Summer Solstice Meditation

A poetic meditation for welcoming Summer Solstice, and the longest day of the year.
Celebrating with an abundance of love, reverence, and gratitude for nature, for the earth, and for all of her seasons.

Transcript

Let's begin finding what you need to feel supported in either a seated shape or lying down. Allow this to be a gentle practice, One that is guided by your comfort. As you begin to settle, Your eyes may be softly open or perhaps your eyes might gently close. Take a few moments to connect with your breathing. Breathing in and breathing out. Noticing your natural breath. As you breathe, Your jaw might soften a little. Your shoulders might melt back. Your arms, Hands, Fingers, All relaxed. Back body, Legs, Feet, And toes at rest. Ears listen to the body at rest. Whole body at rest. Breathing in and breathing out. Notice the wave of your breath. Feel the rise when you inhale and the roll as you exhale. Allowing each breath to come and go like an ocean wave. Breathing in and breathing out like an ocean wave. We are interwoven with nature. Our energy fields are always resonating and flowing with the vibrations of the earth. The cycle of the seasons is a sacred teacher, Offering us the wisdom to understand the beautiful impermanence of all things. This makes the experience of each season even sweeter, Like a ripe fruit. Winter is a time of dormancy. We plant our seeds and then we nestle in, Dreaming, Resting, And healing. When spring comes, We begin to slowly rise. Peeking out of our nests, Rubbing our sleepy eyes to look around, Everything that has been planted begins to blossom. Today we are celebrating the arrival of summer with an abundance of love, Reverence and gratitude for nature, For the earth, And for all of her seasons. Nature is in its fullest expression of bloom. Everything is lush, Vibrant, And alive. We awaken to the dawn chorus of joyful birdsong, The rainbow of light through the morning window, Warm rays of sunlight dancing upon the walls. We can now fully emerge from our winter cocoons and throw open the doors to embrace the sun. Breathing in and breathing out, Throwing open the doors to embrace the sun, Feeling the softness of the grass or the warmth of the sand beneath your bare feet. Walking on the beach, Listening to the ocean, Listening to the waves, The weightlessness of floating and buoyancy, The fragrance of brine and skin kissed with salt. Days that linger, Seamlessly unfolding into night. The colors of the evening sky, A painting of golden rose, Crimson, And deepest bloom. Night becoming a cloak of the softest navy, A crushed velvet sky sprinkled with diamonds. Who made the world? Who made the swan and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean. This one who has flung herself out of the grass, The one who is eating sugar out of my hand, Who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down, Who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, How to fall down into the grass, How to kneel down in the grass, How to be idle and blessed, How to stroll through the fields, Which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, What else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last and all too soon? Tell me, What is it you plan to do with your one, One wild and precious life? Taking another deep breath in and another deep breath out. Beginning to bring some small movement into your body. Taking your time to fully inhabit this space. Taking this time to observe how you feel. Noticing any vibration, Any sense of warmth, The touch of air on your skin, The beat of your wonderful heart. Long may you shine.