A Meditation For The Garden Of The Soul (Inspired By Rumi)

Inspired by the poetry of Rumi and his invitation to "empty yourself of yourself" and be welcomed in [as a guest] to the house of the heart. Enjoy this ~19min practice to bring you back to your soul (your heart) and therefore reconnect you with your center of truth. Perhaps you even walk away with a deeper understanding of the path forward (per your heart's instruction). Plug in those headphones and enjoy this heart-centric meditation!

Transcript

Yes.

Go ahead and get nice and cozy,

Comfortable,

Plugging in those headphones,

Finding a seat or perhaps even lying down as we get ready to begin.

And as we get ready to begin here now,

I invite you to take three intentional breaths with me here.

Inhaling through the nose,

Exhaling out the mouth.

Inhaling through the nose,

Exhaling out the mouth.

Good.

Inhaling through the nose,

Holding it at the top,

Taking in one more sip of air,

Proving to yourself you can do more than you think you can.

And then exhale,

Release.

Letting that go and allowing yourself to start to really be present here now.

Letting the breath normalize and naturalize.

Good.

And go ahead and take a moment here now to find the sensation of the heartbeat in the body.

Perhaps you're able to notice the sensation of the heartbeat in the body in the center of the chest.

Or perhaps you're noticing the sensation of the heartbeat in the palms of the hands.

Or perhaps the bottoms of the feet or the temples of the forehead or maybe even in the pit of the stomach or someplace else entirely.

Just starting to become aware of the sensation of the heartbeat.

And perhaps it's a tingling,

Perhaps it's a buzzing or pulsation.

Maybe there's a warmth or a coolness or perhaps even a numbness,

Which is of course a sensation.

Simply allowing yourself to connect with the heart and the sensations of the heart and allowing this to simply be a practice.

A practice of exiting the busy mind,

Exiting a realm where sometimes it feels like the thoughts rule the kingdom,

Exiting that place completely and bringing the focus and awareness into the body,

Into the heart,

Therefore into the soul,

Into the spirit space.

Good.

And allowing that to simply be a practice,

Knowing that at any point in time,

You may find the mind drifting.

You can come back to this practice of finding the sensation of the heartbeat in the body.

Good.

Very,

Very good.

And from this place,

I invite you to welcome in a deeper sense of relaxation here now.

And in a moment,

I'm going to count downward from 10 all the way to one.

And with each and every single decreasing number that I say,

You'll allow more and more relaxation in to the body and therefore into the mind.

So go ahead and experience yourself,

Imagine yourself at the top of a beautiful and perfect staircase.

This is a staircase that is absolutely perfect for you.

Maybe a staircase that's very simple,

Or perhaps it's a very ornate or luxurious staircase or something else entirely.

Either way,

This staircase is perfect for you.

So go ahead and be there now.

Noticing what you notice,

Feeling what you feel.

Getting ready to take a step down here now 10 taking a step down and doubling your relaxation.

Nine,

Taking a nice deep letting go breath.

As you exhale,

Release,

Relax,

And let go here now.

Eight,

That's right,

Allowing the shoulders to really relax here now creating space between the bottom of the earlobe and the top of the shoulder.

Seven,

Good,

Noticing all of the ways that the body is supported here now.

Perhaps becoming aware of the support beneath you,

Support around you.

Any shifting or changing of fabric against the skin as you breathe.

Allowing all of this to confirm that you are supported.

You are grounded.

You are present here now.

And as the body begins to register this understanding,

This knowing that you are present,

You are grounded,

It begins to remember that you are safe.

And with this remembrance that you are safe here now,

You take another step down seven,

Six,

This time tripling your relaxation as you do five,

Another step down,

Really relaxing,

Really releasing,

Really letting go.

Four,

Once again,

Bringing that focus and awareness to the heart space,

Finding the sensation of the heartbeat in the body and allowing that rhythm of life to bring you deeper and deeper into this present moment.

Five,

Four,

Another step down,

Taking another nice deep letting go breath.

Four,

Three,

That's right.

Relaxing deeper and deeper.

Two,

Allowing yourself to really let go here now as the body and mind relax into a very peaceful,

Into a very safe,

To a very pleasant place.

In fact,

It is your safe place that awaits you at the bottom of your beautiful and perfect staircase of two and one.

Go ahead and be there now.

Here inside your safe place.

Perhaps your safe place is a place you've been before.

Perhaps you've never been to this safe place before.

Either way,

Noticing what it is that you notice and allowing the body to really remember what safe feels like for you.

Good.

Knowing that all things are temporary including this present moment as the present moment becomes the past and welcomes in the future into the present moment.

I invite you to go ahead even if just for now to allow yourself to empty yourself of yourself.

Empty the mind of any thoughts or stories.

Empty out any concerns or even any expectations of what you should be experiencing or could be experiencing.

Allowing any and all thoughts,

Stories,

Concerns,

Anxieties,

To-do lists or expectations to be emptied from yourself here now.

Like water cascading over beautiful mountain sides,

Allowing that to be released here now.

And as you release what no longer serves you,

Feeling lighter and lighter.

That's right,

Feeling lighter and lighter and more and more flexible.

Which I know you know being flexible is indeed a strength.

Allowing you to flex with whatever comes on your path in life.

Good.

And once again I invite you to go ahead and connect with that beautiful,

Powerful heart space.

Connecting with the sensations of the heart once again.

Allowing this to be a practice as the mind is creating these deep crevices of neural pathways that you can really remember and access this pathway to the heart easily and effortlessly from this point forward.

As you connect with the heart space once again,

I invite you to connect with the heart and say thank you heart for being here.

Thank you heart for being here today.

And perhaps even taking a moment to ask the heart,

Heart,

How are you today?

And allowing yourself to receive whatever it is that you're receiving.

Good.

And allowing this moment here now in conversation with the heart to be an opportunity to knock on the door of the heart and be invited in as a guest into the home of the heart,

The house of the heart.

So perhaps even imagining yourself opening up a door to the heart and stepping in,

Being welcomed in to this inner heart space,

This very welcoming home here inside the heart.

Being welcomed in and taking a seat here inside the home of the heart and noticing any and all sensations as you embrace how good it feels to be welcomed.

Good.

And go ahead and allow anything that perhaps has been weighing on your heart to be released from you now.

As you go ahead and ask the heart,

Heart,

What is it that you need right now?

Good.

Asking that question to the heart and allowing yourself a few moments here now to receive whatever it is that you're receiving.

Good.

Very,

Very good.

And isn't it an interesting experience for you to be in the home of the heart?

And I wonder,

What does the heart need right now?

Whatever it is that you are receiving or knowing here now,

I invite you to become aware that the heart is offering you the way.

I wonder what it might feel like for you to trust the heart.

Good.

And go ahead and taking a few final moments here now to thank the heart for showing up here today and specifically thanking the heart for being so strong and such a wonderful teacher as the heart has received many stories in the past,

Some pain,

Some hardships,

Some heartbreak.

And yet the heart continues to beat on learning and experiencing and growing and expanding from those experiences.

I wonder what we can learn from that strength.

Thanking the heart and wrapping up this moment of gratitude as you go ahead and come back into your body fully.

And once again,

Finding the sensation of the heartbeat in the body in this shell for the spirit that encompasses your incredible,

Beautiful body,

Finding the sensation of that heartbeat once again,

Allowing that to ground you back into your body ground you back into your heart,

Ground you back into your present body.

And now with this deeper connection to the heart,

This wave of gratitude flowing through the body for all that which the heart has beaten through,

Knowing that you can always come back to this time into this place into the knowing that you can ask the heart what it needs.

You can offer the heart exactly what it needs,

Allowing that to be the way that feels pretty empowering,

Doesn't it?

So taking with you this deeper connection with yourself,

This deeper understanding of just how incredible and powerful you are,

And how divinely intelligent the heart is taking all that with you.

As you start to come back to this time in this place in the moment,

I'll begin to count you back up from one all the way to 10.

And when I say 10,

You'll be fully back in this time in this place,

Feeling so connected to your heart,

And so grateful for the reminder that your home is the heart.

One,

Wiggling fingers,

Two,

Wiggling toes,

Three,

Taking a nice deep breath in,

Four,

That's right,

Exhaling deeply now,

Five,

Rolling the shoulders back,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Feeling great,

Nine,

Allowing a smile to form on the face,

And 10,

When you're ready,

Allowing those eyes to open,

Seeing the world with a refreshed perspective.