Hi,
My name is Sam.
Welcome.
Today I'm going to take you through a little bit of a journey that I've done on one of my men's retreats.
It is something that I usually do during the cacao ceremonies,
So I hope you enjoy.
Take a deep breath in and exhale,
Relax your body.
Imagine your skin and muscles are like fresh pizza dough that drapes over your skeleton as you release all tension from your body.
Sense your body from edge to edge.
Feel the touch of clothing or breeze on your completely calm skin.
Allow your body to sink deeper and deeper and deeper into relaxation.
That's it.
Now see your body from above.
Notice the position of your body,
The placement of the body,
The surroundings in the room that you are in.
Allow yourself to rise higher and higher through the ceiling,
Leaving your physical body behind for now until you're up in the night sky,
Traveling through the clouds,
Floating in the air until you reach a secluded beach.
On this beach you see a hammock and you lay down in the hammock,
Noticing the peaceful,
Glorious surroundings,
Perhaps with some trees,
Some birds in the sky,
And the warmth of the sun on your skin.
Allow all your thoughts to collect as clouds in the sky.
No need to fight them or judge them,
Just let them drift on by as they naturally do.
And then again see yourself in this hammock from above.
Notice the position of your body and the expression on your face,
Acknowledging that this is your mental body that you're leaving in a safe and peaceful place for now.
And allow yourself to drift higher and higher from this body in the hammock until you reach the sky,
Floating and traveling through the sky until you reach an open field.
A field with crops of sunflower and corn ripe for the plucking all around you.
And as you stroll through the crops and allow the grass and plants to stroke your hands and face,
You smell the scent of rich soil and hear the sound of bees and insects vibrantly living in the field.
This field is the rich harvest of the seeds you've sown.
Through storms and drought,
Your seeds prevailed and have grown to become a bountiful harvest for you to enjoy and share with humans and animals alike.
With a sense of peace and pride in your heart,
You stroll around inspecting each ear of corn and smelling the scent of sunlight in the sunflower as you pass.
Everything around you is so lush it even stands taller than you and you can barely make out the skyline.
Up ahead you see something move.
You follow the movement until you see two giant antlers peeking out above the plants,
Following the antlers to the edge of the field until you can see a massive stag gracefully standing on the edge of the forest.
With antlers bigger than your entire body,
A bright white mane around its neck and steam coming from its nostrils that shimmer in the sunlight.
As the stag turns towards the forest,
You see the muscles in its legs tremor and get rid of flies.
You're amazed at the power and control in this magnificent beast.
You decide to follow the stag into the forest because it seems to be calling to you.
There's something very familiar about this creature,
Familiar in the way that your reflection seems familiar.
Something about it seems to know you and perhaps even be a part of you.
You follow the stag through thick forests,
Over streams and fallen trees,
Higher and higher up a hill.
The vegetation becomes less dense as you ascend up the hill until you finally reach the peak to overlook the entire valley.
And shoulder to shoulder you stand with the stag overlooking this breathtaking scene.
To the west,
The sun is doing its final bow as it sets behind the horizon,
And to the east the stars begin to shimmer and change the sky from burnt orange to purple and black.
Standing in this moment of balance between light and dark,
With the twilight breeze gently singing in your ears,
You feel the wisdom of the land and the heavens land in your heart.
You notice the beauty in both the light and the dark.
You understand the importance that both light and dark,
Rain and sun,
Played in your harvest way down below.
You understand that this moment of sunset is a representation of the entire universe,
The beautiful balance between light and dark,
And that this balance is good and essential.
Now feel your body rise up from this hill into the skies drifting past the stars,
Leaving behind the stag and the field and the hill,
Floating through the night sky until you reach the beach where you are still lying in the hammock peacefully.
Gently allowing yourself to sink down into the mental body lying in the hammock and become aware again of the sounds of waves lapping at the beach.
Now feel this body in the hammock rise up into the sky and float gently back,
Back into the room that you are in.
Looking down at the body,
Noticing the position of the body,
On the floor,
On the mat,
On the bed,
Wherever you are,
And allow yourself to sink down into the physical body here in this room in this moment.
Notice the clothing on your skin and the sounds around you,
And gently to the count of 10 you come back into the room.
10,
9,
8,
Feeling calm and refreshed you wake up a little bit more,
7,
6,
5,
You come back into the room and feel the wisdom and care of the journey landing here and now with you for 3,
2,
1,
Completely awake,
Aware and peaceful,
Welcome back.
Take a deep breath in,
Exhale,
Wiggle the fingers and the toes,
Enjoy some physicality again,
Stretch,
Smile,
And go out and have a wonderful day.
