Welcome.
Thank you for joining me,
Dawn Jelly,
As we journey to meet Amaratsu,
The Goddess of Light.
She will help you remember your own light and inspire you to shine even more brightly.
Before we begin our journey,
First get comfortable and close your eyes.
We will start by taking three deep breaths together.
In through your nose and out through your mouth.
In and out.
And one last time,
In and out.
As you settle in,
Listen to the world around you and put your attention on the far away sounds.
Then bring your attention closer and listen to the sounds around you.
And then bring your attention into your body and see if you can hear the beat of your own heart.
Now take your hands and place them on your heart.
Bring your attention to your heartbeat.
See if you can feel its rhythm in your chest.
Feel your chest gently rise and fall with each breath.
And with each rise and fall of your chest,
You become aware of the gentle sound of leaves rustling in a breeze and the sound of bubbling water racing over rocks.
And you realize you are standing on the bank of a river.
Rocks of all sizes jumble across the riverbed and you notice how the river chases over them like children after a balloon pouring past you in a white,
Bubbling excitement.
You look across to the other side of the river and stretching up from the riverbank are trees just starting to bud with the first signs of spring.
The smell of the river is so fresh and pours gloriously into your lungs with each breath.
As you stand on the riverbank and look around,
You notice that there are many cairns or carefully piled rocks all around you,
Left by other pilgrims as they traveled this way,
Some smaller,
Some larger.
And as you look around,
You notice that they continue up behind you.
You turn and start to follow the cairns up and along the gorge.
As you walk along,
You are held and feel supported between the rock walls on either side and the path beneath your feet.
As you look around,
You see that every space is filled with cairns,
Like people lining the streets,
Waiting for a parade.
The path has a slight incline and there are several spots with a wooden boardwalk helping you over the trickier places as you continue along.
And after some time,
The rock walls of the gorge open out into a clearing.
As you look to your left,
You can see a yellow rope hanging across the top of the entrance of a shallow cave.
And within the cave is a bright light.
And as you watch,
The light starts moving towards you.
It is a beautiful brilliance of pure divine light and you feel complete and total love flowing from the cave.
As the light comes closer,
You realise it is emanating from a woman who is walking towards you.
Her long black hair ripples down her like cloak,
Almost touching the ground.
Her rich red silk robe flows around her like the water around the rocks in the river.
She has a bright smile on her face,
Opens her arms and calls out to you.
Welcome to Japan,
Traveller.
My name is Amaratsu.
I am the goddess of the sun and the light.
Step inside this rocky chamber,
My heavenly cave.
She turns and beckons for you to follow her inside the cave.
As you step inside,
You both pass beneath a wooden torii gate made of smooth wooden pillars,
Marking the sacredness of this spot.
You notice the cave's green and black tinged walls around you.
A living mosaic of moss and lichen welcomes you as you walk.
You continue to follow the goddess Amaratsu,
Guided by the cairns on either side and to the back of the cave.
Amaratsu gestures to two wooden thrones positioned facing each other and you both take a seat.
Amaratsu is magnificent.
Her flowing robes and hair and the radiance shining from her is breathtaking.
The goddess Amaratsu looks out through the cave's opening,
Deep in thought for a moment,
And then turns to face you and says,
Many years ago I locked myself in this cave,
Away from my brother and his destructive behavior.
And while I was here,
I began to dim my light.
As time went on,
I got used to the dark.
I didn't think I would be missed,
And the longer I stayed in the cave,
The darkness became more comforting.
It was familiar and safe.
I would have stayed here.
In the comfort of the shadows,
She pauses in thought and then speaks again.
I realize now it was not only me that hid here,
But my light as well.
And I did not know how much the world needed and missed my light too,
How much a difference I made.
She slowly gets up,
Walks over,
And stands beside you and continues.
I can sense that there are parts of you that you have put in the shadows too,
Parts that felt easier to keep in the darkness when the world thought you were just too bright.
She then places one hand on your chest and the other on your back,
Cupping your heart between them,
And she speaks again.
Tell me about one of those times,
And let me help to remind you to remind you of your true brightness.
You can feel the warmth of her hands.
You feel safe and secure,
And you begin to share.
You can feel her strength seeping into your heart from her hands,
And you feel her powerful touch easing away the darkness and freeing the flow of light like she is slowly opening your shades.
And as the layers of shadows melt away,
You remember those parts of you that were once so bright,
And in this safe space,
You continue to share your memories of why you dimmed your light from the world.
And Amaratsu continues to quietly listen,
And slowly,
Slowly,
You find the darkness being replaced with divine,
Brilliant light,
Starting so very tiny and small,
And slowly getting larger and getting brighter and brighter,
Brighter and brighter,
Until you are shining brightly like a million suns.
The goddess Amaratsu slowly removes her hand from your back,
And then her hand from your chest.
She moves to stand in front of you and smiles warmly.
Well done,
My dear.
Then she reaches down and takes your hand and speaks again.
Come out of the cave,
Shining one.
Your cloak is removed.
Now we can all receive your inner light.
You both walk back between the cairns and under the torii gate,
Back to the opening of the cave.
You notice there is a mirror on one of the rocks just outside the door.
You catch a glimpse of someone reflected in the mirror.
They are magnificent and shine with the same brilliant,
Radiant light you saw when you first approached the cave.
At first,
You assume it is Amaratsu in the mirror,
But as you move closer,
You realize the reflection is you.
It is your radiance and divine light that you see.
Amaratsu speaks again.
It is safe out here.
There will be those that can't see your light because they are hidden in their own shadows,
But there are many more that you will inspire.
They in turn will step from their own shadows because of your light,
And they will inspire others to do the same until the world is a sea of bright,
Bright love and light.
She reaches in her pocket,
Takes out a smooth river stone and hands it to you,
And you know what you must do.
You look around at the cairns and you see a place to stack your stone.
It is a memory of your pilgrimage here,
And it will help to guide others to the light that they have lost.
You are smiling from every cell of your body.
Love flows from every cell.
You turn to face Amaratsu and thank her,
And as you turn to leave,
She says,
Always remember the love and the light is for you first.
Then and only then can you truly shine.
You turn to look at the mirror one more time as you walk away,
And Amaratsu calls out,
We are all sacred mirrors reflecting back the same light.
As you look deeply into the light from the mirror,
The scene around you begins to fade.
The sounds around you begin to fade,
And slowly you realize you have returned.
When you are ready,
Wiggle your fingers and hold them and wiggle your toes if you are able to,
And start to look around you.
Feel the love and light shining from your heart,
And remember that light is always with you.
Shine brightly,
My dear.
