Welcome.
This is Hearts of Hope Healing,
And I am your host,
Vicki Olercik-Cassella,
Licensed professional counselor.
And a student of spiritual direction through Oasis Ministries.
Also certified in ecotherapy.
Before we begin,
I'd like you to take a moment to grab a journal because I will be offering some prompting.
Questions throughout our meditation today.
I'm going to begin by lighting a candle.
This is a practice that I've learned as a spiritual director.
It symbolizes the universe,
The higher power.
Is present with us during this time.
The candle that I have is called Cleanse and Release.
So take a moment to ground yourself,
Get into a comfortable position.
Take a few deep breaths.
We'll do that together.
Inhale for four.
Holds for four.
And exhale for four.
And we'll do that two more times as we continue to get settled in.
Inhale for four.
Hold for 4.
And exhale for four.
And one more time,
Inhale for four.
Hold for 4.
And exhale for four.
And again,
Whether you're seated,
Laying down,
Whatever feels most comfortable for you.
Let's just take a moment to be aware of how our body's feeling.
If we notice any tension anywhere,
To try to loosen that up,
Whether it's rolling our neck,
Our shoulders,
Stretching a little bit.
If we're seated,
Make sure your back is up against the chair or the pillow,
Your feet are flat on the ground.
And if you feel comfortable you can close your eyes.
So reading the candle that I've lit for us today is called Cleanse and Release.
As I read this,
See if there's a particular word or phrase that speaks to you,
That speaks to your heart and soul.
I cleanse,
Clear,
And protect the space,
Releasing all energies that no longer serve me.
I am filled with love,
Light,
And peace as I release and trust the universe and my intuition to guide me.
I am open to receiving and connecting with the divine.
I am ready to experience my deepest truth and highest potential.
I will read through that one more time at a slower pace.
And again,
Just see what words resonate with you.
I cleanse,
Clear,
And protect the space.
Releasing all energies that no longer serve me.
I am filled with love,
Light,
And peace as I release and trust the universe and my intuition to guide me.
I am open to receiving and connecting with the divine.
I am ready to experience my deepest truth and highest potential.
So throughout this meditation,
I would encourage you to pause throughout the audio to journal.
This is our first journaling prompt.
What I just read if there were words that spoke to you.
I would like you to take a moment to pause the video and just journal about it,
Whatever comes to you,
Any particular words,
Cleansing,
Clearing,
Protection,
What no longer serves you.
Being filled with love,
Light,
And peace,
Releasing,
Trusting,
Receiving,
Connecting,
Highest potential.
There's a lot of really beautiful words to this.
To think about,
To sit with,
And just see what comes up for you.
So for me,
As an ecotherapist and a student of spiritual direction,
There is a deep connection between the two for me.
The space that I feel most at peace and most connected with my higher power is in nature.
And during our meditation today,
I'm going to be talking a little bit about certain aspects of nature.
That we can learn from,
Learn from the lessons in nature.
And we'll begin with a tree.
A tree is probably my favorite symbol in nature.
It reminds me to stay grounded.
To stay connected to my roots.
I can learn to bend and not break.
The reminder to keep growing.
And especially in the season of autumn,
If you reside somewhere where you get to experience that.
How leaves fall on their own time,
Reminding us to let go,
To release.
Nature is a teacher if we choose to slow down and listen.
Journaling prompt here is to write about lessons that you can learn from a tree.
How are you currently grounded in your life?
Are there aspects that you want to release and let go of?
So take a moment to pause the video and you can answer those prompts.
Another lesson from a tree is just recognizing that you can grow strong from a tiny seed.
Are there seeds that are planted in your life from others?
Are there seeds that you're planting in life?
For yourself and others.
Moving on to water,
To a river,
Any flow of water.
Acknowledging the power of water.
How it flows.
Can you allow yourself to flow in life,
To let go of control?
To just see where the current takes you,
Trusting where the current takes you.
And journaling prompt here.
With the concept of water,
With the lesson of water.
How are you flowing in life right now?
Are you trusting the flow of time?
Of the higher power of the universe,
Where you're allowing the current to take you.
And even just acknowledging how comforting.
Being around water can be.
The sounds.
Is there somewhere close to home where there's a water source for you that's relaxing or even putting a little fountain into your home?
Clouds.
What can we learn from clouds?
The connection that I have with clouds is our thoughts.
Our thoughts can be clouds,
Allowing them to just float.
Float by,
Specifically the negative critical thoughts.
And considering the sunshine that comes through the clouds,
Even in the darkest moments of life.
Looking for that.
Shining light to come through.
Using your imagination to look up at the sky.
Almost like a childlike state.
What do you see in the clouds?
Is there something there?
Is there a message there?
In what you're seeing.
So journaling prompt is,
Can you Allow your thoughts to float on clouds throughout your day.
Choosing which ones you want to just float by and which ones you want to linger.
And the sunshine.
Every day.
Rises again.
Every night.
The horizon.
There can be something peaceful in that.
Just acknowledging that.
Every day comes and goes.
Who in your life feels like sunshine?
What in your life feels like sunshine?
That's the journal impromptu.
Are you a light in your life?
Are you a light for others in your life?
How can you have more sunshine in your life?
Every day is a new beginning.
You can take a deep breath and start again.
One of my favorite reminders is this.
Balanced statue of stones that I have in my space where it says sky above earth below,
Peace within.
I think that's something that we can experience with nature every day.
Looking up at the sky.
Feeling the earth underneath our feet.
Closing our eyes and just taking it all in.
The trees,
The breeze.
And even the animals around us.
I love having a bird feeder in my prayer space,
Just watching them flutter by.
Play in the fountain water.
There's something so peaceful in noticing all the nature and creations around us.
And you don't need to be surrounded by a forest in order to experience this.
You can find little spaces.
You can create your own space.
You can bring plants inside your home.
You can open up the windows to have the breeze come in.
I encourage you to use all of your senses.
With this meditation as you reflect back on the trees,
The clouds,
The sunshine,
The water.
What you hear,
What you feel,
What you smell,
What you see.
That's what grounds us.
That's what connects us.
That's where the peace can be found.
What has spoken to you from this meditation?
What part of nature is a symbol for you?
What can you lean into moving forward?
It's accessible to us every day.
So as we end this meditation,
I would encourage you.
To turn off the technology.
To step away.
From the busyness of life.
The commitments,
The never-ending to-do list and ask yourself,
What part of nature will you connect with today?
Until next time,
My friends,
Thank you so much for being here.
