Connecting To Lighthearted Play & Creativity

This meditation focuses on the physical, emotional, and mental manifestations of the sign Leo, which rules the heart, spine, and general vitality of the body. It also governs our ability to express creatively, feel unique, and be in the spotlight. A healthy and balanced Leo expression gives and receives easily, enjoys playful and lighthearted fun, and is inspired, creative, and generous.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

The following is a guided meditation by Renee Seals,

A somatic movement educator,

Energy worker,

And astrologer.

This meditation is intended to help support your embodied meditation practice.

If in the recording you are prompted to do something that doesn't feel good for your body,

Please adapt and modify to make it work for you.

Please also note that the content of this meditation sometimes explores deep and subtle states and memories,

And sometimes guided visualizations.

You are encouraged to work with discernment as you practice with them.

If any of the guidance Renee offers feels too activating or uncomfortable,

Please listen to your body's knowing and pause the recording until a later time if you wish to return to it.

These guided meditations range anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes and do not require any supplementary equipment to participate.

We hope you enjoy.

Wherever you are,

Find a way to be comfortable.

Begin with your eyes and allow your eyes to soften and rest backwards into the space of your skull.

It's possible to close your eyes,

Allow them to close.

And whether the eyes are open or closed,

Allow them to release effort of focusing.

Feel the quality of your breath.

As you inhale,

Notice how it passes through your nose or through your mouth.

Notice the space of the inhale as it touches your lungs and how your lungs expand inviting breath into your body.

And in the expansion of your lungs,

Notice where you inhale.

And consider that you have a lot of space to breathe into and you could feel the container of your ribs with your hands.

You might feel how they're longer in the back of your body than they are in the front.

How they dome upwards and outwards in the front of your chest.

You can feel the point where your left and right rib cages come together.

You can feel how that point is the bottom end of your breastbone and how your breastbone is shaped like a shield.

And you can feel how just behind your breastbone there is your spine,

Or not just behind,

But in the back of your body at your midline.

Behind your breastbone is your spine.

And how your ribs encircle from your breastbone to your spine.

And how they protect and encase your lungs.

And as your lungs inhale and exhale,

I'd like you to imagine where your heart is.

And if you bring your hand to your sternum or to your breastbone and just let it rest there,

And from the touch of your hand go inwards,

Inwards through your body,

And imagine the front side of your spine.

And then you can feel the tension in your hands.

And as you inhale,

Your lungs hug around your heart.

And as you exhale,

They hug around your heart.

And your heart and your lungs work together to transform your body.

And imagine the front side of your spine.

The organ of your heart is between your hand and your spine.

It's in front of your spine.

And your heart and your lungs work together to transform the inhale that you receive from the atmosphere into the inhale that your cells receive.

So in the process of inhaling and the process of your heart beating,

There's a transformation where the air that you breathe in becomes the oxygen molecules that are carried on your blood to every cell in your body.

And every cell in your body requires breath.

And this breath is what defines us in our identity.

When we stop breathing,

We are no longer contained within our bodies,

Our names,

Our cultures,

And all the things that go along with those bodies.

So as you breathe,

Can you greet your breath as if you would greet someone who you love and don't see often?

That there's a preciousness to each breath.

There's an awareness that at some point the breath will cease and an awareness that it didn't always exist for you and your name and your identity.

But that right now you are breathing and you are here.

You are manifest.

You are a collection of cells contained within the membrane of your skin and infused with all of the experiences that you have had,

That your family has had,

That your culture has,

That the world has,

That all of creation has had,

That all of that experience is contained within you in some way or another.

And there has never at any point in history been a perspective that was yours.

And there never will be again.

So this breath is a unique moment that's arising just as your life is a unique moment that's rising.

And as you greet your breath with this awareness,

With this celebration of uniqueness and consideration of what that means,

Can you feel in your heart the quality that we really subscribe to the idea of the heart as being where the feeling of love resides?

So can you feel that quality too of greeting someone who you love and who you don't see that often?

We rarely recognize our breath.

But oh my God,

Here you are.

And wow,

What a gift that we can be together for this moment because we won't be again for a long time or we don't know.

And there's just an absolute appreciation for this moment right now.

For this togetherness,

The unity of breath within your body.

The sign of Leo exemplifies uniqueness.

It is the energy that each of us have to perform and to say,

Here I am.

This is me.

This is the first and only time that this particular moment will be expressed in this particular way.

And whether you're someone who feels yourself as shy or restrained or maybe not unique,

Can you take a moment and I mentioned those things,

But regardless of what you feel,

Can you take a moment and just acknowledge that?

And it doesn't have to feel celebratory if that's not part of it,

But just acknowledge that there is a uniqueness in your perspective.

And I think that's a really important thing to acknowledge.

And I think that in your perspective and therefore it's valuable.

And in the yoga tradition,

Consciousness,

Which is named Purusha,

Is always trying to know itself.

It's always trying to see what it is.

Consciousness always wants to say,

Ah,

There I am.

But because it's everywhere and it could be anything,

It can't be defined.

And so consciousness does this dance with material,

With manifestation.

And the name of material is prakriti.

And so consciousness and material or purusha and prakriti,

They just dance together with material kind of coming together for moments of time and saying,

Well,

This is what you are.

Here you are.

You're a body.

And then time goes on and the body dissolves and it becomes a plant.

And the material says,

Here you are,

You're a plant.

And then the plant gets turned into a fiber and becomes a cloth and material says,

Here you are,

You're a piece of clothing,

And so on and so on and so on.

So the material that we identify with is always changing.

But the moment that's arising is unique.

And in each moment we have something profound to learn.

Because there will never be a moment like this again.

And this is the same in you.

How can you be present for this?

So please bring all of your awareness into your heart space and notice what's there.

You might feel the beating of your heart.

You might feel how your heartbeat ripples out through your entire body.

And you can feel it in the pulse of your blood.

You can feel it in the subtle expanding and condensing of your skin and the space outside of your skin.

What are the emotional qualities that are permeating around your heart space?

What are you feeling today?

Notice when the feeling becomes a story.

Probably happens very fast.

We feel feelings and then we have images that come in and language that comes in.

And it explains the feeling.

Oh,

That feeling has to do with that person.

That feeling has to do with that story.

And then we have the feeling that comes in.

That feeling has to do with that story.

How can we feel the feeling?

How can we really allow ourselves to be present with the feeling?

Without getting taken away by the story.

Without defining what the feeling is.

Because feelings are just sensations.

Just like you might have an itch on your skin or you might feel cold or warm.

Feelings are emotional sensations.

And they come in and they're there for a minute and then they go away.

And just like there are some sensations that are really hard to ignore,

Like pain or like annoyance.

You've got a mosquito bite.

Emotional feelings are the same.

When something is pleasurable,

Often we don't notice it.

When something is easy,

Often we don't notice it at all.

When there's extreme temperature,

We feel it.

When there's no temperature,

We feel it.

When there's extreme sensation,

We take note.

And our consciousness gathers around extremity.

We give our attention,

Oftentimes all of it,

To whatever voices are the loudest.

But it doesn't mean that they're the only voices.

So as you feel your heart space and as you feel your heartbeat and the quality of the emotional sensations that are present today,

Can you also feel the just kind of complete container of not just your body but your being?

And you can start just by feeling your skeleton,

Your body,

Your body,

Your skeleton.

So we have the container of bones that are protective and sturdy.

Already felt them in your ribs and your spine.

And of course your ribs and your spine are where your limbs kind of hook in.

Your spine holds your head,

Which holds your brain,

So important organ.

And then outside of your bones you have the container of your muscles.

And your muscles move your bones through space and they respond to will and to action.

And then outside of your muscles,

You have your skin.

And your skin is a membrane and it excretes and it's a membrane.

It excretes and it also receives.

So whatever is swimming around in the environment of the air and water that touches your skin comes into your body,

Becomes part of the interstitial fluid and then becomes part of the cells.

And whatever is in your cells,

Eventually it escapes and it secretes or it excretes out,

Often through the skin.

And then there's your being.

And your being you might feel as kind of a capsule around your body or a field is another word for it.

But it's an area of space around your body.

And for some of you this might feel like a couple of centimeters or inches.

And for others of you this might feel like a mile.

So it's an area of space around your body that you feel and you feel.

And anyone that comes into this space also kind of comes into you and into your,

It's your space.

And when you go into spaces,

Not just your body but your whole presence goes into them and that's this field,

This capsule.

And I'd like you to imagine kind of the shape of that field or that capsule.

I say capsule and it probably gives you an image of what the shape is that I'm imagining.

But feel free to imagine yours as any shape.

And what I'd like you to now visualize is that the space inside of that field is,

It's healthy.

So this is space that's moving,

It's not stagnant.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's moving.

And it's a space that's actively changing and transforming what emits out of you into the space around you and what comes in from the space around you to come into you.

And in this field,

We want to place certain ideas.

So in the field,

Let's place the idea of good humor,

Good sense of humor.

And you might see that as a color or kind of a sheen of light.

You might feel it as a feeling or a texture.

You might see it as a word.

You might have a totally different imagination of it.

But around you,

Can you place a good sense of humor?

So that as you perceive the world around you,

You perceive it with humor.

And you know,

A good sense of humor comes with contextualization.

It comes with context.

When we have a good sense of humor about something,

We don't have the misperception that this thing is permanent.

You know,

We can laugh at it.

We recognize that it's a momentary thing and it's ridiculous,

Maybe.

Or wow,

This is what's arising right now.

We can see that something will change in the future and something has been different in the past.

Surrounding yourself with a good sense of humor means that whatever is emitted from you,

It goes through the filter of your humor.

And this means that if you make a mistake,

That you hold it with a good sense of humor,

You recognize,

Oh,

Right,

I made a mistake.

Oh,

Well.

You recognize that your sincerity and passion and necessity,

Urgency,

Sense of urgency,

Also you can see it with a sense of humor.

Remembering the context of seven billion other perspectives can give us a really good sense of humor.

Whatever comes in you're receiving with your sense of humor,

Leo,

It delights in playfulness.

So when things come in,

You know,

When we respond to them with reactivity or with defensiveness,

They can get escalated fast.

And having a sense of humor is a fantastic way to diffuse something.

Don't be confused by having a sense of humor with making fun of something else.

It's not the same thing.

The ability to see things in their temporary nature allows us to be lighter.

And then in your field,

I'd like you to place a little bit of a wet present called a celebration tradition.

And then in your field I'd like you to place the idea of self-respect.

Self-respect is a really interesting idea.

It means that even when you're feeling the lowest low that you've ever felt,

That you respect your nobleness enough to not act low.

That we recognize ourselves as kings and queens,

And Leo of course is the queen and the king of the zodiac,

It's the royalty.

And true royalty is infused with deep self-respect and nobility.

I will not stoop to acting out in ways that are beneath me.

We all do it,

This is where our sense of humor comes in,

That when we do it we go,

Ah,

There I was doing it,

Okay I can laugh at it.

But that we remember,

You know,

I can act in ways that befit royalty,

I am a queen,

I am a king,

I am royalty.

And I hold myself to that standard.

And now let's also place respect for others.

And we recognize that the true royalty are those figures that see divinity and nobility in others and treat them as that.

And the beloved leaders that we look at and we say,

That one,

That one was an inspiration,

That one walked with dignity.

And we see it in our religious figures,

You know,

Jesus I think was a mythology that we really see this in.

That one recognized that we are all royalty and that we treat each other as such and we expect the same in return.

How can I be noble when I treat you like dirt?

Right?

And when you treat me like dirt,

If I respond,

If I respond in the same way,

I've lost my nobility.

So we treat ourselves and we treat each other with the utmost respect.

With the remembering that there is royalty there.

There is something to honor.

And then we go back to the sense of humor and remember that no one is better than anyone else and that our standards that we uphold ourselves to can sometimes be ridiculous and can sometimes become very serious and way too much.

And so always coming back to the,

You know,

The kind of the urge of Leo,

Which is to play,

Which is to express,

Which is to be heartful.

So we have playfulness and humor and we have royalty.

We have dignity that extends inwards and outwards.

And my question for you is how would,

How would the Royals,

How would the Kings and the Queens play together?

What is the noble expression of play?

In my experience,

True collaboration,

When we really can make art together,

This is when it shines.

And we recognize that it's not about competing with one another,

But it's about seeing our own strength and each other's strengths and how those serve each other.

It's such a beautiful moment when you are able to let go of not being able to do everything or not being the best at something.

And in that letting go,

You celebrate those who do the thing that you don't do.

My business partner has a extreme talent in ways that I am extremely inept and I am able to do things that she can't.

And this is absolutely necessary for our collaboration.

So the last kind of element to infuse into this space is humbleness and appreciation.

Deep respect and appreciation for the strengths and the talents of others.

Deep respect for the strengths and the talents of ourselves.

If we are constantly competitive or trying to be the best at everything,

We don't actually get to pay attention to what we're really good at.

And then lots of humbleness and there's room for everyone here.

We can all bring something unique to this collaboration.

If it's appropriate for you right now,

If you're in a place where it feels comfortable to bring your hands to your heart,

I invite you to do that and you can place your palms on your chest or you could place your palms touching one another and allow the edges of your thumbs to just very gently touch your breastbone,

Touch your sternum.

And feel how the structure of your body speaks to the function of the heart.

So as you inhale,

Feel the space from your heart radiating out through your lungs into your ribs and feel how your arms kind of rest over your ribs.

And so from our hearts we are able to gesture,

We're able to give and to receive.

And when you feel your palms either touching one another or touching the skin of your chest or your clothes,

Notice how you can feel through your hands and also how whatever your hands are touching can feel your hands.

So we have avenues moving out and moving in.

And in your felt sense or in your imagination,

Connect your hands to your heart and then feel how your heart is in front of your spine and how your spine unites the earthly principle of your pelvis,

Your tailbone and your legs with the heavenly principle of your mind and the relational aspects of your organs of perception.

And then take a deep breath in and as you exhale,

Allow everything to bow in towards the heart.

Allow everything to become humble and honor the heart.

So honoring that place within yourself,

Honoring that place within all others.

And as you're ready,

Allowing your eyes to open or your hands to release and seeing whatever is around you and recognizing that whatever you're looking at is only here for a brief instant and therefore it deserves your absolute appreciation and presence.

And may you bring this into all of your relations and your interactions with your intimates and with your colleagues and friends and strangers.

May we remember this in ourselves and remember this in others.