Guided Meditation & Sound Journey Through Four Directions

The Four Directions are rich with symbolism across cultures, indigenous traditions, spiritual traditions, and philosophical belief systems. The directions offer sacred and practical significance, often serving as points of reference for navigation, ceremony, and understanding of the world. In this guided meditation, we'll call upon the Four Directions for benevolence, compassion, and harmony, and transport our intentions with the powerful sound healing frequencies of crystal singing bowls and planetary gong. With Kelly Suttell, Integrative Healing Facilitator

Transcript

So we'll start in a seated position and transition into a laying position for the sound healing portion.

So if there's any last minute blanket or pillow that you need to grab,

You're welcome to grab that.

And one final invitation is that if you can identify or bring into your awareness the directions,

So noticing which direction is east,

You don't need to face east but just becoming aware of that.

We'll be using the directions as a blessing and inspiration to hold the seed that we plant.

So just first becoming aware of east.

So we'll go ahead and get started.

And after all of this talking,

One of the things that I like to do in a meditation is to invite people to become grounded again back in their bodies.

So take a moment to start to close the eyes.

And as you close the eyes,

Notice the weight of the eyelids against the eyes.

And notice if there's any holding or tension behind the eyes.

And see if you can soften behind the eyes,

Softening thinking.

And as you start to soften from thinking,

Drop your awareness down into your body.

So perhaps noticing your seat against the floor,

The pillow,

The chair,

Noticing the weight of your body in space being held in space by gravity below you.

And as you get a sense of being more present in your body,

Notice if you can bring your awareness to your breath.

No need to change or alter the breath,

Just noticing the breath as it automatically comes in and out of the body.

Maybe noticing the expansion and contraction of the ribcage.

Maybe noticing the temperature of the air that passes in and out of the nose.

And as you become aware of the breath,

Can you become aware of the breath coming in and out of the heart space?

Maybe deepening the breath and adding a layer of slowness and intentionality to it.

And from your awareness at the heart space,

Imagine a light or a spark from the heart.

And within this light or spark,

However that appears to you,

Imagine the seed of your one new change that you would like to make.

Imagine the seed of your one new start,

Full of potentiality and energy.

See if you can get an inner sense of the seed encased and fully supported by the light of your own heart and soul.

With this seed,

This new change,

Fully supported by the light of your heart and soul,

Imagine exhaling and sending this spark with your seed straight out into the horizon of the East.

The East is the place of new beginnings,

The place of the visionary.

And as the spark and light from your heart extends into the horizon of the East with your new change,

Imagine this new change or the seed dropping roots into the horizon of the East,

Trusting that this vision that you hold is deeply rooted,

Supported,

And blessed by the energy of the East.

And as you inhale,

On your next inhale,

Imagine pulling this light and your seed of change,

Blessed by the energy of the East,

Back into your heart space,

However that looks for you.

And as you breathe that back in,

Breathing is easy here,

As this new change,

This new seed,

Is blessed and nourished with the benevolent visionary energy of the East.

And if your awareness has shifted,

Gently inviting it back to the heart space,

Imagine that the seed of your desired change is enveloped again in the light of your own heart and soul.

And as you exhale,

Imagine sending this seed again,

Encased by this light of your heart,

Directly into the horizon of the South.

The South is the place of order,

Organizing,

And sustaining.

It's also the place of the healer.

So as you send your new start or your seed into the horizon of the South,

Imagine this seed of change dropping roots into the South,

Trusting that order,

Organization,

And healing is all supporting this new change for you.

On your next inhale,

Imagine pulling the light and the seed,

Blessed by the energy of the South,

Back into your heart space,

Breathing this new change in,

Nourished by the compassionate sustenance of the South.

And again,

Bringing your awareness back to your heart space,

Imagining the seed of your desired change again enveloped by the light of your heart and soul.

And as you exhale,

Imagine sending this change,

This seed,

Way out into the horizon of the West.

The West being the place of the harvest,

Completions,

And letting go.

The West being the place of the teacher,

Gathering all of the lessons from the day into teachings.

And as this new start or new change you're wishing to bring about touches the horizon of the West,

Imagine it drops roots into the West,

Being blessed and nourished by a sense of being harvested,

Completed and blessed with the energy and the teachings for your highest good.

And as you inhale,

Imagine pulling this light and your seed again back into your heart space,

Blessed by the energy of the West,

Breathing this new change in as it's nourished by the compassionate completions and teachings of the West.

And again,

Bringing your awareness to breathing in and out of the heart space,

Noticing that your desired change is enveloped in the light of your heart and soul.

And as you exhale,

Imagine sending this new change,

This seed,

Directly into the horizon of the North.

The North is a place of transitions,

Potentiality,

And possibility.

It's the place of the warrior and the leader.

And as this new change touches the horizon,

Imagine it drops roots into that horizon of the North.

And as those roots drop into the horizon,

Getting an inner sense that you will have the inner leadership to transition into action towards this new change,

And that the leadership qualities of the North will bless this change to take action.

And as you inhale,

Imagine pulling this seed of change,

Blessed by the energy of the North,

Back into your heart space,

Trusting however that appears for you,

And breathing in this new change,

This new start,

With the nourishment of compassionate leadership and potentiality from the North.

And then again,

Starting with the awareness at the heart space,

Imagine that the seed of your change is enveloped in the light of your own heart and soul.

And as you exhale,

Imagine sending this new change straight down into the earth.

The earth is the place of the divine feminine,

A place of deep holding,

Nourishment,

And growing.

And as your new start or your new change touches the earth,

Imagine it drops roots into the earth,

And those roots will be grounded and blessed by the innate wisdom of the divine feminine.

And as you inhale,

Imagine pulling this light up from the earth,

Encasing your seed of change,

Back into the heart space,

Blessed by the benevolence of the divine feminine and the earth,

Allowing your body,

Your breath,

Your spirit to take in this blessing for your new start,

Your new change.

And again,

Gently inviting the awareness back to the heart space,

Again imagining that this seed of your new change is enveloped in the light of your heart and soul.

And as you exhale,

Imagine sending this new change straight into the great above,

Straight up,

Way out into the center of the universe.

The center of the universe in the great above,

Being the place of the divine masculine.

And as your new start reaches out into the great above,

Imagine extending roots and sprouts into the infinite,

Trusting that this new change will be pollinated and supported by the strength and courage of the divine masculine.

And as you inhale,

Imagine pulling the seed of your change,

Blessed by the compassionate divine masculine,

Back down into your heart space and breathing into the heart space.

As you do,

Inviting your breath to take in the blessing of the divine masculine for your new start,

Your new change.

And gently inviting your awareness one final time to the area of your heart.

Again,

Seeing the light,

The spark of your heart and soul.

Imagine this light,

This spark of your own heart expanding out around you,

Radiating through your physical body and your subtle body.

And notice your seed of change,

Nourished from the benevolence and support of all directions,

East,

South,

West,

North,

Earth,

And the great above.

And imagine your own light also supporting this new change as it expands into and becomes your new reality.

And as this change becomes your new reality,

Noticing who or what may be around you.

Noticing the emotional state as a result of having achieved this new start or change.

And as this new start or change has become your new reality,

Notice if there's any divine support you would like to request a blessing from for this new change.

And in your inner awareness,

If it feels right for you,

You can thank this divine support and the support from all of the directions and the light of your own heart and soul for blessing this new change for everyone's highest good.

And slowly start to shift your awareness from all of the visualization back onto your breath.

Notice your body supported in space by the chair below you.

If you'd like to,

You can place one hand on the belly,

One hand on the chest.

Reconnecting to your physical body,

Feeling your breath with your hands and from within your body.

Noticing if you can get a sense of the depth of your breath,

The smoothness of the inhale and the exhale,

And perhaps even the temperature of the air coming in and out of the body.

And giving yourself about three breaths to close out of this guided meditation.

And as you go through and complete those three breaths,

Gently starting to bring the awareness back to the eyes,

And maybe lifting the eyelids just enough to briefly come back to your surroundings so that you can make your way into any additional comfort you need to support during the sound healing experience.

So giving yourself permission to adjust yourself,

To perhaps lay down with any comforts,

Blankets or pillows you may need.

And with that,

I will gently transition our experience over to Ruth to guide us through the sound healing portion of our class today.

As you move into the space that is most comfortable for you,

Find the rhythm of your breath,

Your beautiful breath.

Soften the muscles behind your eyes a little more,

A little more deeply with each exhalation.

Feel your cheeks and your jaws start to release.

Find its own natural rhythm as you start to have a background awareness of the bed or the chair on your back legs.

Allow yourself also to find that background awareness of yourself in the space of the room.

And as Kelly led us to find your beautiful heart space,

Breathe into that.

Soften the muscles behind your eyes as you start to have a background awareness of the bed or the chair on your back legs.

Find its own natural rhythm as you start to have a background awareness of the bed or the chair on your back legs.

Soften the muscles behind your eyes as you start to have a background awareness of the bed or the chair on your back legs.

Find its own natural rhythm as you start to have a background awareness of the bed or the chair on your back legs.

Like a background awareness of your breath without necessarily having to do anything.

Just notice the rhythm,

The pulse,

The waves of your body accepting the air and releasing it.

And perhaps start having a little background awareness of your body,

The pressure of your body on the bed or the chair.

And another background awareness perhaps of yourself in the space of the room.

Connecting back to that heart space,

Sensing it,

Feeling its presence,

Feeling your presence in the heart.

Maybe taking a couple of nice deep breaths.

Release it on a sigh.

Nice deep breath.

Release it on a sigh.

One more inhale.

And exhale.

Let yourself come back so gently from this meditation.

And if you feel so moved to wiggle your fingers and your toes.