Welcome.
My name is Shalonda and I am honored that you chose to sit with me today.
This offering is in honor of the spring equinox.
I'll be guiding you through a traditional meditation in which we place our focus on the image of a teacher,
A guide,
Or a highly revered being.
We may even choose to work with our higher selves for this practice.
Take a moment to bring to mind someone who possesses the highest qualities and characteristics that you wish to embody,
The best of the best,
The most exalted.
Bring to mind a being who has all of the answers because they have lived it.
Allow your imagination to run wild.
We'll be returning to this for our practice.
While most people celebrate January 1st as the new year,
I observe the spring equinox as such.
This is when things start to grow,
When we experience life resurfacing,
The leaves on the trees return,
The dandelions start to pop back up.
It's a revival,
A renewal.
It's a powerful transition that harnesses so much potential.
The garden metaphor is all too common but it applies perfectly here.
If you happen to be in a region that experiences a winter frost,
Now is the time when gardeners are planning and organizing their gardens,
Thinking of which seeds to plant.
We begin envisioning what we're going to be able to reap in three,
Six,
Or nine months.
What is it that we'll need and how will we be able to best serve others?
This gardening process has the potential to serve as a mirror for us and to guide us inward.
We can begin to think about the things we wish to see in ourselves.
What do you want to bloom over the coming year?
What are your big focuses?
What is the evolved you going to look like,
Sound like?
How do they interact with others and how do they care for them?
This meditation practice of calling in a teacher or a guide has the potential to help you go within and intuitively envision the form your highest self could take.
By placing in front of your mind a teacher who already has this essence,
You let your mind know that this quality is noteworthy,
That this quality is special,
And thus your mind pays attention to it and reinforces that quality,
That essence.
Begin to think about what qualities you want to nourish over the next week,
The next month,
Or the next season.
Whatever we place in front of us starts to expand and we eventually become it.
So if we really start to look at the source of these qualities and see this moment right now as the beginning of what will become,
What energy would you approach this practice with?
Let's try infusing it with joy and have a little bit of fun with it.
Allow our minds to be excited,
To run wild.
So let's meditate.
I invite you to welcome beauty into your space.
Take a moment to let your mind know you are preparing to meditate.
What this may look like is setting out precious items that are special to your practice,
Maybe something that reminds you of spring or anything that brings you joy.
It could be as simple as lighting a candle.
And when you're ready,
Start to settle into your body.
By bringing stillness to the body,
We're then able to bring stillness to the mind.
If you're able to,
Elevate your seat by sitting on a cushion or pillow so your pelvis is a little higher than your knees.
Begin stacking each vertebrae,
One on top of the other,
As if they were a tall stack of golden coins.
Rolling your shoulders up towards the ears,
Then down and back,
Releasing any tension that may be lingering.
To help elongate the spine,
Maybe you gently engage below the navel,
Slightly tilting the pelvis forward.
Imagine as if there were a string at the top of your head,
Your crown,
Gently pulling you up towards the sky.
Bring your awareness to your face,
Relax the jaw,
And begin to find ease between the eyebrows.
Take a moment to gently scan your body,
Tuning in to see if there's anywhere else that you can invite in ease.
Without changing it,
Bring your attention to your breath,
Right at the tip of your nose.
Take note of how it enters and leaves the nostrils.
Follow the breath as it enters the chest,
Allowing it to rise and fall.
Experience the breath in the belly as it expands and contracts.
Simply see if you can begin to find a balance between the in and the out breath.
On the next inhale,
Bring to mind a place where you can go for peace and comfort,
Almost like a paradise.
It could be somewhere you've been before,
Or somewhere you'd like to visit.
You can even start to build that paradise right now,
Piece by piece.
What do you see?
How does it feel?
What do you smell?
As you settle into this place,
You notice the silhouette of a figure approaching.
Your mind returns to that quality,
That characteristic that you brought to mind when you first came to sit.
And as the silhouette gets closer,
It starts to feel very familiar.
You know this person,
This teacher,
This guide,
And you start to fill in piece by piece their features.
Their eyes become clearer.
Then their nose,
Their mouth,
Their ears.
And slowly,
This outline,
This silhouette is filled with color.
And finally,
This being,
This painting is filled with life.
They commonly sit right in front of you,
Knee to knee,
So close that you're able to feel the warmth of their breath.
You see the rise and the fall of their chest,
The glistening of the water in their eyes.
Maybe there's a familiar smell or scent that they carry with them.
And finally,
You begin to feel their love for you.
To acknowledge their presence,
You give them a small offering,
Something that you know they would love and appreciate.
It could be as simple as a smile.
They receive your offering and they smile in gratitude.
And in this moment,
You look to them and you ask them for some guidance.
During this precious time,
When you're seeking to plant the seeds to embody and become the best version of you,
You go to them for guidance and ask for insight to the steps necessary to embody these qualities.
They're honored to guide you and you lean in a little closer to receive their wisdom.
If your mind begins to float away from the teachings,
Joyfully return to listening and listening.
A warmth comes over you as you have a realization or a moment of clarity from the knowledge that is shared.
You give thanks.
Your guide looks to you and tells you that the knowledge was within you all along.
And in this moment,
Your teacher,
Your guide begins to rise slowly off the ground.
They turn and they face the same direction as you,
As they shrink into the smallest imaginable pearl rising above the crown of your head.
And slowly,
Like honey,
They begin to drip down the center until they reach your heart where they nestle and stay.
Please stay.
In this moment,
You're reminded that they're always with you and that you can always call on them for guidance.
Take a moment to dedicate your practice to someone who may be facing a challenge or someone who may be in need of guidance.
Gathering all the efforts of your practice,
Envision them stumbling on this gift and receiving a moment of clarity similar to what you may have received today.
On the next inhale,
Begin to slowly return your awareness to your breath.
Allow the breath to fill the body.
Maybe you notice once again the rise and fall of your chest or the expansion of your belly.
Gently start to wiggle your toes,
Maybe your fingers.
Try swaying the inside,
Slowly returning to your physical form.
And when you're ready,
Fluttering the eyes open,
Taking the room around you piece by piece with new eyes.
Thank you for sitting with me and rejoice in the fact that you've dedicated time to plant the seeds to become an even better version of yourself.
In this traditional practice,
It is understood that the teacher you call on is simply a reflection of you.
Your mind is able to perceive them so these qualities that you see in them are already within you.
Keep developing and building this relationship with them.
Your mind habituates what you place in front of it so when you consistently place these stunning qualities in front of your mind,
They will continue to grow and become your reality.
I bow to you as you are and I bow to the form that you will become.
Thank you.
