Osprey Flight.
These planet meditations are designed for you to sit with the beautiful elements and life in all its glorious creation on our earth as you quiet yourself to be here right now.
I invite you now to softly close your eyes,
Beginning to feel your breath gently flowing in and out of your lungs.
Taking a few moments here,
Becoming aware of the softness of your breath,
Relaxing your jaw,
Feeling the air entering and leaving your whole body as you simply sit or lie or perhaps stand quietly.
Maybe this is the first time today you find yourself here,
Remembering to pause,
To stop and beginning to notice your breath,
Your physical sensations,
Your own body here,
Resting with whatever you notice and now breathing gently in your own natural rhythm.
Coming back to this breath and the next and noticing where your mind might be travelling and then with the next breath coming back to the flow of your breath in and out of your body.
As our mind wanders,
Our body awaits with compassion for us to return.
So maybe smiling gently now as you allow your mind and body to come together in this moment,
In this breath,
Breathing smoothly and if today you find breathing difficult,
Simply noticing the sounds you can hear right now.
Maybe you can hear your breath or the movements of your body or a sound in the room where you rest or outside.
Whatever your ears notice,
Not following the sound,
Letting it come and then perhaps leave again.
Maybe now you can begin to feel the movements in your body as it fills and nourishes itself with air.
Perhaps noticing any physical sensations in your body as you rest here now.
Bringing your awareness as you slowly scan down through your body,
Breathing with ease as you do so.
Seeing the air on your cheeks.
Maybe it's warm or cool.
Down through your neck to your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your hands.
Noticing the position of your hands as you rest here.
Back up your arms into your chest,
Bringing your attention and awareness to the front of your body,
Round to the back,
Spreading out between your shoulder blades.
And now down to your hips and into your legs,
Past your knees,
Your ankles and down to your feet.
Your feet that lie or rest on the ground beneath.
And bringing your full awareness to the whole of your body now,
Resting here with you as you give yourself this time with gratitude and compassion,
Safely supported by the surface beneath you,
Breathing naturally.
And now bringing into your mind's eye the image of a vast blue sky,
Open and empty,
A wide blueness stretching as far as your eye can see.
And maybe in your blue sky there are just a few wispy clouds appearing,
Or maybe not.
Smelling the air in your sky now.
And as you watch this space you see a small dot appearing in the distance,
Breathing here now on the surface on which you rest and focusing on the tiny dot in the wide open blueness of your beautiful sky.
And as you watch the speck of colour,
It grows larger and larger until it's close enough that you can see it's a bird.
In your vast blueness is a bird flying towards you and now you see it in its full focus.
And noticing that your bird is a sea eagle or osprey.
And as it lands close by you begin to notice the shape of its body,
Its alert head and its curved beak.
And you see the colour running down its neck.
Perhaps your osprey is flapping its wings to settle itself on the branch.
Watching your osprey now.
And as you see it moving you see the length of its wings.
Your osprey's wings stretch out from side to side,
A wide and powerful wingspan.
And as you look at its amber eyes you notice its steady expression turning its fine head,
Scanning its habitat for rival or friend and knowing now how far your osprey has travelled this day.
For as it settles down and squats against the fierce spring winds,
You sense the miles it has travelled.
Over the deserts with the sun burning its back,
Over the seas with no rest to be found.
On and on your osprey has flown with its innate sense of where to fly,
Where to find its summer home.
And no faltering as it seeks its destination.
No hesitation as it leaves the safety of its African resting place.
Perhaps your osprey is young,
A female returning for the first time maybe,
In search of her mate.
And this is the first time she's flown back,
Back to where she was born.
The calm,
Steady guidance she finds within.
And breathing here now,
Safely supported by the surface on which you rest.
Breathing in your clean air and seeing yourself as your osprey now.
Knowing that within you is this innate sense of direction guiding you,
Showing you the path you need.
And sometimes,
Like your osprey,
The way ahead may not yet be known.
It may be a long way.
It may be the first time you've had to make this journey.
But like your beautiful,
Strong osprey,
Within your own wings you'll find the power you need for your journey.
And the innate,
Wise wisdom of direction that's always available to you.
And as you leave your osprey now,
As you gently focus back onto the blue,
Wide skies from where she arrived,
You sense that as she breathes out,
So do you breathe in.
That you and your osprey are united in this journey of life,
Sharing the same air,
The same skies,
The wind carrying her breath across the sky to you.
And feeling the compassion for her life now,
As you feel the compassion for your own.
Breathing here quietly now,
Sensing the oneness of you with your osprey.
And now,
Bringing your awareness into your body,
Feeling the pressure of your heels and calves,
Buttocks and back on the floor.
Were your feet planted firmly on the ground as you sit,
Beginning to notice again the sound of your breath now and other sounds around you.
And when you hear the chime,
Slowly opening your eyes,
Bringing your attention into your fingers and your toes,
Gently moving them,
Taking a stretch and smiling.
May the wisdom,
Our beautiful earth and the courageous osprey be with you this week.
