Before beginning the practice,
Please find a comfortable posture that will help keep your spine straight,
Either seated or lying down,
Wherever it is comfortable.
Next,
Notice where you place your hands.
If seated,
Support them in your lap or by placing them gently,
Palms down on your knees.
If lying down,
Place them by your side.
Imagine that you are inside a church.
It is a large church and sunlight comes through the glass windows.
There are pictures of saints painted on the ceiling.
You can light a candle and remember passed away loved ones.
When you walk around between the benches,
You see something extraordinary.
There is one bench that is very old and it has a wooden carving of a mermaid.
You can feel the cool surface of the dark wood underneath your fingers when you touch the plate.
This is the mermaid of Zener and her story is one of the most famous mermaid legends told in Cornwall.
The panel is from the 16th century.
Is she a symbol of good luck for the local fishermen?
Or is she a warning of vanity or the sins of flesh,
Which was a common motive in many medieval churches?
Running into mermaids in churches around Britain is not that unusual.
Some years ago when I lived in Wales,
I went to a local church with a friend of mine and there was a sculpture of a mermaid in the ceiling of the church.
And my friend told me that the mermaid was part of a coat of arms of one of the families who used to live in the area.
The mermaid of Zener originates from the village of Zener,
Which is located in the heart of Cornwall,
A seaside town where there used to be lots of traffic in the harbour and sailors visited from all over the world,
Sharing stories from their magical journeys throughout the seven seas and beyond.
There lived a handsome young man in Zener,
His name was Matthew Trevella,
And he was blessed with the most enchanting singing voice.
His voice was so beautiful that every service at the church would close with him singing the last hymn solo.
Even people outside the Cornish borders arrived at the church to listen to him singing.
One day a mysterious woman arrived at the church.
She was a little strange,
Well-dressed,
Beautiful and well-behaved,
But no one knew who she was and where she came from.
While singing on the platform,
Matthew rested his gaze on the girl and became captivated by her beauty and poised her.
One Sunday after the church,
He followed her and he wanted to know her name and maybe she told him.
He followed her down to the sea to Pendure Cove.
Both of them disappeared on that very Sunday.
There was a church body that looked for Matthew Trevella from every nook and cranny on the coastline,
But nobody saw him.
Hours later a captain anchored his ship near Zener,
And soon he saw a mermaid waving at him from the waves.
And calling him with her charming voice,
She asked him to lift the anchor,
For it lay on the roof of her underwater home,
Where she lived together with Matthew Trevella.
And it turned out that the mermaid's name was Morveren,
And she was a princess,
Daughter of the sea god Hyr,
And all those years ago she came ashore just to hear Matthew sing.
Mermaids love nothing more than music,
Still today in Zener the fishermen tell a story that they hear Matthew's voice soaring on the waves.
If he sings high,
The seas are smooth,
And if he sings low,
Waves are rough and untamable.
When Matthew Trevella falls in love with a mermaid,
He himself becomes somewhat of a siren.
This story is based on a real legend.
In Cornwall,
In the village of Zener,
There is a church called Church of Saint Zenara,
And there is a wood carving of a mermaid.
Some would think a mermaid,
Often seen as an epitome of sin in history,
Shouldn't be celebrated in a church,
But in medieval times they were used to explain the human and divine nature of God.
The story goes that when Morverena came to the church,
It was the mermaid's chair where she used to sit.
We however don't know if was it the chair that inspired this story,
Or the other way around.
In the end,
Maybe it doesn't matter.
Stories like this are like stones on the shore,
They get molded and reshaped when years and centuries go by.
Since mermaids are tied to a water element,
They embody the revalitation that water brings.
Water is vital to life and growth,
And it is used in many cultures to symbolize birth and rebirth.
An example of this is the baptism ritual.
Next time when it rains,
Lift your hands to the skies and feel the renewable energy of the flowing waters.
Imagine the sea and waves in a constant movement,
Hiding mysteries and unexplored life within it.
Ground pebbles on beaches become smoother and smoother every time a wave washes over them.
Cornwall has very strong Celtic roots.
It is very likely that at some point the inhabitants did worship Hyr as one of their deities.
He is also told to be the god of healing and magic.
She is both a protector and an avenger.
Strength can be found in the primal power of the waves.
The waves themselves can wear away a stone and cut through landscapes.
We can find comfort in the bounty and sustenance the sea provides.
Freedom and adventure in the aspects of new experiences.
If we assume that Murwana had some of her father's powers,
This would indeed make her a bit strange in the town of Zener.
Mermaids also encourage us to embrace our unique selves.
You can slowly return back from Zener.
You can move your fingers and slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me on this meditation today and thank you for being with me on this course.
Namaste.
