Hello and welcome to this meditation to help you celebrate your unique and marvelous journey.
My name is Juana and I'm so delighted you could join me.
Go ahead and get settled in an upright position.
Imagine a rope on the top of your head pulling your spine straight up.
Think tall like a mountain.
Focus on one point in front of you and feel your eyes gradually grow heavy and lose focus
as they slowly close.
Take some time to survey your internal landscape.
Tune into the gentle rise and fall of your chest.
Don't do anything to adjust your breath in any way.
Slowly notice where it is at,
Where you are at,
In this particular moment in time.
Feel your chest going up and down,
Up and down,
Like a vast mountain range with many
peaks and valleys.
Visualize that for a few breaths.
The top of your inhale as the peak of a mountain and the bottom of your exhale as the bottom
of a valley.
Now imagine your hand as a mountain range with the tip of each of your fingers being
the peak of a mountain and the lower lying area between your two fingers a valley.
Let's try a fun little exercise.
With your eyes still closed,
Use your left pointer finger,
Otherwise known as the index
finger,
To trace up and down each of your fingers on your right hand.
Breathing in through your nose as you trace up each individual finger and breathing out
through your mouth as you trace down each finger.
So start on the outside left bottom edge of your right thumb,
Tracing with your left pointer
finger up as you breathe in and reach to the top of your thumb.
Then breathe out as you continue moving your finger down to the bottom between your right
thumb and pointer,
Second finger.
Then breathe in as you trace up to the top of your pointer finger and breathe out as
you move down between your pointer and middle finger.
Again breathe in as you move up your middle finger up to the top and breathe out as you
move your way down in between your middle and ring finger.
You got it now.
Keep moving all the way to the outside of your pinky finger and then all the way back
to where you started at the outside edge of your right thumb.
Remember to breathe in through your nose as you move up your finger and breathe out through
your mouth as you move down.
Once you made it back to your thumb,
Switch hands and use your right pointer finger to
trace your left hand in the exact same way you did on your right.
Keep switching back and forth between your two hands till I check back in with you.
Don't let any thoughts distract you.
Keep focusing on your journey up and down,
Up and down,
Using your finger and breath
to anchor you into this present moment.
No need to rush for there's nowhere to get to.
Once you reach one end of your journey,
You merely return back to the other.
Now relax your attention and return your hands to a comfortable resting spot,
Breathing calmly.
Similar to this mountain breathing exercise,
Life is full of a never-ending series of up
and downs,
Beginning and endings,
Goals and accomplishments.
You may think we've made it to the top,
But oftentimes,
Standing on one peak shows
us how many more we have yet to climb.
So for really to appreciate life,
We must enjoy the entire journey along the way.
The valleys are just as beautiful as the peaks,
For they all show us new perspectives.
And so that's why you're here today,
To celebrate your journey up until this point.
Regardless of what twists and turns may have surprised you along the way,
Or if you believe
you should have been further along,
You never really get it all done.
Even when you get from point A to B,
You then set your sights on reaching point C,
D,
E,
F,
You get the picture.
So what's the rush?
Let's shift our focus on where you've been and how far you've come.
Take this opportunity to look back on your life with awe and wonder,
As if you are the
hero in your very own storybook.
You may not think your life is particularly special,
But just remember that there will
never be another person exactly as you,
With your precise genetic makeup and all of creation.
There never has been in all of mankind,
And there never will be.
Let that miraculous knowing in for a moment.
Bring to mind three or more of your major peak life experiences,
Whether that is meeting
a soulmate,
Getting your university degree,
Taking that trip of a lifetime,
Or simply
experiencing something for the first time,
Such as playing an instrument.
What were they?
Who was involved?
How did it make you feel?
Why were these moments so special?
Feel appreciative for them all,
Knowing there is still more to come.
Contemplate how some of what you are living now was once only a dream to a younger version
of you.
What particular memories stand out?
Next,
Reflect on how some of your biggest failures were also your wisest lessons.
How did you learn and grow from them?
How did they shape you in the person you are today?
Consider that perhaps without these lessons,
You wouldn't be where you are today,
And
you wouldn't be who you are.
Give some thanks for the person they helped shape you to be,
And how they showed you what
you did want.
Think of one special person that was there for you throughout all the ups and downs.
Sense gratitude fill up your whole body as you remember what they did for you,
How they
showed up for you,
Perhaps when you couldn't even show up for yourself.
Envision them standing right in front of you in your mind's eye,
And tell them what your
heart has guided to communicate to them.
Lastly,
Thank yourself for making it this far in your journey.
Remind yourself that there is no happy ending to an unhappy journey,
You are exactly where
you are meant to be.
Ask yourself how you can enjoy and relax into the never-ending adventure through time and
space,
Listen,
Really receive the answer.
Assure yourself that you are exactly where you are meant to be,
That nothing has gone
wrong and everything is going right,
It's all unfolding the way it should.
Trust yourself and feel a deep sense of appreciation for your unique and wondrous journey.
In life we go through many peaks and valleys,
Be grateful for both.
Remember your valleys are just as invaluable as your peaks.
Oftentimes only in retrospect do we appreciate our lows because we see where they brought
us,
To a new vantage point,
Growing in ways we never saw coming or even thought we could.
They show us where we want to climb next.
Never take your peaks for granted,
Appreciation and humbleness will help you stay on top and
make the most out of the bottom.
As we are coming to the end of our meditation,
I want to recite you a marvelous poem that
may resonate deeply based on everything we've just journeyed through.
It's by C.
P.
Cavafy and it's called Ithaca.
Relax,
Breathe calmly and soak it in.
Ithaca
As you set out for Ithaca,
Hope your road is a long one,
Full of adventure,
Full of discovery.
Lastragonian,
Cyclops,
Angry Poseidon,
Don't be afraid of them,
You'll never find things
like that on your way,
As long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
As long as a rare
excitement stirs your spirit and your body.
Lastragonian,
Cyclops,
Wild Poseidon,
You won't encounter them,
Unless you bring them
along inside your soul,
Unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one,
May there be many summer mornings when,
With what pleasure,
What joy,
You enter harbors you're seeing for the first time.
May you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things,
Mother of pearl and coral,
Amber and ebony,
Sensual perfume of every kind,
As many sensual perfumes as you can,
And may you visit many Egyptian cities to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaca always in your mind,
Arriving there is what you're destined for,
But don't
hurry the journey at all,
Better if it lasts for years,
So you're old by the time you
reach the island,
Wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
Not expecting Ithaca to
make you rich.
Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey,
Without her you wouldn't have set out,
She has nothing
left to give you now,
And if you find her poor,
Ithaca won't have fooled you,
Wise
as you will have become,
So full of experience,
You'll have understood by then what these
Ithacas mean.
Take a few deep breaths to integrate whatever lessons this poem may have imparted upon you,
Along with anything else from our session together.
And so it is.
We will now transition out.
As you slowly begin to reawaken your body and mind,
Bring your awareness to the sensations
in your fingers and toes,
Wiggle them gently,
Allowing the energy to flow freely through
your body.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes and take in the world around you with a renewed sense
of awe.
Thank you for joining me on this meditative journey.
May you move forward on your journey through life with an open heart,
A clear mind,
And
a deep sense of peace in your soul.
As always,
Let me know how it went for you,
What you got out of it,
And of course,
Follow
along for more to come.
