Running with the Wolves,
Second edition,
Written by Charlotte Bunnell and narrated by Rick Clarke.
This guided visualization can be used by runners,
But can also be used whilst laying or sitting down.
Scientists have shown that the brain reacts to imaginary exercise in the same way as physical exercise.
If you are using it for physical running,
Please take all measures to ensure your safety and that of others if running whilst wearing headphones.
If you are using this as a normal guided visualization or meditation,
Then just sit or lay down and ground yourself with a few deep breaths before closing your eyes.
At the moment,
Your surroundings are familiar.
The route you will take is most likely clear in your mind.
This is a normal day for you,
Perhaps.
Now,
Let your mind drift outward.
Allow the possibility of other worlds to touch your consciousness.
They are there and have always been there,
Hidden in a shadow,
Held in a dewdrop,
Tucked into the memories behind your eyes.
There is a world close to you right now.
It is gliding past like a ship hidden in sea fog.
You can sense it against your skin as a light pressure,
Invisible but tangible.
Two worlds are merging.
There seem to be shadows in the air,
Faint images overlaying the world you know,
A hint of trees,
The glint of water,
A sweep of grassland.
It is like something faded upon a silk screen.
As you begin walking,
A movement catches your eye.
You concentrate and the other world becomes more solid,
More real.
A great wolf treads,
Long-legged toward you,
Closely followed by two.
Two others.
There is nothing aggressive in their behavior,
Rather the opposite.
It is as if they have come to greet you.
They come alongside you as you walk.
They are magnificent creatures,
All rangy muscle and fur so pale it is almost white.
There is a sense of effortless authority and power in the way they move but also a reassurance.
The lead wolf walks alongside you then presses itself close to your side.
The heat of its body soaks into you like a warm blanket.
You lay a hand lightly upon its head.
It tilts its head at you,
Eyes meeting yours with bright intelligence.
It is a deeply mystical moment,
Almost of shared understanding between you.
A merging of minds,
A connection that goes deeper than heart,
Mind or blood yet it feels familiar as if you should know it,
As if this is how it ought to be.
This is not just some great predator with lethal teeth and claws but a creature with a soul as vibrant as your own.
The great wolf nudges your hand,
Eyes gleaming while the others pace at each side of you,
Ears pricked and eager to begin running.
The invitation feels so real,
You can almost hear the words in your mind.
Come,
Run with us.
Curious to see what the wolves will do,
You begin your run.
They fall in beside you,
Easing into a springy trot but not passing you.
Quite clearly,
You are setting the pace.
The other world grows more solid around you.
You see a green forest.
Beyond that,
Snow-peaked mountains tower against a pristine sky.
A waterfall plunges down from the heights like a white ribbon.
Far above,
A great bird circles.
Through these images,
You can still see your own world.
It is easy for you to tune in and out.
The world you focus on becomes clearer while the other fades into pale shadows.
You feel yourself surrounded by the wolves as their pace increases to a long,
Loping run.
Exhilaration pours through your blood with the exciting scent of the wild land,
Earth and grass.
The wolves run,
Muscles moving under their silky coats,
Paws denting the ground,
And you run with them,
Free and unbound.
The scents familiar to you from your own world are threaded through with pine,
Fern,
Clear stony waters.
You taste the air in your mouth.
It fills your lungs,
Fresh and exhilarating.
There is a great thrill of the unexpected in running alongside these wolves.
Your running shoes strike concrete for a few strides and then grass,
Dry and springy.
You and the wolves all settle into your stride.
You feel the stretch and spring of muscles,
Your lungs inhaling and exhaling,
The firm beat of your heart.
You plunge into the deep,
You plunge into woodland.
The wolves are sleek shapes among the trees.
You seem to feel a connection to each individual wolf as you run.
The tang of the woods,
Pine,
Fallen leaves is sweet and sharp as you flick through pools of sunlight and back into shadow.
You feel alive in a way that you've never felt before.
This is true freedom,
To run effortlessly,
Your breath coming easily,
Your whole body tingling with a sense of power and presence.
Your senses seem intensified,
Allowing you to traverse the ground with the swiftness of a true athlete.
You hear the flow of water,
See the curving course of a river,
Perhaps the same one that cascaded down the mountainside.
Your path takes you alongside it.
It is shallow,
Scattered with smooth boulders.
Clear as ice.
Further along the river,
You see three more wolves raise their heads from drinking and regard you intently.
They lift their muzzles and howl,
An acknowledgement of your pack,
Because you realize now that you are leading it,
Gathering the wolves to run.
There is a lift to your stride as you run past them and you see them fall in beside you.
Your whole being is saturated with energy.
You can almost hear the heartbeats of the wolf pack,
Feel the stretch and roll of their muscles as you run as one entity,
One mind,
One heart,
One spirit.
The woods open around you,
Stretching into sunny glades.
Wildflowers and ferns line the path.
You see glimpses of deer that dart away when they scent the wolves.
Crows clatter noisily in the treetops and from deeper in the forest comes the pipe of birdsong.
The river curves away in a great loop,
Its voice fading as the path leads you away from it.
You run toward an opening in the trees.
It might be an ancient road you are running on,
Almost lost to time,
But still following its original course.
Ahead of you on the path,
The sun strikes directly onto another wolf,
This one dark as old wood.
Its muzzle is shot with gray,
But there is a deep wisdom in its eyes.
You can sense the white wolf's mind reaching out with an invitation to the lone wolf.
Its ears prick forward.
It pads toward you from a walk to a trot and then it runs,
Merging with your growing pack.
Ahead of you,
The trees thin and a small stream glints and sparkles under the sunlight.
Without a pause and with the wolf pack pacing beside you,
You all leap effortlessly across it like a rolling wave.
You are all at one,
Completely in sync with one another and the feeling is one of absolute harmony and kinship.
You emerge from the trees into sunlight,
A fresh breeze.
The mountains uphold the vault of the sky like mythical giants.
One of them has flung out a great buttress of rock that stands before you.
The rock casts a shadow over you and reels of water weep down its face to vanish into moss and fern.
Your path skirts around its base and high up,
You see shapes not made by nature.
Crumbling walls,
Sagging towers,
Some great fortress long claimed by nature.
You can now see remnants of the ancient road under your feet and through it,
Beyond it,
The path that you run in your own world.
Beyond the rock buttress,
The path slopes gently downward.
A lake lies before you,
Blue as sapphire,
Fringed with trees and small beaches.
Water birds shuffle across its surface.
White swans take flight as you and the wolf pack approach.
Several young wolves are tussling playfully by the water.
They are exuberant,
Careless,
Playing tug with sticks.
They stop quite suddenly and look toward you.
Your feet pound up a fine dust as you pass them and they launch into a run,
Joining with the pack.
You feel euphoric,
Completely in tune with the wolves as they run.
You feel their energy,
The slide of their muscles,
The pump of their blood.
There is a wildness to this feeling,
A sense of unbound freedom,
Yet a oneness,
The sense of the pack.
It floods your veins with light and fire as you run.
An eagle's call comes down the wind.
A shadow passes over you and you feel the great bird swoop low,
Its pinions outstretched to catch the air.
It flies before you,
Showing you the way.
Your path leads you towards a gap in a range of low grassy hills.
Meadows filled with wildflowers stretch each side of you.
The wolves spread out around you like a wave racing to the shore.
You see other wolves resting in the meadow grass.
They rise lightly to their feet,
Eyes curious,
And then,
As if drawn by the energy of the pack,
They all run to join you.
You feel a sense of freedom,
A sense of unity,
And they all run to join you.
The pack has been gathered.
As you reach the gap through the hills,
The path ascends a gentle incline.
As you reach the top,
A great ocean spreads before you,
Blue and vast under the sun.
Far out on the horizon rests a line of clouds,
Their undersides smoothed by the wind,
While the upper clouds billow,
White as cream,
Thousands of feet above.
The sea is calm as a millpond,
And there is a sense of timelessness in this place.
Your path slopes down towards a wide beach of immaculate white sand.
The grass is absorbed into the soft,
Clean sand as land gives way to ocean.
Each side of you,
The wharves spread out as your run takes you towards the water,
And you realise this incredible experience is coming to its close.
You slowly decrease your speed,
Gently coming to a walk.
Taking a long breath of the pure sea air.
As gulls weave above you,
The wharves too have finished their run.
Some of them pad into the sea,
Some of them pad into the sea,
Others frolic on the sand.
Your first companion looks up at you.
You share a feeling of warmth,
Kinship and gratitude for being part of this wondrous experience.
He nuzzles against you,
And you almost hear him saying,
Thank you.
The wharves stretch out and roll on the sand as you watch the glints of sunlight on the ocean.
Gradually,
You begin to see through it,
The shadowy shapes of your own world.
You concentrate until the shapes become visible,
You concentrate until the shapes become clearer.
There is a moment where both worlds are perfectly blended,
Then the sea and the sand fade.
The last thing you see is the white wharf,
Standing tall and proud with his pack.
