Hello and welcome.
Today's practice marks the summer solstice,
The time when the light is brightest and longest.
Allow yourself to settle,
Find a comfortable position and just notice if you're holding any tension.
As we take an inhale together and slowly exhale,
Can you release any tension in your body or your mind?
Allow your body to soften and become comfortable.
Feel yourself arriving fully in this moment.
Let your breath move slowly and naturally.
Feel the ground beneath you,
Steady and supportive.
Outside,
The world stands in full light.
The hills are green and open beneath a wide blue sky.
Wild grasses sway in the wind and bees hum among the bright summer flowers.
This is the summer solstice,
The longest day of the year.
The sun has climbed to its highest place in the sky.
For a moment,
In the turning of seasons,
Light reaches its fullest expression.
Imagine yourself standing on a hillside overlooking a wide Scottish landscape.
The air is warm and soft against your skin.
The scent of grass drifts on the breeze.
The land around you glows with midsummer light.
Tall grasses ripple,
Wildflowers scatter colour across the hills.
The sky stretches wide and endless overhead.
You walk along a sunlit path,
Climbing towards the top of a hill.
The air is warm,
Alive with the sound of bees and skylarks.
This is the day when the sun wears its brightest crown.
At the crest of the hill stands a great standing stone.
Ancient and weathered,
It has watched countless solstices come and go.
Above you,
The sun moves across the sky.
Steady,
Bright,
Generous.
Take a deep breath in.
And as we exhale,
Feel that warmth coming into your chest.
The same sunlight that feeds the forests touches your skin.
Fills your lungs.
Moves quietly through every living thing.
You are part of this living cycle.
In the stillness of the solstice,
There's nothing to chase.
Nothing to hurry toward.
The earth itself pauses here,
Resting for a moment in abundance.
Allow yourself to pause as well.
Notice what in your life has grown strong.
What has blossomed.
What has reached its own fullness.
You may feel gratitude rising inside for lessons learned,
For moments of beauty.
For the simple miracle of being alive beneath the sun.
Let that feeling expand gently.
Let the light around you flow in with each inhale and fill your body with radiance.
The sun starts to slip down in the sky.
Even as the light remains strong,
The turning of the year has begun again.
But there's no loss here,
Only rhythm.
Day will follow night.
Growth will follow rest,
Just as autumn follows summer.
The cycle of the natural world encourages us to reflect on the cycles of our own lives.
In this moment of fullness,
The world is opened completely to the light.
The abundance of summer stretches in every direction.
Fullness is not something to hold on to forever.
It is something to honour and let go.
Place your hand over your heart.
Feel the warmth beneath your skin.
And feel that warmth spreading.
Not overwhelming,
Steady and strong.
The same warmth that nourishes the world.
The same light that will remain within you even when the days grow shorter again.
For another moment,
You stand in the quiet power of midsummer.
As life is in full bloom around you,
And still the standing stone remains.
That silent witness to the turning year.
Simply be within the golden warmth of this moment.
Breathe in the brightness.
Breathe out calm.
And then slowly,
Begin to return to your now.
Allow your awareness to come to your surroundings.
Together,
Let's take a deep inhale.
And exhale to release.
As you honour midsummer,
Carry the memory of that light and warmth within you.
Maybe try to find a place outside where you can bathe in that life-giving summer light.
And pause as the world is in balance all around you.
Thank you for sharing this practice.
