Meditations With Nature, Africa #1 : The Dawn Chorus In the Blyde River/ Motlatse Canyon

Welcome to Meditations with Nature! In the first meditation of this series, you are brought into dawn in the Motlatse Canyon, also known as the Blyde River Canyon, in Limpopo Province, South Africa - a powerful, primal place, accompanied by the spectacular orchestra of birdlife as all wakes up.

You’ll hear the iconic sound of the Fish Eagle, the Narina Trogon, a troop of baboons, and a multitude of other African wilderness sounds as you come into connection with deep nature and the depth of you.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Meditations with Nature. I'm Stella Horgan and I bring you these meditations as a vivid opportunity to connect with nature, With the magnificent African wilderness, This place where ultimately we all come from. I recommend that you listen to these meditations on headphones so that you can hear the full spectrum, All of the detail that nature in Africa offers you. I also recommend that you do these meditations with your eyes closed, Sitting upright. If you're sitting on a chair, Uncross your legs and plant your feet on the earth. You can access more of these meditations, Further information about my work and join my email list at StellaHorganConsulting. Com. This morning's meditation is brought to you from the Motlatsi Canyon, Also known as the Blader River Canyon, Deep in rural Limpopo Province, South Africa. It's a dawn meditation and I wanted to share with you the sounds of the canyon waking up. So let's begin. Take three deep breaths to bring yourself present, In through the nose and then softly out through the mouth, Like the ocean, Exhaling small waves on the shore. Make sure that you're sitting upright. If you're on a chair, Then have your feet planted on the floor. If you're sitting on the floor cross-legged, Have your spine straight and breathe in. Bring your awareness to your breath as you breathe softly and naturally. Take your awareness to the tip of your nose and watch the breath come in and out. As you listen to the sounds of nature waking up, Coming out of a deep, Still, Dark night, Bring your awareness to your body, Starting with your head, Top of your skull. Bring your awareness to the skin that covers the top of your skull and then drop it down into your head, Into your brain, Feeling into the energy of your head. Feel the muscles in your forehead and breathe into them as you relax them. Bring your awareness to the muscles of your face. Breathe into them and relax them. Notice the muscles around your jaw and you can stretch them out, Give a yawn. Open your mouth wide and stretch it out and relax it. Now bring your awareness to the back of your head and sweep it down the back of your skull to your neck. Breathe in and bring relaxation to your neck and your shoulders. As you scan your awareness down your body, Listen to the sounds of the canyon. What you're hearing is a multitude of bird life, Insect life. You'll hear the baboons. There are a couple of troops of between 20 and 50 baboons, Big troops. They're very vocal in the morning. You can hear the river in the background rushing down from the source, From waterfalls over rocks and pebbles. And you'll hear the fish eagle who's resident down at the river here on this beautiful land that I live on. It's a misty morning, Clouds over the extraordinary mountains and their incredible red rock formations. It's a warm summer morning here, Very, Very soft breeze gently caressing my skin. You can take all of this nature in and bring it into your form, Into your body, Into your experience. Welcome the purity of this deep, True, Magnificent, Incredible ecosystem. Welcome it into your being. Take it into yourselves as you drop your awareness down into your body. Breathe in and exhale into your chest. As you journey through your body, Bring awareness to the play of energy, The temperature in your body. Take your awareness down your throat, Your centre of expression and notice what the muscles are doing, What the energy is doing in your throat. And breathe your relaxation into it, Inviting yourself to express what is real and true and kind and lovely from your being today. Bring your awareness further down into your body, Into your belly and breathe into your body. Bring relaxation into your belly as you consider how birds use their whole body to live their lives, To fly, To sing. And welcome in your whole body into your experience of this life, Not leaving anything out. You can hear the very soft call of the nirinatrogon, The bosteifi, To one side, The haididars, Calling and making their way through the canyon. Feel the weight of your body, Where your thighs meet the chair or the earth. Feel yourself grounded, Connected to the earth, Part of nature, Part of the ecosystem you inhabit. Breathe into that reality, Into that truth that you and I are animals. You and I are animals of the earth, Animals with voices, Animals with feet and arms and hands and hearts. We can love and speak and what we bring to the world can be a daily miracle. What we bring to the world, We bring in with choice. So choose right now to bring in your presence and your love, Your kind voice, Your joy. Acknowledge your ability to manifest, To build things in the world, To bring your extraordinary creativity forward and make a vow right now that you will honour your gifts as a human animal and you will bring something beautiful into the world today. It can be something as small as a gesture or something you speak but make a vow right now to honour your human animal, Your presence, Your unique life. That can never and will never be replicated because you are a unique constellation. You are a unique happening in life and in the midst of this dawn chorus let yourself be celebrated. Celebrate yourself as you listen to the sounds of the canyon. Celebrate in the wonder of your being. Consciously relax every part of your body and let yourself melt into the earth. With every breath let go a little bit more. Allow yourself to connect to the greater field of awareness all around you that flows through you that you are intrinsically part of. Set your intention for the day. Wherever you are in the day listening to this, If it's morning, Noon or night, Set your intention for your next 24 hours in the deep and true knowledge that you are surrounded by life. Life far more loving than you ever imagined. The love of nature that is a deep and abiding acceptance and witnessing of your being, All of our beings. We share this planet so drop your awareness into your heart right now. Breathe into your heart. Breathe deep into your heart and send yourself a message of love. I love you. Tell yourself I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. And as you send love to your heart, See it expanding out, Out into the world. Starting with what's around you, The people around you, The life around you, Nature around you, The structures around you, Send your love and appreciation to the world you inhabit. Send your love and appreciation to nature that is all around us. If you're in a city and nature is as sparse as a tree that you pass outside, Send your love to that tree, To the birds who careen through our lives with such wildness and joy. Send your love to the wildness that exists. Send your love and appreciation to the wildness that is essential to life, That refuses to be tamed, That we need to keep our creativity, Our life force, Our vitality, Our brilliance, Our intelligence intact. We need this wildness. So send your love to the wildness of life, The wilderness of nature and thank it for staying with us. Even in the midst of our relentless development, Send your thanks to nature for staying with us. Thank you. Thank you, Beloved. Thank you, Beloved. Thank you, Beloved. Thank you, Beloved. Thank you, Beloved. Thank you, Beloved. Thank you, Beloved birds. Beloved rain for falling. Thank you, Birds for singing. Thank you, Earth for abiding. Thank you, Water for sustaining us. Thank you air for breathing us. Thank you creatures for walking this earth. Thank you to the domestic animals for loving us, For being so available to us. And thank you to the wild animals for holding what we cannot predict, What we cannot know, What we do not know, That we can tap into only with our presence. And dedicate yourself to presence. Presence to the magnificence of not only your creation but the greater creation. And now take three deep breaths in and out, In through the nose and out through the mouth. And bring your awareness back into the soft animal of your body. Feel yourself in your body as you gently open your eyes. Softly half open your eyes and bring yourself back into this here and now where you find yourself. Feel the softness that you've connected with. Take the love in, Love for yourself, Love for your life, Love for this planet. Take it in and let it light up every cell of your body. Every single cell, Let it be lit up with the love of life. Breathe in and out. Stretch your fingers, Move your arms and stretch them out. Take a big stretch up, Your fingers and your arms stretched out. And welcome to this new beginning in your life. I hope you enjoyed this meditation and I hope you enjoyed the sounds of the canyon, This incredible orchestra. I wish you a beautiful day with deep connection to yourself and the glorious life that we inhabit. Until next time, Goodbye.

Reviews

Thank you for sharing the love

Beautiful start to the day

So lovely and inspiring, wish I was there! ❤️🙏🪷

This dawn meditation and sounds of Africa touched me deeply. I live in the Eastern Cape and South Africa and its peoples, creatures and life is in my being. It was such a treat to listen to your voice and your beautiful soundtrack.

That was wonderful! I love the actual nature sounds in the background, and you taking us through the deep breath in the body scan. I thought your voice was really dreamy and I love your accent:-). I love how you got us to Express gratitude for all that nature gives us, this would be especially great for Earth day! Overall they left me feeling great and refreshed, so thank you for such a beautiful gift.