Welcome.
Find yourself seated or laying down with a straight spine.
Coming into a position that feels good for you right here,
Right now.
If you're in a safe space to stand or even practice a walking meditation,
Feel free to do so.
We'll begin by releasing any tension or strain in the body.
Inhale deeply and as you do,
Tense the shoulders,
Raising them up to the ears,
Squeezing the shoulders tight,
Contracting,
Maybe even pause for a moment,
Feeling the lungs in their most expansive state.
And exhale,
Drop the shoulders and release,
Relaxing them back down.
Making this meditation your own,
If any tension comes up through the duration of it,
Feel free to return to the breath,
Releasing into your form of relaxation and make any easy adjustments with the body.
Knowing that you're not locked into any permanent position at any time.
At this time,
I welcome you to place the palms facing up,
Allowing them to be in a state of receptivity.
Allow the sound of my voice to guide you.
And as you begin to not only listen with the ears,
But with the whole body,
Bring attention to the right side of the body.
Feel into the shoulder that you released.
Breathing down to the elbow,
The space in between the two.
Down to your wrist,
Your hand and the fingers that extend out from it.
Begin to feel into the right side of the rib cage,
The lungs and into the belly and the right hip bone.
The right thigh,
The right knee,
The right ankle and the space in between.
Moving down to the top and the bottom of the right foot and all five toes,
Maybe even the toenails.
And now moving to the left side of the body,
Starting with the left shoulder.
Bringing awareness into the left shoulder and moving that awareness down to the left elbow and the space in between the two.
Bringing awareness into your forearm and the wrist and down to your hand.
The top and the bottom of the hand,
The fingers that extend out from it.
Feel into the left side of the rib cage,
The lung and into the stomach and dropping down into the sitting bones.
Moving into the left thigh and into the left knee.
The space in between the two.
Down to the shin,
The left ankle and down to the left foot,
The top and the bottom of the foot and all five toes.
The space in between the toes and the toenails.
On the next breath,
Begin to feel the whole body merging the right and the left sides together.
And draw that awareness up through the neck and into your face,
The head and the skin,
The muscles,
The bones,
Even the cells.
And drawing that awareness even further up into the crown of the head.
Expanding upward and outward into the space surrounding your whole body.
Now,
I invite you to imagine that you're outside in a field surrounded by wide open vast space.
A glimmering sparkle of light catches the corner of your eyes.
Perhaps it's the sun or the moon.
With eyes closed,
You begin to look down at your feet.
I ask you to ask yourself,
What is it that you're standing on?
What sounds do you hear,
If any?
What is the temperature?
With mindful movement from heel to the ball of your foot,
You begin to slowly move from one foot to the other.
One footstep and then another.
And another.
The more you move,
The more you begin to surrender to your adventure off the beaten path and into the depths of the wild.
Continuing to look down with your eyes closed,
You can not only notice but really feel each footstep as it's developing a deeper connection to the field around you,
Above you and under you.
Completely aware and alive to all six of your senses,
You literally feel everything.
Maybe even the air blowing through your nostrils.
With eyes still closed,
You gaze out in front of you and within your mind's eye,
Your gaze opens even further,
Expanding even wider.
And there's almost a subtle anticipation here.
It's a feeling of lightness,
Giddiness even,
As if you're about to discover something that perhaps nobody has ever even seen before.
Suddenly you pause and you see that there's a slight movement that's ahead of you.
It's an animal.
Softly and ever so gently,
It appears into your foresight,
Becoming more and more clear as if it wants to make itself known to you.
What kind of animal is it?
Just noticing with wide eyes of curiosity,
You begin to move with the animal,
Finding ebbing and flowing within it.
There's a natural rhythm that begins to take place with no right or wrong way of doing so.
It is said that each animal carries with them a certain type of medicine unique to them,
Just as unique as your own North Star.
Could it be that this animal that you've encountered has some wisdom to offer and to share with you at this time?
Maybe it's a word or a phrase,
An emotion or a sound or tune.
Maybe it's in the form of an image or an insight.
Perhaps there's more than one.
This is normal.
Whatever it is,
Allow for it to find resonance within you through your mind and the space in between the thoughts floating through your body and the rivers that run through your veins and through your heart and the space in between each and every breath that provides you with life.
You can now bring awareness and here into your natural breath.
Maybe you even feel your heartbeat.
As you look at the animal,
And it looks back at you,
Perhaps you can feel the heartbeat of the animal too.
Completely engaged in the present moment,
You have nowhere to go but to simply be here.
Allow any thoughts to gradually flow in and out like clouds floating by in the sky.
You begin to feel a raindrop on your skin and then another and another.
It's as if it's melting you down into the earth a little bit further.
As it rains,
You feel invigorated,
Refreshed and everything around you appears more vivid and alive.
You continue to melt into the rain and without attachment,
You simply let everything go.
The animal fades off too into a distant yet familiar memory.
Begin to again drop deeply down into the body and into the spine,
Into each vertebra and the space between the vertebra.
Feeling your feet on the ground beneath you,
I welcome you to softly wiggle the fingers ever so slightly and bring your hands to heart center.
Begin to rub the hands together vigorously,
Creating friction and heat.
Pause and place the hand somewhere on the body where you feel called to do so at this time.
Breathe into the space.
As you do,
You look with your mind's eye out ahead of you and see a raindrop that's floating in front of your eyes.
Time has appeared to stop.
Reflecting back at you in this raindrop is the animal.
It's so close.
You could even touch it if you wanted to.
You maybe thank the animal for this magical moment at this time.
Giving gratitude and as you do,
The raindrop slowly starts to shift from what appeared to be the animal and now is a subtle reflection of yourself.
It's you.
You tilt your head back and stretch out your arms wide.
There's nothing left but a bright rainbow in the clear sky.
The wind stretches across to you.
It's whispering to you that you are home.
You take a deep breath in,
Exhaling an audible sigh.
The arms and the hands return to a neutral position,
Allowing yourself to just simply be.
I ask that you do not move until you are moved by the inner feeling that you've created through this guided meditation that you can come back to through any season of change.
And when you're ready,
I invite you to place the palms of your hands face down,
Grounding down,
And gently begin to open your eyes.
