Hello and welcome to this earth inspired meditation that I hope will help us to reconnect with an understanding of our interconnectedness.
To help us reimagine how this life on earth could be.
And to cultivate greater care and concern for this earth that we all call home.
To settle into this practice,
Find a comfortable seated position,
Rooting through your sit bones whether you are in a chair,
On the floor or on any other surface.
Let your crown stretch gently up towards the sky or ceiling,
Your chest to open softly and your shoulders to naturally fall.
Eyes closed,
Take a few slow and steady breaths to help yourself mentally arrive in this present moment.
With each breath in,
Honor the life force that sustains and nourishes you.
And with each breath out,
Witness this effortless giving back to the atmosphere and to the plant world that surrounds us.
Now feel into each part of your body that is in contact with the floor or other surface beneath you.
Feeling into this literal interconnectedness between you and the earth.
Here in this moment,
In all moments,
You are held by the earth,
By the universe,
Completely unconditionally.
Honor your place here.
And I invite you now to tune into the creative capacity of your mind as you begin to envision yourself in a natural environment that inspires you.
This might be a forest,
A beach,
A desert,
A mountain,
A rainforest.
Whatever draws you towards it,
Find yourself there in your mind's eye.
Envision yourself standing in this ecosystem firmly rooted through your feet into the soil,
Sand,
Grass or rock beneath you.
Invite the fresh air of this landscape to fill the depths of your lungs and then soften as you let it all go.
Now consider for a moment how,
When all distractions and all preoccupations are taken away,
Consider how you interact with this environment.
How do your senses absorb the sounds,
Colors,
Textures and aromas that fill this space?
How do you move,
Walk,
Play and rest here?
Observe and consider the plant life,
The animal life,
The life that lives in the air and that which hides away in the subtle,
Complex,
Intricate soil system beneath your feet.
Tune into the beauty that is ever present in this natural landscape,
Noting the sensations and yearnings it brings up for you.
You might imagine now that you come to rest your back on the earth,
Surrendering to the grass,
The soil,
The sand or the rock beneath you.
Let yourself be held here unconditionally.
Notice the way you breathe here,
Allowing again the pristine,
Fresh air that surrounds you to gracefully fill your body into the depths of your lungs and to help you soften as you exhale.
Now tuning into the loving center of your being,
You might like to place one hand on the heart as you take a moment to offer your gratitude to the earth for supporting you.
And in acknowledgement and appreciation of this natural ecosystem,
See if you might like to set an intention to honor the natural world to a greater degree in your day-to-day life.
See if you might commit to treading more lightly,
To caring for the earth,
Not because you should,
But because it is your home,
Because it is our home.
Spend a few final moments in this imagined landscape,
Observing any other callings,
Insights or feelings that arise within you.
And when you are ready,
Gently let the imagery go as you come back to the breath.
And as you prepare to enter back into the world around you,
Let this tenderness towards the earth inspire your movements forward,
Both today and in days to come.
So when you are ready,
You may slowly open your eyes to the world,
Taking as much time as you need.
Thank you so much for joining me in this visualization today.
I wish you a growing sense of interconnectedness in the hours and days to come.
