In presence of the praying mantis,
Welcome,
My dear friends.
Take a moment to just arise,
Let your shoulders soften,
Let your breath loosen into grip,
And let the pace of your day fall away,
Like leaves drifting to the forest floor.
You are stepping into sacred time now,
A time held just for you,
A time where nothing is demanded,
Nothing is rushed,
And everything is allowed to settle.
Take a long,
Slow breath in,
And let it slip out gently.
Let's do that again,
A long,
Slow breath in,
And just let it out gently,
Good.
Feel your body subtly shift as your breath is taking you deeper and deeper.
Feel the way your energy begins to gather itself,
Like a river returning home to its banks.
And with your next breath,
Imagine yourself walking into a quiet stretch of nature.
It could be a forest path,
Soft with moss,
Maybe it is a still garden at dawn.
It could be where the morning light rests on a long cross-edge.
Where you land,
Let it be a place that feels safe and familiar.
A place where your nervous system instantly recognizes peace.
Where the faint hum of a life surrounds you.
A breeze slips through leaves,
Birdsong echoes gently,
And the grounding rhythms of the earth beneath your feet.
Feel how everything here moves slowly,
Purposefully,
Without rush.
Nature has no urgency.
She knows her timing,
And she breathes at her own pace.
And now you breathe with her.
Let's take another breath,
And let your body drop into the present.
Around you,
Imagine a soft golden light falling from above,
A light that wraps itself around your body like a warm cocoon.
This is your sacred circle.
You are held here,
Protected,
And free to let go.
Let's go in softly,
Our guardians from all directions.
Eagle from the east,
Jaguar on the south,
Whale in the west,
And wolf in the north.
Above is our dragon,
And below a serpent.
The wind of clarity,
Courage,
Intuition,
And belonging.
And in the heart of this sacred space,
Nature begins to quiet even further,
Preparing for someone important.
Ahead of you,
A slender branch,
Or a sunlit stone,
A praying mentis appears,
Still,
Composed and utterly present.
It doesn't move at first,
Not even a fraction of an inch.
Its body is a sphere of silence,
Its shape a whisper of prayer,
And you can feel its awareness extending towards you,
Not with judgment,
But with a swift and ancient curiosity.
Notice how it simply is,
No rushing,
No pushing,
No performing,
Just being.
Let your breaths match this calm.
The mentis carries a unique frequency,
One that invites you into a deep,
Quiet place inside yourself,
A place that you rarely visit in the rhythm of daily life.
And as you sit with it,
Imagine it feels gently blending with yours,
Feel what happens inside you as that stillness touches your body.
Maybe your chest softens,
Your thoughts may settle,
And maybe your whole being exhales.
The mentis offers three gifts today,
The gift of stillness,
Feel a sense of spaciousness opening within you,
As though your inner world has suddenly grown wider.
Stillness is not emptiness,
It is the ground where wisdom grows.
The gift of divine timing,
Imagine the mentis patience presence brushing through your energy,
Untangling urgency,
Releasing pressure,
Reminding your spirit that nothing sacred is ever rushed.
Let that truth settle,
Let it soothe any part of you that has been trying.
And the gift of clarity,
Mentis vision is sharp,
Precise,
True,
Feel this clarity rise in you,
Not through thinking but through sensing.
Let a soft inner knowing appear,
Like a tiny lantern lightening up in your chest.
Whatever inside comes,
Let it be gentle.
Let it be enough,
Allow yourself a quiet minute,
No expectations,
No doing.
Just being here,
In this sacred place,
With this ancient guide.
Let the silence become your teacher,
Let your breath become your anchor.
And let your spirit settle into the same precise stillness that mentis embodies.
And when you're ready,
Imagine the praying mentis lifting one delicate arm.
A gesture so subtle,
You almost miss it.
It's not pointing outward,
It's pointing inward.
Towards your own wisdom,
Your own timing,
And your own truth.
Feel the gesture land in your heart.
Let it awaken a quiet trust inside you.
You will know when to move.
You will know when to wait.
You will know when to speak.
You will know when to rest.
You are not lost.
You are not late.
You are right on time.
The mentis bows its head gently.
Not in farewell,
But in blessing.
And as it dissolves back into the landscape,
You feel your body returning to this moment.
Wiggle your fingers.
Soften your jaw.
And take a deep breath,
Slowly in.
And exhale fully.
Carry the mentis with you today.
Its stillness.
Its precision.
Its wisdom.
It's a quiet reminder that most powerful guidance often arrives in the softness of moments.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Think the space you're in.
The guidance received.
And the support held in our sacred circle.
Welcome back.
And welcome home.
