Journey Series 1: Beautiful Sri Lanka

Greetings,

Dear ones,

And welcome to a new series that I'm excited to bring to Insight Timer.

This series of meditations will be guided journeys through some significant places of the world,

Places I've been to and places that I'd like to try and capture within a meditation journey to give you a chance to maybe experience a place you haven't been to or maybe just find a little bit of joyful escape and a little holiday for your mind and soul.

So with this in mind,

Let's take a little time to relax and prepare ourselves for a meditation,

A journey,

An adventure.

So take your time,

Get comfortable either laying or seated.

Make sure that you're warm and perhaps loosen any tight clothing.

As you settle,

Perhaps we close the eyes or just let the gaze drift off to the sky or anything you can see outside of your window.

Imagine that as we take some deep and unhurried breaths,

We're just beginning to let go and release of any tension or tightness in the body.

Just setting aside the noise of our day,

So whatever projects we're working on,

Whatever shopping lists we have,

We'll just pop them at the side of the room.

We're going to travel light on our adventure today,

So we don't need to take any busy thoughts with us or carry any worries or stresses along the way.

As we allow the body to relax and the mind and the breath come to calm,

In our mind's eye,

We find ourselves beginning our journey at dawn.

We are high up in the hills on the island of Sri Lanka.

We find ourselves standing on the path of a tea plantation,

Swathes of green around us.

In taller trees we hear exotic birds waking to the day and singing their songs.

As you look down the hill there is a soft mist that skims the green.

And nearby you see women of all ages with little silver scissors cutting new buds off the tea trees.

These are the most precious first flush leaves untouched by human hands.

They take hold of the buds just with the silver scissors.

They move quietly and calmly amongst the tea.

A gentle meditation for the morning.

And a rhythm of the day of the tea plantation that starts here.

Origin and collecting these leaves from the tea plants with respect,

Without hurry,

With kindness and compassion for the plants.

The women smile at you gently as they go about their task,

Untroubled by your presence.

They work peacefully as you begin to journey along your path through the tea plantation.

You take in the different plants you see around you.

Different shades of greens from deep dark shining green for the light silvery buds of silver tip tea.

Through the plantation you find a beautiful hidden tea house,

A beautifully manicured lawn in front of it.

And stone bowls of water.

This cool refreshing water nourishes little petals and flowers that rest upon them.

These bowls of flowers and water much more suited to the hot weather than cut plants.

A beautiful Sri Lankan woman leaves the tea house and beckons you to come sit upon a comfortable chair upon the grass.

You sit comfortably still with a beautiful view down from the hill over valleys as the last of the morning mist lifts.

Your host brings you a warm cup of Ceylon tea.

It is a golden amber colour.

Whirls of steam rise from the cup and you feel the warmth between your hands.

It smells all at once earthy and spicy.

You sip the tea refreshed and energised ready for whatever the day before you may hold.

You pass the cup back to your host and rise gently ready to move upon the pond.

She bids you farewell.

You walk easefully down the hill to the groves of tea plants and tall palm trees.

You see coconuts and jackfruits high above you.

As we descend from the tea plantation through to a lusher greener space of forest.

The birds are still singing but now also the buzz of insects,

The calls of monkeys as they leap from branch to branch,

The forest is alive.

Great tall trees rise around you as the path levels to flat and easeful.

Great broad leaves of plants on the forest floor and great tall tree trunks rise above you.

As you walk through the special place teeming with animals and nature.

Going through the forest the path becomes paved as you come across a village.

Either side of you there are great flat flooded fields for growing rice.

You begin to feel the day coming alive as people cycle past you on bikes and rickshaws and tuck tucks.

As there is a gentle noise of people's days beginning.

As you walk past the fields you come to a collection of little houses.

Maybe you see dogs and cats playing at the side of the road taking scraps from passers-by.

Taking in the sounds and the energy you feel excited for the day ahead as the world and this island wake up around you.

You can smell tea and coffee in the air along with scents of foods being cooked for breakfast.

As the mists of the morning disappear with the warmth and light of the sun.

The warmth releases smells from the green around you fresh and luscious.

Even the dust and dirt on the road on which you walk smells earthy and grounding.

As you continue to walk your final destination lays before you it is a great wide beach.

Tall palm trees line golden sand and waves lap upon the shore sparkling in the morning sun.

People are walking along the shoreline.

Some people are strolling,

Some taking a morning run.

Some people are practicing yoga on the soft sand of the beach amongst the local fishermen that are readying their boats.

All life is coming to movement upon this beach and you feel joyful,

Happy and hopeful at the day ahead.

As your feet touch the warm powdery sounds you move easefully until you reach the shore.

Letting cool waters wash over your feet as you look out to a great ocean that surrounds this island,

A beautiful bright sun and a brand new day upon the beautiful island of Sri Lanka.

And so dear traveller,

Maybe our next inhale is just a little longer,

A little deeper than the last.

Maybe we wiggle fingers and toes as we return to the space with which we are in,

As we leave the island of Sri Lanka behind just for now.

Feel free to stretch and move as you come back to your space.

I hope you have enjoyed this journey with me today.

Look out for more meditation journeys to foreign shores and if you have any special requests of where you would like to go in meditation please do let me know.

Thank you for joining me my darlings.

Happy travels and I will see you soon.