Greetings,
And welcome to Hanok Zen Healing Arts,
March Silent Tea,
And Meditation with Susan Delane.
Here in the West,
March has become known as the Windy Month.
Winter has its way of effortlessly gifting us with the cycles of life.
The spring equinox brings us in closer proximity to the sun,
Resulting in a merge between cold and warmth.
Hence,
A generous measure of wind waking up our wildlife,
Pollinating our vegetation,
And breathing new life and energy into living and non-living things.
Wind is breath.
Breath is the sacred substance of life.
In ancient Eastern traditions,
Wind,
Air,
And breath are often referred to as chi or ki,
And in Sanskrit it is prana.
It has a fluid property that,
Like other elements,
Can be harnessed and leveled to bring about change,
As in pranic healing,
Qigong,
Tai chi,
Reiki.
Wind represents transformation,
Clarity,
Mental power,
And open-mindedness.
Its boundless and fluid property embodies everything,
Yet no sooner than we grasp it,
It's time to let it go.
And in doing so,
We learn that it is in the endless process of letting go that we live and grow.
Conversely,
It is in holding on that we cease to thrive and we expire.
In the words of the Tao,
At birth all people are soft in yielding.
Humans are tender in yielding.
When soft in yielding like the wind,
We are in the flow of life.
Our mini guided drawing later in today's program will serve as a reminder to embrace this spring season,
Go with the flow of the windy month,
And yield to the shifting winds of life.
So let's begin our meditation now by first settling comfortably into the surface on which you are seated or lying.
Bring your attention to the top of your head and release any tension in your scalp.
Relax your eyebrows and relax your temples.
Unclench your jaw and let your tongue fall away from the roof of your mouth.
Drop your shoulders.
Now is the time to gently close your eyes and take one deep cleansing breath with me,
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth with a loud emphatic sigh.
Breathe normally now and relax.
Relax and know that there is nothing for you to do right now.
There is nothing for you to do.
There is nothing.
Now this time,
See yourself immersed in nature.
A vast open field,
Tender blades of grass sway at your ankles.
Delegate Jasmine,
Freesia,
Frisinthia,
And dainty cherry blossom petals flutter lightly,
Yielding to the wind.
Just be soft,
Be yielding,
And listen closely now as the whispers of the wind speak to you as if it has a very important mystery to reveal.
You meander without a care,
Entering a stunning alpine forest.
Gentle breeze rains down a clean scent.
It dances around your nose.
You inhale its crisp aroma.
Smile and just give it all back now with gratitude.
You easily wander to a freshwater pond.
Bright breeze skims the surface of the water.
The world is full of magical things waiting for us to uncover.
Just notice the bright,
Beautiful koi as they dance with the waves,
Without a doubt just swirling and swimming to the pulse of wind.
You smile and exhale.
Inhale all the life force around you.
Gratefully give it all back now with a gentle exhale.
Feel the feeling of fresh air blowing through your hair,
Caressing your scalp.
You walk through an enchanted bamboo forest.
The tender leaves are rustling in the wind.
The closely knit stalks of bamboo stroking one another,
Shaking the leaves down and creating a bed of foliage that houses the ground life.
Let the rhythm of this breeze kiss your ears,
Whispering the very secret of life to you now.
Inhale this life force around you.
Let it swirl around your lungs and assimilate into your cells.
And with gratitude,
Gently and willingly,
Give it all back now.
Give thanks.
This wind unseen comes without an entry and it leaves without a hint.
How will we know that it exists?
You hear the sound of a hundred birds flying unseen overhead.
And as the clouds drift apart,
They reveal a beautiful flock of sandhill cranes soaring high without a hint of exertion.
When willow trees bow and yield,
When oak leaves quiver in the clearing,
And when at the cusp of spring,
An open window oxygenates a dull cold room,
Bringing it to life.
These are ways in which we will know.
The world is full of magical things waiting for our senses to uncover.
These are just a few ways in which we will know and recognize the presence of our sacred air in all of the things unseen.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes and slowly bring your attention back to this present time and space.
This has been a guided visualization that will prompt the mind to make a connection between the images and behavior.
This exercise of breathing while communing with nature has been both a cleansing and energizing healing experience.
You will carry this high vibration with you over the coming weeks,
And it will ripple outward to everyone in your surroundings.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
Continue to rest comfortably as we now prepare to begin the tea service ceremony.
κ°μ¬ν©λλ€ μΉκ΅¬.
Thank you,
Friend.
