The Wise, Healing Forest

Welcome to this guided meditation to help you relax,

Rest,

And hopefully fall asleep.

Take a moment to get comfortable,

To fidget and settle in to find a place that will allow your body to relax.

This meditation will help to collect and hold your thoughts so that your body can get on with the business of rest and sleep.

Before we begin,

Take a moment to set your intention to sleep.

Sometimes this can be difficult,

Especially if we're worried about something.

When there's a lot on our minds,

The body may think we must stay awake to face whatever challenges are going on in our lives,

But many challenges are better met when we're well rested.

Our brains actually need time in unconsciousness to help us process whatever's going on.

Trust that your body knows how to do this.

Trust that it's okay to let go of your problems for now and allow yourself to sleep.

Trust that sleep will help you with whatever it is you've got going on in your life right now.

Set your intention to let go into sleep.

Now seal that intention with a few breaths.

This might be a few big sighs,

Or if you prefer,

It might just be three mindful,

Natural breaths.

You have now entered into a zone dedicated to rest,

Sleep,

And dreaming.

Feel your body responding to that intention.

Allow your weight to release into the support beneath you.

Feel your jaw softening,

The space between your eyebrows,

Your shoulders.

Feel your belly softening as it moves with your breath.

Feel your hips and legs heavy and relaxed,

Your body supported.

Remember the support that's already there.

It's okay to relax into it.

Now imagine that you are standing before a copse of trees.

These are evergreen trees,

Healthy green pines.

It is lightly snowing,

And the air has that special quietness that only arises when it snows,

Where you can almost hear snowflakes landing on snow.

The air smells sweet and slightly sharp,

With just a hint of pine sap behind the crispness of the smell of snow.

You feel totally at home here,

Totally safe.

It is a quiet,

Calm place where you know you belong.

The trees are like friends who welcome you into their company,

But will always be there if you choose to walk away.

They are steady and evergreen.

You feel your shoulders dropping a little bit further as you feel yourself connected to this little family of trees.

You begin to walk into the copse of pine trees.

You feel warm and safe,

Even as the cool air soothes your face.

You breathe in deeply the clean scent of pine and snow.

You walk with a slow,

Calm rhythm through the trees,

Simply enjoying their presence.

You can feel them with you,

Solid and ancient,

Standing by your side.

You imagine their long,

Steady heartbeats,

These living trees beside you.

They are slow and gentle,

Alone but also standing together.

They are with you.

These trees help you feel connected to yourself,

Safe and cared for.

All you need to do is walk through them and enjoy their simple company.

After some time,

You pass through the copse of pine trees.

You walk along a simple dirt path for a while.

The weather is changing.

Trees are parting and the sunlight comes through,

Touching your face with its gentle warmth.

The snow begins to melt around you,

Revealing a wide prairie.

As you walk along the path,

You see yourself surrounded by long grasses.

You can hear the wind whistling through them,

Softly rustling the tall grass as it passes through.

The wind is soft and gentle,

Soothing your nerves,

Warming your system,

And allowing you to feel calm and held.

There is nothing but sky above you,

With soft,

Puffy clouds lazily wandering the skies.

You feel a layer of tension releasing you,

Revealing a sense of softness,

Warmth,

And ease in your body.

You feel your stomach settling,

Your breathing getting a little longer.

You continue to wander this flat,

Beautiful land with blonde grass and soft wind for some time.

After a while,

You begin to notice the wildflowers that populate this beautiful,

Calm,

Quiet place.

Clusters of white yarrow rustle in the breeze,

Their feathery white petals turned up lightly to the sun.

You trace your fingers across the silky petals.

This flower is used in traditional medicine to help heal wounds.

One of the flowers seems to offer itself to you,

Falling into your palm,

Inviting you to heal something in yourself that feels wounded.

You close your eyes and take a breath.

What part of your body feels wounded now?

Perhaps there's an injury,

Some physical or emotional pain,

Or simply an ache in your heart with no name.

You place the flower gently over that part of your body and breathe.

With the help of the flower,

You hold your wound tenderly,

With sweetness and kindness.

You can feel the wound slowing,

Calming gently,

The flower protecting this tender place,

Giving it hope and help and medicine.

When it feels right,

You release the flower from your body and place it gently on the earth,

In its home.

You continue to walk along the path through the tall grasses,

Feeling held,

Supported,

And that you are on a journey of healing.

Your sense of safety,

Wellness,

Health,

And well-being deepens.

A little further down the path,

You encounter a grove of bright green alder trees.

Their wide,

Ruffly leaves and knotted trunks and branches provide shade from the warm sun,

Their small green fruits hanging low,

Available for the birds and squirrels they sustain.

You walk along a little further,

Finding just the right tree,

And place your palms onto its trunk,

Holding it fully in your palms.

You take a deep breath,

Feeling the tree's medicine entering into your body,

Calming any excess heat,

Any places where your body or your mind have been working a little too hard.

Touching the tree has a calming effect on your mind,

Encouraging your thoughts to slow down,

To soften,

To cool off.

Your mind feels the sweetness of the tree's medicine,

Responding to its call to slow down,

To stop working so hard.

You feel a sense of calm and patience taking you over.

This feeling that you have all the time in the world to be here with this tree for as long as you need to.

Eventually it feels like time to move along.

You wander through the beautiful grove of alder trees and find another dirt path surrounded by tall grass.

Returning to this environment with the warm sun and the wind gently whistling through the grasses feels familiar and comfortable.

You are happy to be here.

Soon you enter into the shady archway of another grove of trees.

These ones are wide old-growth Douglas fir trees with wide knotted reddish trunks covered in soft neon green moss.

Their dark green needles and soft brown cones grow above head height here so you can walk amongst the strong feet of these trees and look up to see the expanse of green they can grow above you.

Here you feel totally protected and safe.

You feel that the world has slowed down and you are in a sacred place where your mind feels clear and open.

Your heart feels healed and whole.

Your body calm and receptive.

You're breathing deep and even.

Again you wander for some time until you find just the right tree,

The one you've been waiting for.

Its wide trunk is perfect and beautiful and opens with a wide knot just the size and shape for your body to nestle into a comfortable seat within the tree.

As you settle into this perfect wooden throne you lean back onto the old fir and listen for the tree's slow steady heartbeat.

You feel your own heartbeat slowing down searching for the rhythm of this wise old tree.

You close your eyes,

Your body softening into the support of the tree and listen.

You know the wisdom you need is here and that you must not try to hear or understand it.

You must simply rest in the silence listening without expectation.

You must trust in the presence of this perfect ancient tree.

All you need to do is be right here.