You can return to this tranquility transformation meditation anytime you are ready to let go of something you have outgrown from your life.
And when you would like to plant a new.
Although practicing it in the autumn.
May be especially beneficial.
You choose the pace that is right for you.
Simply trust that whenever this might be is perfect for you.
And now open your eyes and be here.
