Letting go isn't easy.
To really let go,
It helps if we can access the unconscious mind.
The unconscious mind responds to images,
Patterns,
Symbols,
Sounds and abstracts.
It loves metaphors,
Visualization and the imagination.
When we use our imagination,
Our unconscious mind accepts the reality of what we are visualizing.
So today,
I have especially chosen a meditation using creative visualization,
Imagination and metaphor to access the relaxed,
Peaceful space of the meditative state and to let go.
So,
If you're ready,
Gradually withdraw your attention from where you are and take yourself inside your body.
Scan your body for any areas of tension.
Just focus on any spot if it is tense and see it dissolve and relax.
Relax your arms,
Your legs,
Main body,
Shoulders,
Head.
I'd like you to close your eyes now and take yourself to that place behind your eyes,
That dark space.
And on the screen of your mind,
There is a picture.
It is a picture of a red clay road.
Step into the screen and you are standing on the red clay road.
The road stretches before you and you start walking on it.
There is a slight incline and you keep walking.
It becomes a little bit steeper and you feel as if you are climbing.
The road gets even steeper and the walking a little harder.
You start to feel very tired.
Your legs are heavy.
Your arms and shoulders are weighing you down.
At the peak of the hill,
There is a gate.
It is a farm gate.
And on the other side of the gate,
There is a seat.
Wearily you move across and open the gate and thankfully collapse onto the seat.
Just take a moment to recover a few deep breaths.
You notice there is an orange suitcase next to the seat.
There is a label on it.
It reads,
Baggage Removal Case.
Please strip and place inside all negativity.
The case opens and you feel layers stripping away.
Past sorrow,
Anger,
Grievances,
Grief,
Regrets,
Hurts,
Arguments,
Envy,
Pride,
Stress,
Judgment.
All the things you have been hanging onto.
All the things that have been weighing you down are being stripped away.
Each time you remove something,
Drop it into the case.
You feel lighter,
Freer.
You can stand taller.
You feel a spring in your step.
So many things you've let go.
The lid of the case closes and as you watch,
It dissolves into a long,
Soft,
Silk scar.
It is the most brilliant yellow.
You bend down to pick it up,
But a playful breeze catches it and flicks it into the air.
You try to catch it,
But it dances away,
Teasing you,
Leading you into a chase.
You are like a child,
Free from all care.
Each time you reach for it,
It eludes you,
Laughing,
Playing,
Until you are rolling and tumbling down a hill of luxuriant grass.
Finally coming to a stop,
Flat on your back,
Arms outstretched.
The yellow scarf,
Like a friend,
Is beside you.
Feel the grass on your back,
Your legs scrunched between your toes,
Your hands,
Your fingers.
Breathe in its perfume.
Catch the breeze.
Watch the scarf lift and float up into the sky,
Higher and higher,
Into the blue,
Until it is just the speck.
Then it is gone and you are in the blue.
Keep moving up into the blue.
Feel the space,
The freshness,
The blueness,
Higher and higher,
Deeper and deeper,
Darker and darker,
And cooler,
Until the blue becomes an indigo night sky.
It stretches to eternity before you.
Relax into the peace of it.
Soft violet stars begin to appear in the sky.
Sit and relax into the indigo and the violet star and enjoy the experience.
Just feel what there is to feel.
Just know what there is to know.
Relax free.
One star is brighter than the rest.
Feel the light flow from the star through your crown into your body.
It fills you with a warm,
Relaxing,
Peaceful feeling.
And now there is a gentle sensation of spinning,
Dissolving,
Back to the space behind your eye.
It is time to return to this time and place.
But you come back free of all baggage.
Lighter,
Stronger,
Free.
Each year the trees let go of their flowers,
Their fruits and their leaves.
These fall upon the earth where,
With the help of the sun,
The rain,
The wind,
Animals and insects,
They become the nutrients for the new season,
For new growth,
New life.
Just like a still,
Clear pool of water perfectly reflects the landscape around it,
A clear,
Still mind allows us to see things more clearly.
And all forms of meditation can lead us to a place of calm,
Peace and clarity.
The more we practice meditation,
The more easily we can move into that calm place,
Letting go of our attachments,
Until one day it becomes an automatic response.
Namaste.
