Season 1, Ep. 1: The Ram & The Centaur

Welcome to Episode 1 of the Weekly Dream, a repository of guided, meditative journeys that aim to uplift, inspire, and relax you. Episode 1 is informed by the recent solar eclipse in Aries. This guided meditation was originally administered in person following a yin yoga class. Our asanas (poses) during that class focused on feeling safe/secure within one's self and welcoming gentleness, including Child’s Pose, Walk Child’s Pose to the Left and Right, Butterfly, Half Frog on Both Sides, Crocodile, Heart Melting Pose, Lie on Your Back with Cactus Arms, Supine Knees to Chest with Twist on Each Side, Supported Fish, Legs up the Wall, and Savasana.

Credits given to Hayden Folker & Geoff Harvey for incredible music!
Devoted by Hayden Folker
Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)

Transcript

Welcome to The Weekly Dream,

A repository of guided meditative journeys that aim to uplift,

Inspire,

And relax you.

Our themes revolve around astrology,

Mythology,

The seasons,

And more.

I'm your host,

Brittany Bryan,

And I invite you to sit back,

Get comfortable,

Grab a blanket,

Some tea,

Or a cat or two.

Don't dream and drive.

Let's begin.

Welcome to the very first episode of The Weekly Dream.

I am your host,

Brittany Bryan,

And I am so glad you're here.

I am currently based in Savannah,

Georgia,

Where I'm trying in true millennial fashion to pull together a slew of interests into one coherent,

Ideally,

Eventually,

Financially stable lifestyle,

Which right now includes yoga instruction and freelance design and consulting within the wellness industry.

And I don't need to go into what all of that looks like right now.

You're here to dream.

But the relevant thing that I do want to talk about in this introduction is that one of my first creative loves was writing.

And it's been a while since I had a regular writing practice,

And I've missed it.

So I recently started teaching a weekly yin yoga class,

And I wanted to incorporate a dream journey at the end of each class,

Which is something I really enjoy doing.

It's something I did at the end of my yoga certification program,

And I really love tying writing together with yoga.

It feels really special and meaningful to me.

So during my yin classes,

There's always a theme that informs our poses,

Our asanas,

And the dream journey builds upon that theme.

So I'll find somewhere each week to post the poses that accompanied this meditation in person,

Probably just in the description of each episode,

But maybe also on my Instagram.

Just in case you want to know,

In case you want to incorporate some yoga poses before you meditate or during.

And if you don't have any experience with yin yoga specifically,

It's a very gentle,

Slow-moving,

Restorative practice that emphasizes quieting the mind and going deeper into poses to lengthen or relax our deep connective tissue,

Our fascia.

So it can increase flexibility and mobility over time.

And since it's a slow pace,

There will only be around 10 poses listed for you to try out if you're interested.

I think yin specifically complements meditation and journeying very naturally.

I had originally intended on publishing this initial episode several days ago,

And that did not happen,

Which is fine.

I administered this meditation last Wednesday in person,

April 10th,

Which was just two days after the solar eclipse that took place on Monday.

So that astronomical event informed the theme of the class and of this meditation.

And,

You know,

Eclipse energy hangs around for a bit,

And there were some other bumpy things last week that had the potential to impact our communication and the ease of our daily lives.

And maybe you felt this to some degree,

Maybe you're still feeling it now.

I don't really ever plan on going super in-depth to the astrology of an event that informs the meditation,

And they also won't always be astrological events.

And there are other podcasts that do that and do it really well,

So I'm a big fan of Chani Nicholas specifically.

So that's not what I'm here to do,

To do a deep astrological dive,

But I am here to talk about it broadly when it does inform the dream.

I also don't anticipate these intro segments being very long,

With an occasional exception,

Including this pilot episode.

I just really want to,

Each week,

Give you an overview of an important thing that's happening,

Or that I've been thinking about,

Or that is happening in the world,

And then get into it.

The thing that I do want to say about last week's eclipse,

Which was the second eclipse within just a few weeks' time,

Is that it was a solar eclipse that took place as the sun was,

And still is,

In the sign of Aries,

Which is a fire sign.

Two additional relevant things,

That solar eclipse took place during a Mercury retrograde,

And it was conjunct Chiron.

So what does that mean?

Eclipses are known to be shadowy astrological events.

They can usher in change,

Sometimes really big change,

And they can also encourage us to do deep dives within our psyches.

What's referred to as shadow work,

Which really just means examining the parts of ourselves that we don't like to present to others,

Or even that we don't like to acknowledge within ourselves.

So these are traits or emotions that we perceive to be negative.

This particular eclipse was conjunct with,

Which means it happened nearby,

Chiron,

Which is classified as both a comet and as a minor planet.

In Greco-Roman mythology,

Chiron was a centaur,

And in astrology,

He's referred to as the wounded warrior.

And the important work that can be done with Chiron revolves around addressing our inner wounds,

And finding the medicine that will allow us to heal and to move forward.

So this conjunction added depth or emotional weight to this eclipse.

In some cultures or traditions,

People are very careful with the activities they engage with surrounding eclipses.

Some people don't go outside,

They're very careful with what they eat or drink before and after an eclipse.

They might not engage in sexual activity.

There's actually a lot that some people restrict or apply caution to in terms of daily life,

But I think in a more general sense,

In astrological circles,

Even though eclipses can catalyze change,

People tend to believe that it's important to not make big,

Life-altering decisions,

Because it's a shadowy time,

And it can be hard to think clearly about our feelings or the consequences of our actions.

And I'm acknowledging this because of the eclipse happening in the sign of Aries,

Which is fiery and ambitious and can be impulsive and can love to make decisions quickly and take off very decisively in any given direction.

So the impulse may have been there for you or for others that you know to break free of something that they perceive to be holding them back,

And to act with courage or valor,

Which are positive qualities of Aries.

It may have also been difficult to check the shadowy sides of Aries,

Which can be hot-headedness or anger,

Rage or jealousy,

Any of those fiery emotions.

If nothing else,

Aries means that the effects we were feeling from the eclipse were loud and were bold.

Finally,

The eclipse happened during a Mercury retrograde,

Which,

Even if you're not into astrology,

Has become a buzzword very much,

And you've probably heard it,

And I think it is often blown out of proportion now.

But there is something to say about the effects it can have on communication,

That there can be breakdowns in terms of technology,

Travel plans,

Or any type of communication,

Be it verbal or written,

During a Mercury retrograde.

And coupled with an impactful,

Potentially emotional eclipse,

Yeah,

You might have been feeling weird last week.

And now you have some reasons,

If you wanted some.

This dream journey,

Which we're actually about to get into,

I promise,

Focuses on those themes of the recent eclipse in terms of perseverance,

Introspection,

And healing.

I do agree that it was a significant astrological event,

But this journey isn't what I would consider to be really emotional in itself.

It's my hope that it will help you to work through some of the experiences or feelings that last week may have brought to you,

But at the least,

I hope that it is an enjoyable short story and a moment of mindfulness for you.

So let's get into it.

Start by doing whatever you need to get comfortable,

Whether it's lying down or sitting in a more comfortable position.

I'll ask you to close your eyes and to take a deep breath in for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

And release.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Let's do that one more time.

Take a deep breath in for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

And release.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four.

In this stillness,

I invite you to imagine yourself in a field at the edge of a forest.

Spring is in full bloom in this place.

We've recently celebrated the vernal equinox,

So technically it is the very beginning of spring,

But we're far enough south that any traces of winter have been erased,

And everything is flowering and buzzing with life and new growth.

Right now,

The sun is high in the afternoon sky,

And a gentle breeze is sweeping across the field,

Stirring the bright green,

New leaves of the oak trees where cardinals and wrens are chittering.

The fiery pink and carnelian blossoms of the azaleas have faded,

Only to be replaced by white firethorns,

These delicate,

Flowering trees that fill the air with a honey scent,

And you take a deep breath,

Feeling the embrace of springtime flood your awareness and warm your body.

In a moment's time,

You're surprised to see a shadow cast itself over the light of the sun,

Throwing a faint gray haze over everything,

Almost as if you've put on sunglasses.

A remarkable solar eclipse blankets the meadow in shadow,

Dimming the verdant vision of spring that had unfolded before you.

In that darkness,

You notice,

At the edge of the forest,

There appears a small,

Tawny ram,

With black hooves and gently curving black horns.

He doesn't come towards you,

He doesn't make a sound,

He simply blinks two small black eyes in your direction,

Turns,

And walks off.

And you recognize this,

Naturally,

As an invitation.

So you turn towards the forest,

And the sky grows still darker around you,

As you enter a grove of trees with thick,

Gnarled roots and low-hanging branches.

You glimpse the ram ahead of you,

Heading towards a clearing.

He's waiting for you to follow his lead.

And as you draw near,

You come to the base of an ancient,

Crumbling stone fortress.

The ram scales these ruins quickly and with ease,

Often glancing back at you in what is really amiable concern,

But which can seem more like judgment as you pick your way along carefully.

It's slow going.

The old stairs are broken in many places and completely gone in others.

You crawl,

Leap,

And stumble along,

Lose your footing several times,

Suffer scrapes and bruises,

And in the hazy,

Eclipsed light,

You feel a chill creep back into the air that reminds you of the winter that has recently faded.

Finally,

You reach the top of a parapet and discover a small,

Protected room.

There is no door,

Just a gaping hole in the limestone wall,

And as you pass over the threshold,

You find yourself in a small shrine with a marble table in its center.

This table bears a stone carving of a centaur,

A book,

A few sticks of loose incense,

And a single red candle that is gently flickering,

Bringing light to the room,

Which resembles a kind of apothecary or study.

Clusters of dried herbs hang from the ceiling.

There are bookshelves crammed with heavy tomes on anatomy,

Botany,

Herbalism,

And geology.

There are glass vials and bottles of all shapes and sizes filled with liquid,

And notes on scraps of paper are strewn about,

Rustling in the soft breeze that flows in through an open window.

The ram is nowhere to be seen,

And you feel that you've entered a sacred space,

So to honor that,

You pick up one of the incense sticks and light it in the flame of the red candle and lay it to rest in a vessel on the table next to the carving of the centaur.

Having done this,

You gently open the cover of the thick,

Leather-bound book You gently open the cover of the thick,

Leather-bound book lying on the table.

Inside,

You find a description of the centaur deity.

He is Chiron,

The son of the titan Cronus and Phileiras,

A sea nymph.

Revered for his deep knowledge of plants and medicine,

Chiron was the healer and teacher known as the Wounded Warrior.

His lesson continues to be that there is medicine to be found in our pain,

In our wounds.

And in this book,

You find a series of questions posed to you.

What is hurting in this moment?

What is painful?

What is uncomfortable?

On the flip side of that,

What has come from,

Or can eventually come from,

That pain or discomfort?

What can transform or strengthen inside of you?

What good might come of it?

What needs to be protected moving forward?

What needs to change or give way?

You watch in awe as an illustration forms in lustrous golden ink in this magical book.

The illustration shows you,

Maybe a younger version of yourself,

That made a decision based on fear,

Or anger,

Or pain.

On the following page,

A new illustration emerges.

Sitting in stillness in this very tower room,

Allowing yourself to remember that you have power over your life,

That you don't need to be driven by your emotions to act impulsively.

The next page is blank,

And you pick up a pen and begin to write down a recent trauma that has haunted you.

Once you've done this,

You watch in awe,

Once you've done this,

You watch again in amazement as the ink shimmers for a moment and then disappears.

You don't know if it is your imagination,

Or if,

As this happens,

If the flame of the red candle burns brighter.

You continue to record recent feelings or thoughts you've had about yourself that you perceive to be negative.

You write down regrets that have been tugging at you,

Worries,

And fears.

You write rapidly,

Feeling yourself become lighter,

And as you do so,

You're confident that the flame is burning more and more brightly,

Casting shadows on the walls,

Creating this ethereal golden space in this esoteric little library that glows in contrast to the darkness outside.

When you feel you've emptied yourself of these burdens,

You set the pen down,

And when your last message disappears,

A new one materializes on the page,

And you read the words,

You are not broken.

You never were.

You take a deep breath and gaze into the flame of the candle,

Allowing yourself to become enveloped in its comforting glow and to just be in this moment of release and of protected stillness.

A few moments,

Or hours,

Or maybe days later,

Who knows,

You feel the sunlight stream through the window beside you.

You feel its warmth on your arms,

And you turn your face towards it.

You find yourself not in the study,

But safe at home,

And you begin to bring movement to your fingers and your toes,

Slowly,

Going slowly.

You open your eyes,

Maybe give your whole body a big stretch,

And then you take a deep breath in for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold it one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

And exhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Thank you so much for joining me in this very first dream.

Until next time.