Hello and welcome.
My name is Mark Rowland and I invite you to take this time to come home to yourself.
This is a meditation to help you reconnect with your inner light,
Your essence,
Your stillness,
Your strength.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position that may be lying down or sitting upright with your spine relaxed and tall.
Just let your hands rest where they fall naturally,
Eyes can be softly closed.
Take a gentle breath in now through your nose and a slow breath out through your mouth.
Let's do that again,
Breathe in,
One more time,
Inhale and exhale.
Now,
Simply let and allow your breath to return to it's own natural rhythm,
Unforced.
Begin to feel the body gently settling,
The weight of gravity fully supporting you.
The ground beneath you holding you safely and completely.
Scan the body slowly from head to toe,
Notice where you are holding on and see if just for this moment you can soften,
No need to change anything,
Just a gentle invitation to let go now.
Now,
I'd like you to bring your attention to the centre of your chest,
Your sacred heart space.
As you rest your awareness here,
Imagine a small candle gently flickering,
It may be tiny,
Just a pinprick of light,
Or steady and glowing,
There is no right or wrong,
This is your inner flame,
A quiet gentle reminder that within you lives this constant beautiful light.
Breathe gently into this flame,
See it glow a little warmer with each inhale and feel it steady with each exhale.
This flame lives within you,
It is not something you need to earn,
It does not burn for approval or attention,
It is simply yours,
Your essence,
Your spirit,
Your truth.
Take a moment to observe it closely,
Notice the golden light it casts,
See how gently it dances,
Casting soft shadows across the inner walls of your chest,
Feel the warmth radiating from it,
Not hot but comforting,
Like a cosy blanket of light,
Breathe in and see it glow a little brighter,
Breathe out and feel it grow steadier.
Now,
Let the space around you begin to shift,
As if in a dream the walls dissolve and you find yourself sitting in a beautiful open landscape,
A wild untouched beautiful place,
Perhaps you are in a mountain clearing or maybe a wide quiet meadow under the stars,
You might hear the wind rustling through the tall grass or the gentle creak of trees swaying in the distance,
Let the scene arise naturally for you in whatever feels true to you,
Before you on the ground the candle rests still glowing,
Still steady,
Its flame unfazed by the changing world around it,
You kneel beside it and feel something ancient as though you've returned to a place you've always known,
As though you are coming home,
But now the sky begins to shift,
A change is coming,
Dark clouds roll in slowly from the horizon,
Wind sharpens,
A storm is building,
You feel a drop of rain on your skin,
Cool and sharp,
Then another and another and another,
Winds begin to howl,
The trees sway harder,
The earth beneath you hums with low murmur of thunder,
You instinctively move to shield the candle,
Cupping it in your hands,
Not in panic but in pure reverence,
You watch as the flame flickers,
Twists and bends but never goes out,
Even in this storm your light remains strong and glowing,
And it's in this moment you realise the storm around you is not here to extinguish your light,
It is here to remind you that your light is real,
Enduring,
Strong,
Quietly brave and unwavering,
You sit there in the middle of the weather,
Rain falling,
Wind swirling,
Yet in your hands the flame continues to glow,
Not untouched by the storm,
But resilient through it,
Let this image speak to something deeper within you,
Something ancient,
You may have known storms in your own life,
Moments of fear,
Moments of loss,
Of not knowing who you are,
And yet,
And yet here you are,
Breathing,
Present,
Still carrying your light,
The storm begins to ease now,
The winds settle,
The sky lightens,
And the clouds begin to drift apart like slow moving memories,
The scent of the wet earth lingers in the air,
Peace is returning,
You look down now and the candle through everything is still there,
Burning clean and burning clear,
No longer needing your protection,
Just your presence,
And you realise this light doesn't live outside of you,
It lives within you,
It always has,
Gently you draw it back into your chest,
Placing it inside your heart,
A sacred offering,
Feel it nestle there,
Feel it soften you,
Feel it remind you,
You are not the storm,
You are the light that moves through it,
Now begin to let the image fade,
The flame remains inside of you,
Warm and steady,
But the visual starts to soften,
Just like a dream dissolving,
Bring your awareness back to your breath,
Back to the room around you,
To the feeling of your body resting here now,
Maybe give your fingers a small wiggle,
Or roll your shoulders gently,
If your eyes are closed,
Gently blink them open whenever you feel ready,
Or stay in stillness for as long as you need,
Before you go,
Take a quiet moment to offer thanks to your inner light,
To yourself,
To your capacity to return to presence again and again and again,
And know that no matter what comes,
This light is yours,
It always has been,
It does not need to shine for anyone else,
It is not here to be proved,
Only honoured,
As we close,
You may like to rest a hand over your heart,
Feel the warmth,
Feel the stillness,
Feel your own flame,
Thank you so so much for sharing this space with me,
If you found peace here,
You're always welcome to return,
You'll find more of my meditations here on Insight Timer as well as some courses,
But until next time,
May your light guide you home,
Have a beautiful rest of your day,
Namaste.
