Welcome,
My name is Doug and this is the Inner Wildness Meditation.
Take a few moments before we get started to allow yourself to settle.
You might take a few deep nourishing breaths as the world around you begins to lessen a bit in influence.
Get comfortable and we'll begin in 30 seconds.
I invite you to join me today on a safari.
You won't need khaki shorts and a pith helmet,
But hey,
You can deck yourself out any way you wish.
It's your meditation.
We aren't heading out into the bush,
But to your own inner wilderness,
An area of wildness where you might surrender the trappings of life in this world,
Garments and qualifications,
Obligations and possessions.
There is an untamed part of you,
An inner wildness.
You have the sovereign right to care for this inner wildness.
It is yours,
Not owned by anyone else.
You're a caretaker,
Custodian,
Gardener,
Watcher.
You feed on this wild energy.
It lights you up.
Wildness is the ability of all living things to renew themselves.
Your breath can be your guide on this journey of renewal,
This safari to an inner land.
Your breath is like lightning streaking across a dark internal sky,
Wild and magical.
Let go of your civilized self and embrace your wildness.
Become a sea of storms raging across a vast plain.
You are part of nature,
A dynamic and self-sustaining system within the larger ecosystem of the earth,
Within the larger ecosystem of the cosmos.
The practice is simply to take in some wildness,
To drink your fill.
Enjoy the lightning show,
The streak of sensations,
Thoughts and breath across your inner sky,
The thunderclaps of emotion and desire that may come to you any time during your meditation.
Your breath is moved by a spark of electricity.
Your thoughts are waves of subtle electricity flashing across your brain like heat lightning across the sky of a summer night.
Each beat of your heart is incited by electricity.
Lightning is always moving through your body.
Revel in this like a farmer during a welcome rain,
Like a kitten with a new toy.
Breathe with your inner wildness,
With this untamed part of you.
Take a walk on the wild side.
When you find your inner wildness,
Your inner wilderness,
What do you see?
What do you want to see?
Perhaps a green alpine meadow dotted with wildflowers,
Edelweiss and vetch,
Arnica and bellflower,
Perhaps a clear crystal stream running through it all,
All backgrounded by granite peaks with their tops shrouded in cloud,
The breeze is warm,
The sun bright.
Or you might see a desert with winds scoured rocks,
Every shade of orange and red.
Or a coastline enveloped in a mantle of fog,
Greys and browns.
Is there water?
Is it running or still?
Does the wind trouble its surface,
A stream,
A lake,
An ocean gently rolling,
Extending towards myriad colors painted across the sky as the sun slowly sinks and the earth exhales,
Scarlet and maroon,
Carmine and crimson,
Cerise and fuchsia,
Violet and plum,
All fading to a darkness deeper than the night.
Are there forests in your landscape,
Tall trees with hoary beards of moss,
Forests stretching beyond sight or dotted across your landscape,
A copse of trees,
A stand,
A grove,
A clump,
Trees in leaf,
Trees bare in winter,
Trees blooming in fecund spring.
Perhaps there are birds,
Bears,
Buffalo,
Herds of elk and solitary wildcats,
Wolves,
Or lions and cheetahs,
Gazelle and wildebeest.
Perhaps there is a single deer,
Grazing in a sunbeam and a quiet glade,
Raising its head to look back at you.
What qualities do you find here?
What does this place give to support you?
Nurturance,
Adventure,
Freedom,
Solitude,
Inspiration.
You might say to yourself the qualities you need renewed in this place of renewal.
Take what you need.
There is abundance.
This landscape,
This land,
This inner sanctuary is vital to you.
Your inner nature is wildlife preserve.
Never let too much time pass without a visit.
Your connection to this wildness is essential.
You are a force of nature.
Accept it.
Stay close to it.
There may be times when you lose this connection.
You might feel overworked.
You might feel used up.
Maybe you've given too much for too long,
Or stretched too thin like too little butter scraped over too much bread.
You may have been inside the illusion of control for too long.
At such times your own inner wildness may call to you,
And may call wildly if you ignore that call.
You might find yourself lashing out,
Reacting rather than responding,
Losing yourself in anger or sadness.
You are a force of nature.
Accept it.
Stay close to it.
Meditation is not here to tame you,
But to set you free,
To bolster you with strength drawn from this inner wildness,
With this ability to renew yourself any time you need.
This is Sutra 32 from the Radiant Sutras.
Strong or soft,
Wild or serene,
Wherever breath flows there is song.
Hear its whisper touching behind the face,
Singing in the throat,
Dancing spirals in the sanctuary of your heart.
In this practice of listening,
A moment may come when you just want to lie down.
This is a doorway,
Surrender,
Fall into the wide open embrace of life.
You are the instrument breath is playing.
All the meditations you have ever loved are vibrating in this luxurious hum,
Continuing even in sleep and dreams.
This is your school,
Just you and infinity,
The texture of the self,
Is untamed freedom.
You are safe in your inner wildness,
You are renewed.
Sit for a while longer and enjoy the view.
This is your school,
Just you and infinity,
Fall into the wide open embrace of life.
You are the instrument breath is playing,
The texture of the self,
Is untamed freedom.
Take in a last few breaths of renewal,
Energizing breaths of renewal in this wild landscape of your own creation,
Created from the wildness inside you,
Renewing you for the return journey to our shared reality.
It's okay to take a look back over your shoulder as you leave,
You're not Eurydice.
You can see your magnificent creation one more time,
But never imagine that it is gone after you depart.
Its welcoming arms are always ready for an embrace.
Don't stay away too long.
You are a force of nature,
Accept it,
Stay close to it.
Slowly and gently make your way back into this world,
New energy reanimating your body,
Your spirit refreshed and renewed,
Awakened in power.
