This is the recording for the Calling in the Light practice,
A meditation for inviting in more strength and vitality,
And for boosting confidence in our emotional and physical resilience.
Although this is a practice that involves the use of the imagination and some visualization,
It is one that can be done mindfully,
That is to say,
Without striving or trying to force anything to happen,
Without judging the results,
Just being really curious about how your imagination responds to the suggestions.
So either finding a comfortable upright sitting position,
Or lying down on your back with the body symmetrical.
Making any final adjustments to your posture,
Seeing if there are any further changes you can make to be just a little bit more comfortable.
And at this point just noticing how you are right now,
And in terms of your physical and emotional well-being,
Coming up with a rating on the scale of 1 to 10,
Where 1 is feeling pretty low,
And 10 means feeling really great right now.
And as part of setting up the posture,
Seeing if it feels comfortable to rest your mouth into a gentle smile.
And then beginning by taking some longer,
Deeper breaths.
So longer,
Deeper,
Smoother breaths in through the nose.
And then longer,
Deeper,
Smoother breaths out,
Perhaps through a small hole in the mouth.
So really welcoming in the nourishing in-breath.
And then gently releasing the out-breath with a real sense of letting go.
Letting go of tension,
Letting go of thoughts,
Letting go of any sense of holding or bracing.
And continuing with these deeper,
Slower breaths,
Finding what works for you in terms of the pace and the texture of the breath,
So that it really is comfortable and calming.
And That's all.
And then after some time,
Letting the breath rest back in its own natural rhythm.
But staying as close to the breath as you can,
Following it into and out of the body,
One breath cycle after another.
Really resting your attention on the gentle rhythmic flow of the breath.
Looking back to it as often as you need to.
And then imagining what it would be like if there were a large ball of bright light like a shining sun,
Right in front of you or above you if you were lying down.
And imagining,
Really basking in this bright light as if you were sunbathing.
And imagine the whole of the front of your body from head to toe,
Really drinking in this light,
Really taking it in.
Just seeing how your imagination responds.
It might be a visual image,
It might be more of a feeling,
Or it might just be a subtle sense or an idea to play with.
And imagine this bright sun going behind you or beneath you if you were lying down,
And shining its intense bright light onto the back of your body.
Again imagine the whole of the back of your body from head to toe,
Really absorbing and welcoming this light,
Drinking it in.
Then imagining it shining onto your right side,
The light bathing the right side of your body.
And then imagining it shining onto your left side,
The left side of your body,
Really drinking it in.
And next imagining that this bright sun is now hovering above the crown of your head,
Perhaps a foot or so away.
Notice how it feels to imagine it shining down upon you from above.
Now feel or visualize it coming closer and closer towards the top of your head,
Until it just begins to touch your crown.
And now feel it beginning to enter your body through the crown.
Imagine it beginning to fill up your head with light at the level of the forehead,
Then down to the level of the eyes and ears,
The nose,
The cheeks,
Down to the level of the mouth,
The chin,
The jaw.
Imagine this bright light filling the whole of your head now.
And as it does so,
The face,
The brain,
The skull,
The skin,
All the muscles are softening,
Are relaxing,
Are feeling warm and vibrant.
So exploring this invitation,
There is no wrong way of doing this,
Just noticing how that would feel.
The light then filling up the throat,
The neck,
The shoulders,
And down to the beginnings of the arms.
The light making its way down the upper arms,
Bringing warmth,
Bringing vitality and relaxation.
Down to the elbows,
Down the lower arms,
To the wrists,
The hands,
And all the fingers.
So now the head,
The neck,
The arms,
And the hands,
And fingers,
All filled with this warm bright light.
Just noticing what it feels like to imagine this happening.
It doesn't matter if your experience is very different,
Just coming back again and again to this invitation to use your imagination in this way.
So next,
Imagining the light pouring down into the upper torso,
From the shoulders down the upper back and the chest.
So taking in as it goes the shoulder blades,
The spine,
The rib cage,
And all the organs that are housed within it.
The whole of the upper half of the torso,
Softening,
Warming,
Shining brightly.
Down now to the lower parts of the torso.
The solar plexus,
The abdomen,
The lower back,
The sides of the trunk,
As well as all the organs in this part of the body.
So now sensing what it is like to imagine the whole of the upper half of the body,
Filled with this bright light.
All the muscles and organs and bones being completely suffused with it,
Becoming softer,
Warmer,
More vibrant.
Imagining now the light entering the pelvic area,
Front and back.
And then making its way down the upper legs.
The fronts of the thighs,
The backs of the thighs,
The sides of the thighs,
Inner and outer.
Skin,
Muscle and bone,
All filled with this light.
All filled with strength and vitality.
How would that feel?
Now down to the knees,
Front and back.
Down the lower legs,
With the shins at the front and the calves at the back.
The light flowing down to the ankles,
The heels,
The soles of the feet,
The tops of the feet,
And all the toes.
The whole body now,
The whole body filled with light.
The feet,
The legs,
The arms,
The torso,
The head and neck.
As if your body were like an empty vessel,
Filled with light from the crown of your head all the way down to the ends of your fingers and the tips of your toes.
The whole body filled with the light of strength,
Vitality,
Resilience.
Just noticing how your imagination responds to this invitation.
Imagining now that this light filling the whole body becomes brighter and brighter with each and every breath.
Brighter and brighter until it is bursting out through every pore of your skin.
So that your whole body becomes like a radiant shining sun with light streaming out from you in every direction.
The light from your body filling the room where you are now.
Beyond the room into the local area,
Out into the world.
Simply letting this light go where it is needed to friends and family,
To people you know,
And to people you have never met,
To people who are suffering,
And to people who are out there working on the front lines trying to help them.
And to those who are simply trying to make their way in this world.
Blending out this light to all beings.
And then as we come to the end of this practice,
Just rating again your physical and emotional well being on a scale of 1 to 10.
Noticing any change from the beginning of the practice.
And then as you begin gently to move and wake up your body,
And to become a little more aware of your surroundings,
Seeing if you can take this sense of well being,
Whether real or imagined,
Out with you into the rest of your day.
Than you can blacks again.
