Hi,
I'm Kelly and welcome to today's meditation.
During this visualization meditation I ask you to imagine yourself in your own story.
I will mention times within the meditation where you open or close your eyes.
This is imagined and I ask that you keep your eyes closed or at least soften your gaze throughout the actual meditation.
Now get into a comfortable seated or lying down position.
You can pause this meditation until you're ready.
Make sure your spine is straight and your body is relaxed and close your eyes.
If you are seated make sure both feet are on the ground and rest your hands gently on your lap.
Now take a long slow deep breath in through your nose and out through your nose.
Repeat this two more times allowing your body just to settle into the ground that you're on.
I'd like you to imagine a spotlight shining down above you.
This spotlight is your awareness.
It begins to scan your body beginning at your feet.
Gently become aware of your toes or feet.
Move them slightly and then relax them.
Next move your mind's eye to your calves.
First your right calf and then your left.
Relax your muscles.
Become aware of your knees.
Your right knee and then your left.
Relax them both.
Move up to your thighs.
Are you tensing or holding in that area?
Relax your right thigh and then your left.
Relax your hips,
Your belly,
Your chest.
Take a deep breath in and then let it go.
Become aware of your shoulders.
Are you tensing them or are they riding up towards your ears?
Take a deep breath and drop your shoulders as you breathe out.
Just relax them.
Send your awareness to the tops of each arm and relax those muscles.
Move down to the lower arms.
Relax your right arm and then your left.
Become aware of your hands,
Your palms,
Your fingers and relax them.
Are you clenching your neck or your jaw?
Become aware of how you are holding these parts of your body and let your jaw drop down.
Unclench your teeth if they were clenched.
Soften your face.
Allow your lips to gently part.
Relax your cheeks and your forehead.
Take a deep breath in and then let it go.
Now allow your breathing to regulate and just come naturally and easily.
I want you to imagine yourself walking up a steep hill.
You are carrying a backpack which seems to get heavier with every step.
Inside your backpack are all your worries and all your fears.
I want you to bring to mind what those might be for you right now.
The walk is hard,
The backpack is heavy and you begin to wonder if you will make it to the top without falling down.
But something inside you makes you keep going.
Finally after what feels like days you reach the top.
The view before you takes your breath away.
You are struck by how green and lush the grass is.
The sky is so blue it reminds you of the ocean.
What does your sky look like?
It can have big fluffy clouds or it can be cloudless,
Whatever you want.
There are mountains in the distance and you are surrounded by beautiful wildflowers.
This is your place and so you can choose whether or not you want a favorite pet or a person with you.
Or do you just need this time on your own?
You take a deep breath.
What can you smell?
Can you feel the warmth of the Sun on your body?
Suddenly you become aware of the rushing sound of water near you and you feel pulled towards this sound.
Soon you come across a beautiful crystal-clear river.
It's roaring and rushing towards a waterfall,
Steep and powerful.
Suddenly you understand that this is the place to put down your backpack.
You place it on the ground and unzip it.
Slowly you take out each worry or fear one at a time and throw them into the river.
You watch each one get carried away by the powerful stream and drop down disappearing over the edge of the waterfall.
Take your time and make sure you pick up every worry or fear and throw it into the river.
Finally when it's done you take a deep breath in and then sigh it out.
You feel so much lighter,
So much more hopeful.
You bend down and scoop some of the ice-cold crystal-clear water into your hands and you take a drink.
You splash some onto your face and sit for a while knowing that it's okay to take this time just to rest.
Feeling refreshed and renewed you stand up and are filled with excitement at the prospect of exploring this new place.
You are safe here and protected from any harm.
You look ahead and notice a winding pathway which you now walk towards.
On either side there is long wispy grass swaying in the wind.
You feel warm and safe like the universe is surrounding you with love.
You move forward slowly towards the sea of yellow on a hill in the distance.
The sound of the river grows distant as you walk towards fields ahead.
Soon the long grass disappears and space opens up all around you.
To your right you notice a slither of gleaming blue ocean and take a deep breath.
You catch the scent of saltwater and feel its healing properties enter every cell of your body.
To the left there are some wild horses grazing in a field.
They stop and look up at you.
Your eyes meet theirs and it's as if they can see into your very soul and are whispering,
You are safe,
You are loved.
You finally reach the hill and find yourself amongst thousands of sunflowers.
You close your eyes and breathe in the scent they are giving off.
You decide to sit down and when you feel how soft the green grass is below you,
You lie down feeling the earth support you.
The sunflowers dance in the breeze shining their beautiful faces towards the sun.
In that moment you are filled with joy.
The clouds above you float slowly by revealing the blue sky between them.
All that you can see,
All that you can feel,
All that you can smell confirms that in this very moment all is well.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath in.
You breathe in love and when you exhale you breathe out worry.
Breathe in love.
Breathe out worry.
Breathe in love.
Breathe out worry.
Slowly you open your eyes.
It's time to leave this place for now.
You get up and smile at the sunflowers still dancing in the breeze and start to follow the path back towards the river.
You glance at the ocean now on your left and you turn towards the horses on your right as they munch on the green grass and just are.
Soon you find yourself back at the river where your empty backpack still lies.
You cup your hand and take one more sip of water before picking up your backpack and heading towards the decline.
You turn one last time and take in all you can see,
Knowing that your backpack will probably grow heavy with worries again but also knowing that you can return to this place whenever you need to.
You can offload that backpack whenever you need to.
You whisper thank you and you start heading down the hill.
You are safe and in this moment all is well.
When you feel ready gently move your fingers and toes and slowly become aware of the room and where your physical body is.
Take your time,
Maybe just some small gentle movements and when you feel ready open your eyes.
Feel free to lie there for a little longer as you let the nutrients of this practice sink in.
Thank you for doing this meditation with me today and please know you can come back at any time.
Have a beautiful day and know you are loved.
