A short guided meditation to use when you want to unplug.
To begin find a comfortable place where you'll not be disturbed and sit or lie down.
Close your eyes and take a few long deep breaths allowing yourself to relax.
Now just fall into a natural breathing pattern and enjoy this immersive experience.
You are sitting in a comfortable armchair in a cosy room before a fire,
Outside the weather has poured wind and rain.
At first the rain is just a mist of moisture dotting the window and then heavier raindrops chase down the glass.
Your room is a perfect haven.
In the summer it floods with sunlight and the windows are open to the bright air.
Now it protects you,
Snug and comforting.
The colours lend its warmth even in winter and the flames cast a coppery glow over the preserved beech leaves that stand in one vase.
There is a soft throw folded nearby and you pull it over yourself,
Not so much for the warmth but for the sense of security that it brings.
It smells freshly washed and fresh and that scent mingles with the faint sugary rich odour of baking from the kitchen.
You watch the fire,
The sparks that lift and float up,
The ageless weaving of the flames.
Fire has warmed people for thousands of years.
There is a gentle pop as it reaches a pocket of sap in the wood.
The crackle of the fire is calming.
There are glowing ember caves at the base of the fire,
Pockets of heat.
The fiery wings of dragons taking flight from them following crimson hair.
A scatter of burning rubies.
A thousand pictures that come and go.
The wind hurls rain against the window,
The raindrops batting the glass then tracing down it.
Outside you can dimly see the sway of tree branches against the grey sky.
The sound of the wind is lonely but here you are,
Warm,
Sheltered and content.
You look back at the fire,
Any tension unfurls and melts away as you listen to the fire and watch the dance of its flames.
You close your eyes and simply allow yourself to relax.
