The Taoist Five-Element Theory says that all phenomenon,
From our breath to the existence of the cosmos,
Follow a cycle of beginning,
Rapid growth,
Maturity,
Decline,
And rest.
The decline or metal phase is a time to evaluate what we've gained and prune away what we don't need anymore.
The end of the day,
When you're winding down,
Is the metal phase of the cycle of a day,
And a good time to take a look at how the day went,
What went well,
And what you might do differently tomorrow.
If you're a writer,
The metal phase might be when you start editing,
Keeping the good parts and cutting the passages that just don't quite work.
Seasonally,
The metal phase is strongest in the autumn,
When the leaves change color and drop away.
It's when we harvest the crops,
Evaluate what can be preserved,
Make room in the root cellar by throwing away anything rotten,
And store what we need for winter.
This meditation can be a nice way to unwind at the end of the day,
To take note of what was useful and supportive,
And then let go of the things that maybe didn't serve us as well for the day.
Begin by settling into your favorite meditation position.
Let your spine be nice and long,
Shoulders and jaw relaxed,
And a sense of groundedness and stability.
You can let your eyes close or let your gaze rest gently on a spot in front of you.
Take a few moments to just become aware of your breath without judging anything or changing anything.
Just notice what you notice,
Maybe the pace of your breath or where you feel it in your body.
Begin to deepen your breath.
See if you can allow your breath all the way into your belly,
And let it gently escape your lips as you exhale.
Try to find a rhythm of even inhales and exhales,
Breathing in through the count of three or five or seven or whatever's comfortable for you today,
And exhaling to the same count.
Breathing in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Take a few more breaths to find your rhythm and get comfortable with your breath.
Now,
Envision yourself outdoors on a crisp fall day.
Take a moment to really create the scene and involve as many senses as you can.
Feel the crisp coolness of the air.
Smell that uniquely autumn scent.
Maybe even imagine the taste of your favorite cider or hot chocolate.
In front of you,
Imagine a tall,
Beautiful tree,
Absolutely resplendent in all of its fall foliage.
Notice all of the brilliant reds,
Oranges,
And yellows of the autumn leaves.
As you take in all of those beautiful colors,
Let your mind show you the things in your life that nurture you,
Fulfill you,
Sustain you.
Feel of the beings,
Things,
And ideas that make life just a little bit better for you,
That support you in being your best.
They might be specific to your current situation,
Project,
Or phase in life,
Or they might be more generalized.
Think about the things that you want to have in your life that would be nurturing and invite them in.
As you inhale,
Imagine that you are breathing in these encouraging things,
These nurturing things.
Let them settle into your being,
Bathing every cell in their support.
Breathe them in,
Let them settle.
Imagine that the tree is pulling them up through its roots,
Feeding on them as it prepares to go dormant.
As you watch the tree,
Notice that some of the leaves are falling away,
Blowing away in the wind.
They were useful and important for feeding this tree at one time,
But now it's time to let them go.
Think about the things that you no longer need,
That you can let go of.
They might be concrete,
Physical objects that are cluttering your space,
Or they might be unwanted attitudes or habits that are taking up space in your mind,
Maybe unhealthy relationships,
Whatever is taking up space and energy in your life that you want to let go of.
As you watch the leaves fall from the tree,
You can name each one with something that you want to let go of if you want to,
Or you can just know that whatever is falling away is something that you no longer need.
Let each one drift away on the breeze as you exhale.
Breathe in what you need to nurture yourself and exhale what you don't need at all anymore.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
You may notice that a sense of grief arises as you let go,
And that's okay.
Just because it's time to let go of something doesn't mean that it's not loved and that it was not important.
If this happens,
Take a moment to acknowledge that grief and sense of loss.
It's okay to feel it.
And then examine that too,
And decide if you're ready to let go of that feeling or if you want to hold on to it for a little bit longer.
It's up to you,
And there's no wrong answer.
Let's spend a few more minutes breathing in and inviting what serves us,
Imagining that coming up through the roots of our beautiful tree,
And exhaling and letting go of what does not as the tree drops its leaves.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
When you're ready,
Allow your breath to find its own rhythm and start to bring your awareness back to the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Stretch in a way that feels good for you.
Open your eyes and focus on the things around you.
Direct a little gratitude towards yourself for making time for you today.
Thank you for joining me.
