Today we will be visiting an enchanted forest.
It is said that anyone who visits this forest will discover their true name.
Let's begin our preparations for this special inner journey.
Find a comfortable,
Quiet place to sit or lie down.
Gently close your eyes.
Allow your body to soften and relax.
Now we will take three slow,
Deep breaths together to centre our attention on the journey ahead,
Free from any troubles or concerns.
Feel yourself sink deeper into a state of relaxation with every breath.
Take a deep breath in and out.
Another deep breath in and out.
And a last slow breath in and out.
Imagine that you are standing at the edge of a forest.
Behind you the sun is shining brightly on a green meadow.
The meadow is dotted with wildflowers in different colours.
The flowers seem to be dancing slowly in the gentle breeze.
In front of you a narrow path leads into the shade of the forest.
You feel curious to explore the forest and open to any surprises that you may discover on your adventure.
You follow the narrow path into the forest,
Hearing dry leaves crunch under your feet.
You enjoy the earthy smell of the fallen leaves that waft up as your feet disturb them.
Just ahead of you,
A small bird flutters across the path.
It perches on an overhanging branch,
Looking at you.
As you get closer,
The bird flies ahead again,
Not going very far.
It seems to be guiding you deeper into the forest.
You sense that the bird's energy is playful and protective and that it means you no harm.
Soon you are so focused on following the little bird that you stop following the path.
Instead you are curious to see the beautiful hidden parts of the forest that the bird is showing you.
You find yourself delighted by small fragrant flowers that fall down from the trees to nestle in your hair.
You discover a pool of crystal clear water where you follow your tiny feathered guides example and take a few sips of pure sweet water.
You are mesmerised by a hairy caterpillar slowly crawling over a patch of soft bright green moss.
Then you climb up into a big twisting tree where you find a comfortable spot to rest,
Seeing your little guide perched on a branch not too far away.
After a short rest,
The bird flies ahead but you are too slow coming down from the tree.
Without the little bird you are lost.
Even though you are lost,
You feel completely safe and calm knowing that the bird will find you again when it is time to leave the forest.
For now you enjoy wandering through the forest.
You enjoy the thrill of feeling both completely lost and completely safe,
Like when you were a child and you got lost in an overgrown part of the garden.
After a while,
It occurs to you to play a game with yourself.
As you are lost and you don't know the name of the little bird that guided you,
You decide to start calling out your own name.
You wander through the forest calling your own name.
The name that you call is the name with which you identify most.
Which name do you call yourself?
Your given name?
A nickname?
Or do you have your own loving way of addressing yourself?
Allow your name to come to you as you wander through the forest,
A little bit lost yet completely safe.
You start to see glimpses of movement through the trees.
Thinking that it is the little bird,
You keep calling your name.
Every time you see a moving shadow or something that looks like wings fluttering,
You follow in that direction,
But you seem to be getting more and more lost.
Then suddenly,
You find yourself at the edge of a clearing in the forest.
The sun seems dazzling after the shade of the forest.
You step into the clearing,
Making your way into the middle where you enjoy soaking up the heat and light of the sun.
As your eyes start to adjust to the bright light,
You look back at the trees surrounding the clearing.
You notice that there are indeed shadows moving between the trees.
Then you realize that these shadowy figures are in fact different personas of yourself.
They are parts of yourself that are yearning to be recognized so that they can become part of you.
As you call your name,
The shadow figures emerge from the trees one by one.
You recognize them and allow them to dissolve into you.
You recognize yourself as a child,
Perhaps as a parent or a sibling.
Some of them are recognizable by the clothes they wear.
Work clothes or even exercise clothes perhaps.
Allow all of your different personas to emerge from the shadows and to be seen and recognized by you.
Then allow these different aspects of yourself to merge into you,
Adding richness and complexity to the amazing human being that you are.
After you have allowed all of the different aspects of yourself to merge into you,
You may still have the sense that there are some shadows hiding behind the trees.
This is perfectly alright.
It just means that there may be some parts of yourself that prefer to remain hidden to your conscious self for now.
Recognize that they are there and then allow yourself to enjoy the radiant sunlight shining on you and into you.
You have a sense of being whole and complete,
Exactly as you are.
You call your own name one last time and then you see your little bird guide flying over to you.
It flutters around a few times as if asking you to follow.
You step back between the trees,
Following your tiny feathered friend through the forest,
Until you arrive safely back at the meadow where your journey began.
The sun is still shining and the wildflowers are still dancing slowly in the gentle breeze.
You take a deep breath knowing that you have received two great gifts today.
Knowing your real name and knowing all of the parts of you that combine to make you who you are.
You are so much more than what labels such as child,
Sibling,
Parent or partner can convey.
You are unique.
You are divine.
The time has come for you to return to full awareness.
You can start to make small movements with your fingers and your toes to wake your body up after your journey.
Take a few deep breaths,
Stretch if you need to and when you are ready you can open your eyes.
May you carry the blessing and power of knowing who you truly are with you into the rest of your day.
