Welcome to this guided meditation and art prompt which invite you to explore what wants to grow in your life.
These might be seeds that need tending or a plant that is ready to be placed in the ground.
What wants to grow might also be determined by the season of life that you're in.
This practice begins with a moment to ground in center followed by a brief reflection on choosing one seed to tend.
Then you'll create a visual representation of this seed as a plant in its current state.
At the end,
I will guide you through journaling prompts to help you integrate your insights.
Let us begin.
Find a comfortable seat.
You may be in a chair with your feet flat on the floor or in a cushion with your legs crossed.
Whatever allows your body to feel supported.
Let your hands rest wherever they're comfortable.
This could be on your knees or in your lap with palms facing up or down.
You may close your eyes if that feels safe or soften your gaze downward and then begin by noticing your breath.
Just notice the natural rhythm of the inhale and the exhale.
Without trying to change the breath,
Just notice it.
Now on your next inhale,
Breathe into the heart and lungs.
Pause and then exhale fully and completely.
Pause again.
Continue breathing into the heart and lungs pausing.
Then exhale,
Pausing.
Let's continue this for a few more rounds of breath.
From here,
You may return to a natural breath or continue with deep breathing if that feels comfortable to you.
Next,
Bring your awareness now to the places where your body makes contact with what's beneath you.
Notice the floor beneath your feet.
Notice your sits bones on the chair or cushion beneath you.
Bring your awareness to the feet,
Noticing the bottoms of your feet and toes.
Notice your ankles,
Your calves and shins,
And your knees.
Notice the tops of your legs,
Your hips and your sits bones.
Now notice your lower back and belly space.
Allow the belly to soften and then move your awareness up the spine,
Noticing the backside ribs,
Your heart center and front side ribs.
Pause to notice the movement of the heart and lungs in relation to the breath.
Move your awareness now up across the shoulders,
Down through the arms,
Noticing the elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Tops of hands,
Palms of hands and fingertips.
Notice if you feel any sensation in the fingertips and whether or not you feel anything,
It doesn't matter.
Just observe.
Now move your awareness up through the arms into the shoulders and up through the neck.
Notice the backside head,
The ears,
The jaw and cheekbones.
Notice the tip of your nose,
The bridge of your nose and the eyes.
Notice the eyes,
Eyebrows and forehead and then soften if you can.
Soften the eyes,
Eyebrows and forehead.
Notice the crown of the head.
Notice any sensations at the crown of the head.
Notice the right side body,
The left side body and the whole body.
Notice the whole body.
Here let's take one more deep breath in,
Pause and one more long breath out.
As you allow your breath to come back to natural,
We will move into the guided reflection.
After the bloom comes the seed.
Perhaps you attended a retreat recently.
Perhaps you were inspired by something you heard about or read.
Maybe you had a moment of insight or clarity and maybe you just noticed that something is ready.
This awareness is a bloom in and of itself.
Whatever the bloom was or is,
It offered you seeds.
These may be insights or intentions or nudgings.
These are things that want to grow in your life.
They may be ready to grow.
However,
It may not be possible to tend to them all.
So in this practice,
I invite you to choose.
Choose just one thing that wants to grow in your life.
Just notice what surfaces for you.
Notice your breath and then the insights or intentions that have been calling to you.
There is no right or wrong or best here.
Just notice what surfaces first.
What one thing is asking for your attention?
When you sense what this one thing is,
Allow it to become clearer and notice is it a seed?
Is it a seedling?
Is it ready to be planted in the ground?
What does it need?
Notice also any felt experiences of this thing.
Do you notice any physical sensations when you explore what wants to grow?
Is there excitement or curiosity?
Perhaps worry or fear?
And how are these experienced in the physical body?
Are they experienced in the physical body?
Just notice what wants to grow and what are your felt experiences.
We'll take just a few moments for you to sit with this seed.
Observe how it presents itself and notice how you feel about it.
In a moment I will invite you to open your eyes and create a visual representation of this thing that wants to grow in your life as a plant or seed in its current state.
If this intention were a seed or plant,
What stage is it in?
Is it still a seed?
A fragile seedling?
Is it ready to be transplanted or is it already growing?
When you're ready you may flutter your eyes open.
For today's practice the invitation is to create an image of the seed or plant with honesty as it presents itself right now in the season of your life.
Use whatever materials you have.
You can make this as simple or as intricate as you wish.
As you create let the plant emerge before you.
Is it tiny?
Struggling?
Thriving?
Just beginning?
Remember there's no right wrong or best way to create this image.
Just let your hands move and allow yourself to be playful if you wish.
When your plant feels complete enough we will move into journaling.
You may wish to pause this recording until you're ready to continue.
Now with your seed or plant image before you I invite you to journal.
Consider these questions as food for thought.
I will read them slowly with space between and then close with a few parting comments.
You do not need to answer these exact questions unless you want to.
They are intended as a resource to help you get started.
First,
What does this plant need to thrive?
Second,
What season are you actually in right now?
Can this seed or plant grow in this season?
Third,
What is the smallest container you can commit to?
In other words,
Do you need to start with one small plant or are you tending an entire garden or ecosystem?
And then finally,
How will you stay flexible when life happens?
In other words,
Can you care for this plant with consistency so that it can grow?
I will repeat these questions now just to help you reconsider.
First,
What does this plant need to thrive?
What season are you actually in right now?
Can this seed or plant grow in this season?
Third,
What is the smallest container you can commit to?
Is that one plant or are you planting an entire garden at one time?
And then finally,
How will you stay flexible when life happens?
Can you care for this plant with consistency so that it can grow?
As you write,
Remember this is about choosing what is actually possible to tend in the season you're in.
You may wish to pause this recording to complete your journaling.
Otherwise,
I have just a few parting comments before we end.
Now that you've honored one thing that seeks growth right now,
The work is this.
Tend to it.
This is how transformation happens,
Not in the bloom or even in the seed itself,
But in the tending.
Here,
Consistency and flexibility are key.
Thank you for taking this time to choose your one seed and for giving yourself permission to tend what's actually possible in the season you're in.
Thank you for taking this time to practice with me.
The goodness in me honors the goodness in you.
