Hello beautiful souls.
In this meditation,
I will be taking you through a visualization.
If at any time this visualization does not suit you,
Just go back to focusing on your breath.
To begin,
Find a comfortable position.
Wiggle around in your seat,
Moving back and forth,
Until you can find the center of your spine,
Aligning your hips,
Shoulders,
And head.
When you've found a comfortable position,
Close your eyes.
Begin to notice your breath.
Is it long or short?
Heavy or light?
And for our first breath together,
Take in a deep breath,
Imagining that you're breathing in love.
And release that breath,
Breathing out love into the world.
Again,
A deep breath,
Sucking in that love and light.
And breathing out love and light to the whole world.
Begin to imagine in your mind's eye that you are traveling through a forest.
You have a backpack slung across your back,
And a compass in one hand.
You've been traveling for a while,
Trying to find a certain forest.
The forest of hope.
A new day is upon you,
And you set out once more.
But it's not long until you notice that something is off.
There is a strange smell in the air,
Something unpleasant.
As you walk closer,
The light shines through the forest leaves,
And you see a clearing up ahead.
Not just any clearing,
Though.
What you thought was a clearing is the remnants of a forest fire.
All around,
The trees have been burnt.
The black ash covers the ground.
No birds,
No animals in sight.
You look around and see on the ground half of a sign.
All that remains of the sign are the words of hope.
Quickly,
The truth of the matter hits you.
The forest of hope.
Gone.
Ravaged by forest fire.
You collapse to your knees,
And cover your eyes with your hands to weep.
The forest is gone.
It feels like there is no hope left.
You sob and grieve for the lost forest,
For the lost animals,
For the lost plant life.
Spent and out of tears,
Your body quivers from the sadness.
You slowly pick yourself up to begin your journey back home.
Numbness has overtaken.
But you notice something small ahead of you.
Something that you couldn't have noticed if you weren't right above it.
A little green plant has begun to sprout.
You look closer and move away some of the ash.
Tiny and fragile,
A little plant has begun to sprout.
From above,
The forest looks like death and destruction.
But up close,
Springing from the ground,
Is new life.
Hope is not lost for the forest,
Just because it looks like it is.
Hope and life are cultivated in the hours when the world looks its bleakest.
Hope is what we have left after we feel like we can't go on.
When we feel weak,
When we feel depleted.
Hope is what keeps us alive,
And hope is what will spur a new life even after we are gone.
You take out your backpack and pull out a packet of seeds.
Digging a little trench in the ground,
With your finger you place the seeds into the trench.
You press the first seed into the ground with an affirmation you say,
There is always hope.
There is always hope.
You press the second seed into the earth and say,
Hope and faith spring from within.
Hope and faith spring from within.
And with the third seed,
You press into the ground and say your last affirmation.
Reflect now on what you would like to affirm.
Covering the seeds with dirt,
You turn away from the forest and begin your journey home.
A faint sadness still lingers within you,
But it no longer consumes you,
For in its place,
Hope emanates from your heart.
Feel that hope,
That love,
The light shining from your heart.
Take a deep breath in,
Inhaling that love,
That hope.
And exhale,
Sending love and hope out into the world.
Again,
A deep inhale,
Knowing that hope and love are always within you.
And exhale,
Sending it out to everyone on this planet,
Everyone in this galaxy.
Press your palms together at heart center.
Begin to rub them together,
Creating a little friction.
And place your palms on your thighs,
Pressing down.
You can rub your thighs,
Just coming back to this earth,
Coming back to this plane.
No matter the struggles we face,
There is always hope.
Thank you for joining me today.
Namaste.
