Welcome.
If possible,
Find your way into a comfortable and relaxed position.
Let's begin by taking a slow deep breath in through the nose,
Out through the mouth,
Another breath in through the nose,
And a natural release through the mouth.
Closing your eyes if you are comfortable and safe to do so.
Let us sit for a moment in the darkness.
The darkness behind your eyelids,
The darkness within your mind,
The darkness in the crevices,
Cracks and shadows within and without,
The darkness of the void,
The great unknown.
Allowing all of this darkness to be what it is.
Releasing judgments and definitions,
Inviting acceptance,
Stillness.
Can you relax into this darkness for a short time?
Now bringing your awareness to your belly.
Letting it be soft,
Loose.
And there behind your navel,
Dropping gently into this spot,
The dark warm space within.
And if any feelings of unease are rising,
See if you can simply let them come.
Then release with a breath.
As you sink deeper into this darkness of self,
The most important thing to remember,
As long as you draw breath,
There is light.
The light that is the soft,
Glowing radiance of life itself.
So take a moment now to find that light within.
Perhaps at this time it is a mere ember or perhaps it is more like a raging fire.
But find it and feel it,
Feel its warmth,
Its energy,
Its magic.
You notice now that you are holding a white candle.
Let us take a deep breath to gather up the light within.
And as you exhale,
It will bring flame to this candle.
Breathing in and exhale.
Your candle is now a light.
As you hold it,
You begin slowly walking forward in the darkness.
You don't know where you are going.
And you can see very little.
But you trust and continue to move one step at a time.
Breathing.
Soon you notice a small glow up ahead.
So you begin to walk towards it and discover that there is someone you love very much.
Standing there with a white candle of their own.
Smiling right at you.
They begin to walk alongside you.
And so now the space around you both is a little brighter.
You continue to walk together in silence.
Perhaps welcoming a smile.
And before long,
You see another soft light up ahead.
As you approach,
You see someone you haven't seen in a long time.
Perhaps even years.
They too carry a white candle and quietly join.
Pausing for a moment to observe any feelings or thoughts.
And releasing with a gentle breath.
This group of three continues to walk quietly and mindfully through the darkness.
Held in the glowing light of the candles.
You realize you are now walking up a large hill.
It is becoming more difficult.
But you see more light up ahead.
Which gives you the energy and determination you need to go on.
Because you really want to see who or what it is.
The slope becomes even steeper.
But you keep moving until finally you get to the top.
You can see on the other side,
Down at the bottom of the hill.
There's an amazingly large circle of people all holding candles.
As your group begins to walk down,
Get closer.
You start to recognize faces.
Your heart swells as you see so many others.
Others who have shared light with you at some point in your life.
Think back for a few moments across the various chapters that you have lived.
Who has been a part?
Who has shared their light?
Who has warmed your heart?
If the circle needs to grow larger,
So be it.
And your group of three joins this circle now.
Everyone holding their candles.
Which is now creating so much light that you forgot you were even in the darkness.
Let us welcome this radiance,
This warmth,
Life energy.
Let us feel it all around our bodies.
Within our minds,
Deep inside of our bellies.
And of course,
In our precious tender hearts.
Imagining that it is infusing every cell with loving intention.
Expanding our capacity for kindness,
Stillness.
Stillness.
A few slow,
Easy breaths here.
What else is your heart calling out for within this circle?
Perhaps you'd like to ask a question or offer a prayer.
Maybe you would like to simply spend some time looking at each face in the candle light.
Or singing together,
Breathing together.
Let's take a minute or so to allow what wants to come.
As we come back,
The circle begins to slowly fade.
Offering gratitude and farewell to all of those present.
One by one,
Fading out.
Until you are left,
Once again,
Standing in the darkness,
Holding your candle.
The lingering warmth of the glow and presence of those in the circle feels like a cozy blanket wrapped around you.
This candle is your candle,
Yes,
But it is not your flame.
The flame belongs to us all,
Is shared by us all.
So in the times of darkness,
Try to remember you are never alone.
Trusting in all that has happened as you take another breath and blow out the candle.
Resting here for a few moments in the stillness.
Becoming more present to your body now,
The physical space around you.
Welcoming some gentle movements,
Then fluttering your eyes open when ready.
