We are all divine beings having an earthly experience,
And it is important to remember that our true essence is to cultivate joy,
Peace and purpose.
In this practice,
We'll use a beautiful visualization to remind us of this and stir our souls.
So welcome.
Find a comfortable position.
You can sit down,
Lie down or stand up.
As you allow your eyes to gently close,
Settle into your body,
Tune in and ask your body what it needs.
If you could do something,
Anything to make yourself feel a bit more comfortable,
Please do it now.
Before we start,
You need to remember that your mind will wander.
That's what minds do.
You can use my voice,
The sensation of breathing in and breathing out,
Or the visualization to bring you back to the practice.
But if you have to call your mind back a hundred times,
Then so be it.
It's perfectly normal.
I'd like you to start by imagining that you're walking along a path by a beautiful beach.
It's a warm evening.
The temperature is perfect for you.
And the sun is starting to set.
The sky looks magical with pink,
Blue and orange,
All framed by palm trees.
The air is so fresh and clean,
And you can hear the gentle lapping of waves on the shore.
You're carrying a suitcase in each hand.
The suitcases are heavy.
The suitcase in your right hand has a big label on it that says the future.
And the suitcase in your left hand has a big label on it that says the past.
They're weighing you down.
You decide to walk onto the beach and just put them down for a moment and sit on a bench to enjoy yourself.
As you sit down,
Feel the weight of your body on the bench and hear the gentle lapping of waves on the shore.
Oh,
Feel the warm evening sun on your skin.
And as you inhale,
Smell the fresh sea air.
Your shoulders feel so much more relaxed now that you've put the suitcases down.
And you feel a smile in your eyes and at the corners of your mouth.
In this moment,
There's nothing to fear and absolutely nothing to do.
Life is good.
You look down at the sand by your feet and bend over,
Cupping your hands side by side and taking a handful of the warm sand.
You bring the sand up towards your face to take a closer look.
You see thousands and thousands of beautiful grains glistening in the evening sun.
The closer you look,
The more detail you see.
Gold grains of sand against emerald,
Turquoise,
Orange and black.
You feel the warm sand slowly running through the gaps in your fingers.
Slowly and steadily flowing down and back to the beach.
You realise that this is your life.
This is all of our lives.
The beautiful warm sand continues to flow through your fingers like the passing of time.
We can't stop it.
It continues to flow from the day that we're born into these earthly lives to the day that we transition.
When all the sand has gone and we too return to the universe.
Time passes in a constant flow for each and every one of us.
And every experience,
Good,
Bad and those in the middle also pass like the flow of sand.
In this moment,
Consider the need to live.
To really,
Really live without fear.
Understand the need to wake up and have the courage to create the moments of joy,
Peace and purpose.
While the universe still has your sand in its hands.
Take a moment now to think about the things that you really want to do.
Not the things that are expected of you,
But the dreams and visions and ideas that are in your hearts.
And realise that you are ready.
As you consider your dreams and visions.
Tell yourself,
I'm ready.
I'm ready to start creating my own moments of joy and peace and purpose.
As you allow the warm sand to continue to flow through your fingers.
Take a few moments to feel the warmth and sense of hope in your heart.
The feeling of peace and certainty that you now know exactly what you have to do.
So very slowly,
We'll start bringing this practice to a close.
Feel the weight of your body against the chair,
The bed,
The sofa or the floor.
And start to become aware of the space around you.
Any sounds or smells.
When you're ready and only when you're ready.
Start to move your body.
Give your fingers and toes a little wiggle and have a stretch.
Do what feels good.
And then slowly,
Again when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Before I go,
I'd like to leave you with some words from the late great poet Mary Oliver.
Tell me,
What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
