Hi,
I'm Barbara Murray Lane.
Welcome to my series of heart-centered meditations based on the seasons of the year within a garden.
I invite you to join me in exploring the exterior landscape as well as your personal interior landscape of each season,
Cultivating your own garden in your heart as you move through each seasonal meditation,
Simply listening with openness and curiosity,
Following your own heart's messages,
Perhaps having a journal nearby to record any thoughts or reflections.
And so my friend,
Let's begin.
Come with me.
Listen,
Imagine,
And dream as you walk the path towards the garden of your heart,
Discovering all the gifts and wonder the season of winter has to offer you.
Cultivating heart,
Winter.
Winter darkness envelops streams of dozing bears,
Soothes the fallow frozen land,
Grants flower bulbs needed time,
Lingers gratefully in resting soils,
And lullabies the hidden seeds.
Joyce,
Rupp.
And so beginning once again with the breath,
This breath in and this breath out,
Settling any restless parts as you rest into a comfortable position,
Imagining yourself once again walking along your now familiar path on a winter's day in a quiet and reflective state of mind,
Heading towards your garden up ahead,
Curious to see what gifts might be awaiting you in this season of winter.
Chilly bones,
Chattering teeth,
Crunching boots on snow-covered path as you wander into your garden.
A sharp sense of cold peppers your nose as you inhale,
Watching the mist of your breath on the exhale.
You wonder what is there to find here in your garden on such a cold winter's day.
Noticing trees seemingly naked,
Branches unadorned,
Movement a rare sight on this cold winter's day.
Such stillness,
Such silence.
Footsteps softened by a blanket of new snow as you wander deeper into your garden,
Sometimes hiding your path from view.
Sparkling brilliance of sun blinding your way for a moment.
Ice crystals refracting softer,
Dimmer light this time of year.
Paying attention to the quiet,
The stillness as the landscape of your garden invites you to become aware of the rhythms of the winter,
A contemplative season.
Winter is a time of dormancy and rest.
Life is germinating unseen to us,
Hidden and protected underneath all that seems frozen and barren above.
Seeds and bulbs are nourished in the moist comfort of the dark below,
Protected from the harsher elements of winter.
In this time of dormancy,
The winter asks you to trust the invisible life protected in the ground below will emerge once again.
And so,
Continuing along the path,
Red berries and a lone holly bush.
A friendly visit from a cardinal and mate showing off the muted colors of their winter coat.
Silence interrupted by a startled small creature scampering from the quietness in search of nourishment or the haunting wind in the naked trees.
The light becoming dimmer as you move along your path.
Noticing a deer up ahead,
Head lifted,
Watching you,
A friendly visitor.
Taking a moment to contemplate the quiet,
Gentleness,
And gracefulness of their presence in your garden.
In pausing for a moment,
You notice the bare bone beauty of your garden reflecting a raw nakedness,
A landscape at its most vulnerable.
And now moving along the path once again,
Finding yourself in the center of your garden,
A small shelter tucked away from the elements where there's a cozy and warm place to rest a while.
Offering protection just as the earth protects new growth below.
In the shelter,
Cozy and warm,
Finding a blanket to wrap around yourself.
A welcoming darkness and a safe place to rest a while.
And so you do.
The deer,
A welcomed guide,
Comes to rest nearby,
Offering a gentle,
Tranquil presence.
What is hidden away underneath this winter garden of yours,
Waiting to be unearthed?
Imagining what seeds or bulbs in the heart of your garden might be sleeping in the frozen earth below,
Waiting to germinate.
What might they be dreaming?
Can you imagine what is being nourished by the darkness,
The stillness,
The quiet solitude of the winter?
And so here you continue to rest in this protected,
Cozy,
Warm shelter,
Deer nearby.
Affirmation.
I trust all that is unseen in the deepest part of my garden,
Knowing that I'm cultivating heart seeds that will grow in this heart space.
I trust all that is unseen in the deepest part of my garden,
Knowing that I am cultivating heart seeds that will grow in this heart space.
And so resting here for as long as you need with these many questions and reflections,
Transitioning when you are ready with this breath in and this breath out,
Perhaps taking some time to journal when you return.
