Join me as we go into the symbolic and archetypal qualities of water that make it such a powerful tool for us to use.
One tiny drop of water amidst a larger field of water,
Like all the major elements,
Water has this amazing capacity to scale in that when you have this one little drop,
It provides just a little boost of moisture.
But then when you get into the oceanic,
That's where you really recognize the power and mystery of water.
That's something so tiny,
When you bring billions of them together,
It becomes this unstoppable force.
And there's so many metaphors embedded in that in terms of humanity and where we're headed and how collectively we can evolve together.
There's the power of one drop and then there's the power of the entire ocean.
And water is traditionally seen as a symbol of our emotional dimension.
If you've ever been to an ocean or a lake,
River,
Waterfall,
Any large body of water,
It's easy to get mystified by this field of activity that more often than not on the surface looks very calm.
But just beneath the surface is this whole rich life,
This whole ecosystem that we are not privy to in our everyday lives.
Because we're not whales or sharks,
We're humans.
So there's only so much exploration that we as humans in the modern recorded era,
Only so much access that we have to these large bodies of water.
Even to the extent of scuba divers and submarines or folks who've gone to the bottom of the ocean,
Even with that,
There's still so much mystery and a sense of infinity in the same way that we experience infinity with outer space.
We also experience infinity within our oceans,
Which is trippy because the planet earth itself is a finite form.
What is this rock floating in space and the water that goes all the way down to the ocean floor where the water ends and the sediment,
The earth,
The soil begins.
And yet there's so much that exists within the water that is unknowable to us.
Even now,
Even with all the technology that we have to poke and prod down there to see all the animals,
All the organisms we've never even seen before.
And so that great mystery of water is a really great avatar and metaphor for our subconscious mind.
So the earth that we can see in our everyday life as we're traveling around commuting,
That phenomena generally comprises 10% of that which is accessible to our sensory experience and conscious mind.
And then the rest is this grand mystery that many of us glean meaning from via dreams,
Via premonition,
Via arts and creativity,
All these different indirect ways that we experience the power of our subconscious mind in much the same way that the methods for exploring the ocean floor are indirect.
So I think of the subconscious mind as full of oceanic levels of perception and feeling and emotion that is beyond what language can articulate and operates more in what I call archetypal,
The symbolic beyond language,
The symbolic beyond what is immediately legible to another human being.
We all carry these universes inside of us,
These oceans inside of us that other people get a taste of,
But you can never completely know the ocean floor of another human being.
How infinitely mysterious we are as humans to ourselves and to each other and how that shows in our relationship to each other,
Our relationship to the earth and our relationship to water.
So we talked about how water has this amazing scale,
About how a little drop can seem harmless,
But the ocean devours anything that comes within it.
And also the ocean has a certain pattern of flow.
It has a certain current,
Has certain currency.
And if you are able to ride the wave of that current,
You get to align your personal power with the power of the oceanic.
And I liken that to an alignment with your conscious desires and your subconscious ocean of feelings and sensations that go beyond language,
That field of consciousness that is so powerful.
We're going to go into our own underwater,
Our own ocean.
What is inside your ocean?
There are endless discoveries made about what's in the ocean every day.
And then of course,
The form of the ocean is constantly changing.
Now to our eyes,
The conscious mind looking at a map,
It looks like the relationship between the water and the land is more or less stable.
But anyone who follows the shape of volcanoes or underwater earthquakes,
The various invisible reshapings of the earth in terms of how it interacts with water to create a new.
All the land masses slowly drifting away from each other over the past several million years.
Notice what arises for you.
Notice what you discover as we go through this meditation.
Imagine yourself as you're sitting or standing or laying down.
Imagine feeling water tickling your toes gently.
Now imagine that water rising slowly around you so that you are about halfway submerged in this gentle cleansing water.
Notice your bodily sensations.
What is your relationship to the water?
Are you feeling at peace with the water?
Are you feeling tickled and delighted by the water?
Are you feeling dread as the water rises?
Notice what sensations come up as the water slowly rises around you.
Imagine feeling some light dew sprinkling across your face,
A light and gentle mist that you can feel across your cheeks,
Across your forehead,
The tip of your nose,
On your lips.
Imagine breathing in this humidity.
Is it fresh water?
Is it salt water?
Breathe deep in and out.
In a moment,
You're going to be completely submerged in the water and release.
Notice your sensations as you emerge after being completely submerged in water.
How would you interpret the sensations that you feel being completely submerged underwater,
This relatively still,
Gentle water?
Now imagine that you are on a boat or a ship,
A canoe,
Any boat of your liking,
A raft perhaps,
And this boat is in the middle of the ocean.
When you look closely at the waves,
You can see the various currents,
The various flows of the water.
The boat that you are in is simply following the current,
And you can feel the power of that current through your vehicle,
Through your boat,
Through your body.
What sensations do you feel as that current is carrying you,
As the current is carrying you in a way that leaves you feeling weightless and effortless?
All you have to do is trust the flow.
You're in the middle of the vast ocean.
You cannot yet see any land.
You only see the circularity of the earth.
And then you turn your head,
And in the distance,
You see a shore,
You see land.
And the current that is carrying you just so happens to be carrying you in the direction toward that shore.
What land is it?
Is it a land that is known,
A land that exists,
A land of your ancestors?
Or is it a land that only you know,
A land of your own imagination?
Take a deep breath in and exhale.
What emotions do you feel as you travel on this vast ocean?
Are there any companions around in the ocean?
Do you see any fish,
Whales,
Dolphins,
Seals,
Birds,
Other humans?
And now you're being swept up in a huge wave that carries you beyond space and time and lands you gently upon that shore.
You feel all the sensations in your body as you sit or lay down or stand on that shore and feel the earth between your toes.
As the water from the ocean ebbs and flows,
Tickling your toes,
You take a deep breath in and exhale.
You slowly and gently bring your way back to your present here and now and you be in the summit of being here today.
Being here.
Being here.
Imagine this being all of these mountains up now for the time being,
To be here all
