Much of the world is being asked to stay home,
Stay safe and save lives.
In this meditation I will guide you through a walk in nature while you're staying at the comfort of your home.
This is Suresh and thank you for joining me.
You can start in a seated or lying down position and start to notice your breath and start to take a few conscious breaths.
Noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Now imagine that you're ready to go on a hike.
It is just the two of us and my dog on the trail today.
I'm going to lead you on this trail from the Hoyt Arboretum visitor center to the Pittock Mansion in Portland Oregon.
This is one of my favorite hikes and I want to share this with you.
We're going to be starting by the visitor center entrance.
It's a cool spring morning.
There is a breeze and you can smell the fresh air and the pines.
We pick up a map and cross the street and we are off on the trail.
Soon we come by the beautiful spruce meadow on the side of the trail.
We stop for a moment and enjoy the beautiful meadow.
Luna,
My dog is eager to play.
We walk down to the meadow and throw her a frisbee.
What a deft catcher and retriever.
Yes,
She is a Labrador retriever.
Pretty soon she gets bored and starts to wander off.
We call out to her and continue on the trail.
The trail curves and just around the bend we are soon in a wonderful redwood grove.
You can hear songs of a variety of birds.
We hear a woodpecker as we stop at the deck.
Such a small bird with so much power in its beak.
We can see the Johnson Creek flowing down below.
The deck itself is made of natural wood and has a giant sequoia tree protruding through the deck.
It is a perfect scene for our eyes before we head down.
We soon come to a bridge that crosses Johnson Creek.
We stop by the bridge,
Close our eyes and listen to the water.
It is so soothing.
We continue on the trail.
We keep to the right and enjoy the fresh air so close to the city.
What a wonderful gift we have.
We spot a Trillium flower on our right.
It is a Pacific Northwest native,
A delicate plant with three leaves topped by a single three petal white flower.
We keep walking and soon we come to a new bridge.
It is the brand new Barbara Walker crossing bridge.
The Portland Parks Foundation spearheaded the effort to build a footbridge across the intersection of the Burnside Bridge and the Wildwood Trail.
It connects Washington Park to Forest Park,
Two of Portland's urban reserves.
It is named for Barbara Walker,
An ardent park advocate.
It is hundred and feet long and we stop by and do some jumping jacks on the bridge,
Watching the traffic below.
We continue on the trail and soon come to the bottom of a hill.
It is getting a bit strenuous and we continue along the hill.
After a few hairpin bends,
We see a building.
You eagerly ask,
Is that the Pittock Mansion?
No,
It is the gate lodge,
The building next to it,
I respond.
Soon we reach the top of the hill and reach the viewpoint.
The skies are clear and we can see as far as the eye can.
We see Mount Hood and the Portland cityscape.
We pause and are quiet and take in the view.
It is awe-inspiring.
Luna wanders to a tree nearby.
We turn back and can see the Pittock Mansion main building.
The dark red books on top are vibrant with the shining sun.
So many small rectangular windows adorn the building,
Making it look like a painting.
We cross the meadow and head closer.
As we approach,
We find another viewing point.
We stop by and can see two other mountains at a distance and a river in full flow.
We walk around the building leisurely.
Luna finds a drinking bowl with fresh water and we stop by the fountain for a drink of fresh cold water.
The Pacific Northwest water tastes so good.
We continue past the ticket counter which is closed and onto the parking lot.
No cars there.
We continue on to reach the trail.
We start a descent down.
The climb down is so much easier.
Luna takes a shortcut and is waiting ahead for us.
We soon reach the bottom of the hill and continue on and reach the Barbara Walker Bridge.
We stop by and turn around.
The tall trees and the canopy are all we can see.
We continue on and soon reach the Johnson Creek Bridge.
We take a right turn and continue along the creek.
Luna runs to the creek at every opening on the path.
Soon we are coming back to the Redwood Grove and the Redwood deck.
We stop by,
Briefly close our eyes and are grateful for everything we experienced.
Soon we are at the Vister Center and I say there is one more thing.
We need to go see the magnificent Magnolias.
They start blooming in early April.
We started the trail behind the Arboretum and head to the Magnolia Trail.
We can see the incredible white,
Pink and red blooms on a canopy of large tropical looking leaves.
As we get close our steps slow down and we can smell the lemony fragrance with a hint of spice.
We are home in nature.
We reach out and touch the flowers.
They are incredibly delicate and extremely smooth.
We spot a cluster of bees on a nearby flower.
We both smile while we are working on physical distancing.
The bees are buzzing in close proximity to each other and collecting the sweet nectar.
We linger a bit longer and then head back up the switchbacks towards the Vister Center.
Thank you for joining me today.
You can open your eyes now.
Let me end this meditation with a poem by William Wordsworth.
I wandered lonely as a cloud by William Wordsworth.
I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high over whales and hills when all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils beside the lake beneath the trees fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched a never-ending line along the margin of a bay.
Ten thousand saw at a glance tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced but they outdid the sparkling waves simply.
A poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company.
I gazed and gazed but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought.
For oft when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude and then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils.
Namaste
