Hello friends,
My name is Stella Billory.
You are so welcome here.
This meditation is designed to mark Valentine's.
Valentine's is often associated with romantic love and commercialism and capitalism.
This meditation will guide you into your heart space.
So let's begin.
The invitation is to find somewhere where you will be comfortable that could be seated or lying down.
And if it feels comfortable and safe enough for you to close the eyes,
You can close the eyes.
But know that there's no obligation to do anything that doesn't bring safety and comfort to you.
If you're open to,
Bring the hands together so that the palms are touching.
Now rubbing the hands,
Generating some heat.
Noticing the sound of the palms moving against each other.
Coming back home to yourself.
And once your hands are nice and warm,
The invitation is to negotiate consent with yourself first and foremost.
And to bring your hands with the palms resting down on the body to the left of your breastbone,
Which is where the physical heart is located.
Just taking a moment here.
Noticing the sensory feedback from the hands and also from the heart.
Noticing the texture of clothing or skin.
Noticing heat or coolness.
And perhaps tuning into the subtle quality of the heart space.
Can you have an imagined sense of the heart beating below your hands,
Inside your chest?
And often we associate Valentines with emotional feelings,
With sentimental feelings.
And there's definitely a space for this in the heart.
But just for today,
We're going to move beyond the emotional space of the heart.
And move into the physicality of the heart.
And allowing the hands to rest on the heart,
If that feels comfortable for you.
Knowing that the heart is the first organ to form in embryo.
And the heartbeat can be detected in the womb as early as 16 days.
And this is long before you had arms or hands.
And your heart predates your brain.
And your heart that has been with you on your journey through life.
From the very beginning,
Your heart that always has your back.
Is always doing its best to look after you.
Pumping your blood.
Working with you.
Even when you're sleeping.
And your physical heart which will be with you until you take your last breath.
As we come into the heart space,
We come into a more liminal,
Oceanic,
Womb-like space.
And as your hands rest on the heart space.
And your attention rests on your physical heart.
See if you can invite your breath into this part of your body,
This sacred part of your body.
You might use the hands as feedback.
As the breath starts to deepen into the top of your chest.
Your heart.
And likewise,
There's an invitation to breathe out from your physical heart.
To the world.
Cyclical breath.
Inhaling from the natural world.
Your inhale,
The exhalation from the trees.
Received in the heart.
And your exhalation,
The in-breath to the natural world.
Is continuing like this.
Your body in its infinite wisdom knows how to breathe the breath.
Just as the heart knows how to beat its rhythmic drum.
Stay with your heart.
Just a couple more breaths here.
And if it feels appropriate to call in sincere and authentic gratitude for this amazing,
Wonderful organ that rests below your hands.
You can do so.
Life-giving heart.
Your heart as a sacred vessel.
Keeping you safe.
And as you're ready too,
Beautiful people.
On the next exhale,
We'll just let the hands melt away from the heart.
Knowing that when we come into our heart space,
We come into this more sensitive way of being,
Way of seeing the world.
So really encouraging you just to take your time to come out of this liminal space,
This heart space.
Thank you so much for being here now.
For taking the time to connect with your beautiful heart.
Happy Valentines.
