I invite you to join me for this guided meditation.
Before we begin our journey,
Please take the time to get comfortable.
This meditation can be done in a seated position or lying down,
Propping your neck,
Head,
And legs as is appropriate for you.
As I guide you through your journey,
I will prompt you at different times to move forward.
If you feel called to stay where you are at in your meditation,
Feel free to remain there as I move forward and you can join me in the continued journey as you are called to naturally.
Taking a deep breath in,
Inhale bringing the breath from the bottom of your feet all the way up through your body,
Your spine,
Your head,
All the way to the top.
Then gently exhale,
Moving the breath all the way back down from the top of your head through the bottom of your feet.
Close your eyes gently when you are ready.
Take one more breath in slowly and this time when you exhale,
Imagine the breath moving out the bottom of your feet and into the ground to the earth below you.
As you feel your feet connect to the ground,
You begin to feel the rhythmic pulse of the earth,
Of her heartbeat,
Gently rocking your body.
As you become connected to this rhythm,
You imagine roots moving from your feet into the ground,
The soil,
The water connecting to the nutrients below the surface.
Your body relaxes knowing that you are grounded,
Safe and at peace.
You feel your torso strong and your breath light like the wind.
Your arms reach towards the sky feeling the air around you on your skin.
Inside you ask yourself,
Which tree in this present moment has the teachings and wisdom that would most benefit me now?
As you breathe gently in and out,
You begin to feel a strong presence behind you.
The presence feels loving and kind and you are curious.
In your imagination you slowly turn and see the tree who has come to be with you during this time.
You begin to take in the beauty of this tree.
Do you already know it?
Is it one you have seen before or is it new to you?
Is it a tree from real life or from your imagination?
For either one is okay and is just as important.
To say hello and greet the tree,
Imagine stepping closer.
You reach out and touch its bark,
Noticing is it smooth or soft,
Rugged or divoted?
What are the textures underneath your fingers?
Spend some time experiencing the feeling of the tree.
Now smell the air around you.
Does this tree have a particular smell like an olive tree,
A fir or pine or juniper?
Is it a smell that you recognize?
And as you smell it,
What memories does it bring up for you?
Now look up at the trunk.
Is it tall and slender or short and round?
Or is the tree so tall it blocks the view of the sky above you?
Or so short you can see easily over the top where you stand?
Are you able to wrap your arms around the trunk or is it so big that is not possible?
Now look up at the canopy of the tree above you,
Taking in the branches and leaves.
What do they look like?
What are the shapes of the leaves and the size of the branches?
What color are the leaves?
What season does it seem to be?
You notice that one of the leaves has gently fallen to the ground next to you.
You reach down and pick it up to study it more closely.
What does it look like and feel like in your hands?
Now I would like you to spend some quality time with the tree who has come to be with you.
Ask the tree where it wants you to sit or stand or lie.
Does it tell you to lie inside the roots on the ground?
Does it ask you to sit at the base of the trunk of the tree with your back up against it?
Or does it want you to climb up into the branches and sit in its arms?
What does it tell you?
When you are ready,
Allow yourself to move into that place with the tree where it has asked you to be.
As you relax and let go and find comfort where you are,
Ask the tree to show you why it has presented itself to you today.
What does it want to share with you?
It may speak in words or show you images or colors.
It may sing to you or use the wind to bring a message.
It may convey a feeling that is important for you to experience.
It may also ask you to share with it.
For the next couple of minutes,
Allow the experience to flow freely through you without expectation.
Trees are sanctuaries.
Whoever knows how to speak to them.
Whoever knows how to listen to them can learn the truth.
They do not preach learning and precepts.
They preach undeterred by particulars,
The ancient law of life.
Every path leads homeward.
Trees are sanctuaries.
Now,
Ask your tree if it can help you explore your roots.
The roots of this tree have become your own.
Your past,
Your ancestry,
Lie in these roots.
What does the tree want you to remember about your ancestors,
About your past that make you the person you are today?
Now,
Ask your tree to take you into its core,
Into the trunk of itself,
Which is the present moment into the center of your own self.
What connections or bonds do you share with this tree?
What brings you life and motivates you?
Now,
Ask the tree to help you explore its branches and leaves.
Where is it reaching out to?
Where are you reaching out to?
What can your tree help you connect to and to bring to you and to your future self and those around you?
And as you explore the branches,
You begin to look out around you beyond your own branches.
You see a whole community of trees surrounding you.
Some will be from the same family.
Some will be from different communities.
What does your tree ask you to notice about how you might be able to both give from your own tree to others and also receive from other trees and communities back to yourself?
As you take in all of this beautiful information from your past,
Your present and your future self,
All the sights and sounds and smells and memories,
Take this time to integrate them within yourself in this place of rest for the next few moments.
Feel the bark and the wind and the sun while you rest.
When you are ready,
Slowly take a breath in and imagine that you are back to standing at the base of your tree.
As you are ready,
Thank your tree for sharing with you.
Letting it know that you are grateful for all it has shared with you.
It returns the feeling of being grateful for all you have shared with it.
Take a deep breath in,
Exhaling slowly,
Opening your eyes when you are ready to come back to this present moment.
