Hello,
This is a special guided meditation for the start of the new lunar year or the Chinese New Year,
Which is the most important festival in China.
Time of new beginnings linking in with the the new moon that happened yesterday at the time of recording this.
We are coming into the year of the dragon,
A magical,
Mystical creature,
And I was reading up about some of the Chinese New Year traditions,
Not clearing things out,
Well clearing things out before the new year,
But then for the next five or ten days making it a special kind of sacred space to allow,
To allow things to emerge and one of their things that they do,
They don't throw anything away in that time because they might throw away something that they need and something that's going to help them.
They also don't take any medicines unless,
You know,
Of course they're life-saving ones because they believe that that might get in the way of their healing.
So yeah,
I always love learning about other traditions as well.
So this is going to be just a guided meditation for you for the new year.
All my guided meditations are just spoken.
There's no background music to distract you.
Everything I say is an invitation and it's an opportunity for you to go deeper within your own experience and to connect with yourself and your deepest values,
Whatever they may be.
Sometimes,
You know,
We're not always clear on what that is because we're so used to pleasing other people,
We can lose sight of what's important to us and that's certainly been true for me and why I'm so passionate about healing because all the things,
You know,
That I've done in my life up until now,
Perhaps,
You know,
That it's a journey and sometimes you have to learn things that don't work as well and realise and let that go and now at the moment for me,
There is a lot of letting go and this is a good time now to allow what is new to emerge.
So turn off all distractions,
Get into a comfortable position,
Create a sacred space for yourself,
Candle there,
Do whatever you feel you need for you.
Oh,
I'm talking of dragons.
Okay,
So if you're ready,
You can close your eyes or keep them open with a soft gaze.
Take a couple of deep breaths and let's begin.
So as you feel the ground beneath your feet and the land around you,
Whatever that looks like for where you are,
I'm just going to read a poem now by Mary Oliver and just allow the words to wash over you,
To touch some part of you that's deep within.
It doesn't have to be like a rational,
Logical part,
Just enjoy the words for their own sake.
Landscape by Mary Oliver.
Isn't it the plain sheets of moss?
Except that they have no tongues,
Could lecture all day if they wanted about spiritual patience.
Isn't it clear the black oaks along the path are standing as though they were the most fragile of flowers?
Every morning I walk like this around the pond,
Thinking,
If the doors of my heart ever close,
I am as good as dead.
Every morning so far I'm alive,
And now the crows break off from the rest of the darkness and burst up into the sky as though all night they had thought of what they would like their lives to be and imagined their thick,
Strong wings.
So as we come into this lunar new year,
I mean,
All new years are subjective,
Aren't they?
So any day can be a new beginning.
So perhaps you'd like to connect with what you'd like to imagine your life to be,
Without judgment about what you've been told is possible,
What you can and can't do,
Perhaps just for the next 10 or 15 minutes,
Can let your imagination run wild,
Like a dragon flying across the sky,
Breathing fire,
Because sometimes we need to destroy old things to make way for the new,
And feeling that fire within you now,
That flame burning inside you,
However small,
It's still there.
And as you connect with the breath,
Perhaps you can imagine that flame rising inside you as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
You're breathing out that flame of desire,
Of intention out into the world,
Imagining your dreams coming true.
And just for now,
Let go of any worries or fears.
This is safe for you to dream.
It's personal to you,
Whatever your circumstances.
We can always dream and it keeps hope alive within us.
And it keeps us going from day to day.
As the words of the poem,
We're still alive.
So there's still a future.
We don't know how long that future is going to be.
But right now here,
We're alive.
And we can dream and we can imagine.
And when you connect with those dreams,
Those hopes and desires,
How does it feel in the body?
Can you feel part of you?
You'd covered up coming alive,
Feeling energy moving around like a dragon waking up,
Opening its wings before soaring up into the sky like the birds in the poem.
And as you breathe in,
Breathing in that energy to fuel the flames.
And as you breathe out,
Breathing out those intentions making them become real and in the flames of your dreams,
Remembering sometimes it's good to be a bit fierce,
A bit dragon-like and up for your ideals and what matters to you.
Because those are the things that are going to make a positive difference in the world.
So you don't do anyone any favours by hiding away and not acting on those dreams and taking steps to bring them into reality.
You might not know what all those steps are yet.
You just have to keep taking the next one.
I'm one of those sitting here now,
Being intentional,
Meditating,
Taking time for yourself and healing,
Learning the lessons of the past to help you create a brighter future for yourself and for the world.
So so Landscape.
Isn't it plain the streets of Moss,
Except that they have no tongues,
Could lecture all day if they wanted about spiritual patience.
Isn't it clear the black oaks along the path are standing as though they were the most fragile of flowers.
Every morning I walk like this around the pond thinking if the doors of my heart ever close I am as good as dead.
Every morning so far I'm alive and now the crows break off from the rest of the darkness and burst up into the sky as though all night they had thought of what they would like their lives to be and imagined their thick strong wings.
So now we've imagined our wings whatever that looks like for you and we wait,
We're patient,
We know that it can take time to heal and bring things into being.
We keep hold of our dreams,
Keep them alive,
Keep fanning the flames and reconnecting with our inner dragon.
So thank you again for joining me today.
Happy Lunar New Year and may all your dreams come true.
Take care,
Go well and lots of love.
