Welcome!
I wonder if you have ever dreamt of traveling through time like I have.
Would you like to travel to the past and ride on the backs of dinosaurs?
Would you sail in a pirate ship across the seven seas?
Or be the first person to land on the moon?
There are so many possibilities.
I wonder what you would choose?
This story is about Yuri and his favorite dragon Malachite,
Who Yuri named after a beautiful gemstone that has bands of different colored green stone.
When he was very small,
Yuri's grandfather had given him a small sphinx carved from that green stone.
The sphinx had the head of a person and the body of a lion.
Keep it in your pocket Yuri,
His grandfather had said.
This stone will always keep you safe.
But what he didn't tell him was that Malachite was the stone of transformation.
And this is where our story will begin.
But before I tell it,
Perhaps you can imagine that you too have a special stone of transformation.
Maybe it is like Yuri's,
Carved or even decorated.
Or perhaps it's a special smooth one that you found in a river or at the beach.
One that feels just right,
Whether it's in your hand or tucked into a pocket.
And maybe you can imagine that you have it with you right now,
Perhaps under your pillow,
Tucked into the palm of your hand or hiding under the soft warm covers with you.
And as you sense that special stone there,
I wonder if you can imagine what it would feel like for you to be tucked up into an enormous bed.
One that is a hundred times softer,
A hundred times more comfortable than any bed you've ever lain in.
And you might even imagine or pretend that the covers are incredibly light,
Yet so perfectly comfortable.
And the pillow smells wonderful as you snuggle your face and neck into it.
And this bed is so big that no matter how far you stretch and wriggle,
You know that it's the perfect size for you.
All around you,
You can hear the sounds of the night as millions of earth creatures begin to snuggle into their beds too,
Wriggling,
Stretching,
Closing their eyes.
With each slow breath,
Just like you,
They let all the busyness of the day slip from their minds as they each relax into their special safe place for sleep.
Each night Yuri tucked the tiny sphinx stone under his pillow for safekeeping.
And when he traveled with dream dragons,
It was always with him.
It was the longest night of the year that Yuri's adventure began.
He was snuggled into bed just like you when he heard a strange sound.
It was a little like the sound of chimes or perhaps the ringing of a church bell echoing out.
He got up to investigate where it was coming from.
But even though he searched the small house,
He could not discover what made the sound.
He tiptoed around on creaky wooden floorboards,
Listening to the gentle snores of his grandmother and grandfather in the next room.
As he lay back down,
Put his head on the pillow,
The sound became louder.
Yuri sensed a gentle vibration coming from under his pillow and discovered that the sound was from the stone sphinx.
He held it in his hand in amazement and for the first time he could feel symbols carved underneath it.
Was it ancient writing he wondered.
Yuri traced his fingers across the symbols and the ringing sounds filled his mind.
He closed his eyes,
Took a long slow breath and then the same way he summoned dragons each night,
He quietened his mind.
He wondered if the sound had a message and began to hum along with it,
Turning the carved stone in his hands until all at once he felt the sensation of flying and heard the beating of dragon wings.
He was sitting aside malachite in the blink of an eye and the dragon was flying with its neck outstretched as fast as he could towards the brightest star that was low on the horizon.
But even in the half-light Yuri knew that the misty mountains were nowhere to be seen.
The landscape they flew over was unfamiliar,
Gone were the tiny houses of his village.
The rivers and valleys were covered in mist.
The rivers and valleys he'd spent his whole childhood exploring.
Instead he felt a hot dry wind and felt the sting of fine grains of sand blown onto his face.
Below he could see only sand,
Towering sand dunes that looked like enormous waves in a stormy sea.
And as they flew faster and faster and for as far as Yuri could see there was no sign of life below him.
But the dragon flew on in silence into the darkening sky and Yuri knowing that his dragon could be trusted,
Talked himself down low,
Feeling the whoosh of powerful wings behind him and the ringing in his ears as he drifted into a sleepy trance.
It felt like hours had passed when Malachite landed lightly on silky soft sand,
Stirring Yuri from his slumber.
Lanterns burned ahead of them and Yuri could just make out a dark shadow ahead.
As he gazed up into a starry night sky he could see he was standing at the base of an enormous pyramid made of thousands of stone blocks.
Each block as big as his house.
At the base of the pyramid was a rectangular entrance with an ancient wooden door.
Yuri tried to open the heavy door but it wouldn't move.
He knocked loudly but there was no response.
Why have you brought me here Malachite?
He asked.
Do I need to go inside?
The dragon nodded and the image of the stone sphinx flashed into Yuri's mind.
There was no keyhole but Yuri could see in the dim light pictures and symbols carved into the stones around the door that were that were similar to the ones on the sphinx.
Perhaps it's a code he thought and as he reached out and touched one the symbol lit up glowing with a soft blue light.
Yuri touched each symbol in the order they appeared on the sphinx and the door swung open silently.
It was pitch black inside.
We need some light Malachite said Yuri and the dragon's fiery breath lit up a large tunnel that lay ahead.
Malachite led the way.
Yuri was glad as he felt a little nervous venturing into the heart of the pyramid tripping over rough stones and feeling his way down the tunnel.
It wasn't long before the tunnel opened out into a vast chamber and as they stepped into it the space filled with a brilliant white light.
Welcome to the temple of possibilities said a voice that was not much more than a whisper.
It is here that you may travel beyond time itself.
Yuri saw the face of a small girl staring up at him.
She had long red hair and green eyes that reminded him of a cat and she wore a dress that was woven from a rainbow of silken threads.
She pointed to the center of the chamber to a large cushion.
Come sit there is potential for you to create or become anything that you believe is true.
How do I do that?
Yuri asked her.
First you must quiet your mind,
Summon good feelings and then imagine it as if it is happening right now for what you focus on you create.
Yuri went to the cushion and sat down with legs crossed.
He tried to quieten his mind but somehow the musty smell of the pyramid and sitting cross-legged reminded him of school and too many thoughts began to race through his mind.
What if I get this wrong?
He thought.
What if I can't do it?
And the longer he sat there the more he fidgeted and the more he fidgeted the more nervous he felt as he felt her eyes upon him.
The more he worried the more his heart raced and his stomach felt as though it was tying itself in knots.
Oh it's okay you heard her say.
This is not a test there is no need to feel nervous.
In this temple you can decide what you want to feel,
Who you want to be and what you want to do.
I'm just a helpful guide.
It's just like learning how to walk she said.
You might stumble at first but practice makes perfect.
First you must decide how you want to feel and then breathe that feeling into your body.
Yuri nodded.
He already felt much relieved and more relaxed.
He closed his eyes again.
He didn't want to experience that fear and tension in his body so he thought about his dragon and he breathed into his body the excitement he felt when he was flying.
When he felt so connected to Malachite that it felt like they could read each other's minds.
Yuri's whole body began to tingle.
He remembered the wish he'd made the night before and as he continued breathing that happy feeling into his body he began to imagine his wish coming true.
Yuri heard the whoosh of wings.
He opened his eyes and at once found himself flying high once more on Malachite's back.
This time they were flying above the fields that surrounded his village and it was daytime.
For many months the fields had been dry and barren.
The days had been scorching hot and the crops had not grown.
The farmers had waited a long long time for rain to fall and the villagers had feared there would not be any food come harvest time.
Yuri felt the force of the wind in his hair.
It's time for our wishes to come true he said to Malachite.
Let's summon the rain and with a whoop of excitement Yuri held on tight as he urged Malachite on to the misty mountains.
As they approached the high peaks they saw thunderous black clouds heavy with rain.
Yuri imagined how exciting it would feel to be able to send them back to the village and in that very moment Malachite let out a deafening roar and then blew and blew and blew thousands of clouds away from the mountaintops and all the way back to the dry fields of the village.
The sky darkened.
Yuri and Malachite swooped through heavy clouds and misty droplets of water swirled on dragon scales as thunder clapped and lightning forked through the sky.
Yuri felt his excitement building and suddenly they were swooping through the rain as it tumbled down and soaked into the dry earth filling the riverbeds and ponds.
The villagers came out to dance and delight splashing in the mud hugging each other close.
As Yuri and Malachite flew loop the loops through thunder claps and more and more dragons joined in the fun.
When the river was nearly full Yuri remembered the girl's words.
That's enough now he said and he allowed his heart to be filled with gratitude and love for all that were dear to him and the bond with his dragon.
He imagined that the rain would stop and suddenly the sun peeked through the clouds and he felt both relief and excitement that his wish had come true.
He wanted to thank the girl for her lesson had saved everyone in the village and he imagined himself sitting once more in the temple of possibilities.
A few slow deep breaths and the feeling of warmth in his heart was all it took.
Yuri opened his eyes and heard her soft voice behind him.
How was it?
She asked.
It was wonderful replied Yuri.
I came back to thank you.
You helped me save the lives of all the people in my village.
The girl smiled.
I am your guide.
My name is Yasmin and if ever you are unsure or worried simply call me with your thoughts or travel here with the sound of the sphinx.
It was you who found a way to save your village.
When you focus on love and feel it in your body you will always find answers to your problems.
Do you still have the sphinx in your pocket?
Yuri nodded.
It has the body of a lion to remind you that you are stronger than you believe she said.
No matter what difficulty you face there will always be an inner strength in you.
The sphinx reminds us that transformation is always possible and the chamber of possibilities reminds us to relax,
To quieten our minds,
To focus our attention on what we want even when times are difficult.
Yuri felt a warm wave of peace blow over him.
He found himself yawning deeply.
His eyes closed as he sunk into the deepest of dreams,
Dreaming of dragons and rainbows and feeling his body grow lighter and lighter as he drifted through a brilliant blue sky,
Hugging the stone tight to his chest.
And this is where we shall leave Yuri,
For you too can have your own special stone,
Your own inner guide and a dream dragon to take you wherever you'd like to go.
And tonight if you wish you too can journey to the chamber of possibilities,
Holding love in your heart to guide you.
And all you have to do is take those long slow breaths,
Relax deeper into the comfort of your special bed,
Knowing that you are stronger than you think possible and everything can work out perfectly as you drift and dream,
Dream and drift on the gentlest of breezes with your own special dragon ready and waiting,
Eager to carry you with each slow breath,
Feeling the rise and fall of your chest,
The gentle beat of dragon wings and sinking into the most comfortable place,
The quietest place in your mind that you can imagine,
The temple of possibilities and the place where dreams can come true.
You
