Let's begin by settling in.
Let your eyes fall shut and take a moment here to find your sense of place in this present moment.
Begin with the breath,
Breathing a little more slowly and deeply than normally and letting the breath take you to a place where you can be both relaxed and alert.
And let your breath resume its own natural rhythm.
As we settle into the moment,
Let's take some time here to pay a little kind attention to the body.
So scan down from the crown of your head through the torso right to your feet and really ask what's present here in my body in this moment.
Are there any places you've taken on tension or experiencing pain?
If so,
Just send a sense of softening and relaxing to any of those places that are tight,
Constricted.
It may even help to say that word,
Soften.
Breathe into those places calling for attention,
Releasing some of that tightness on the exhale.
So we're settling in here on the body and the breath,
Paying attention to what's present here in this moment.
And we're going to work with light in our practice,
Healing light.
So let's begin by creating a sense of light,
Starting with a small flame.
Now this can be a visual picture you're seeing or just the feeling of light and warmth.
And imagine that you have a rheostat,
That's a controller or a dimmer.
And you can turn this up and the light goes up and you can turn it down and the light goes down.
But for now,
First,
Just put your full attention on that small light,
Light,
Light.
And this is a light that warms and purifies,
But does not burn,
Does not harm.
Imagine now that you have your hand on the rheostat,
The dimmer or razor,
And as you see the light before you,
I'm going to ask that you increase it,
Turning the knob on that rheostat,
Doing so now.
Just feel it going up and up and up and light,
Not simply behind your eyes,
But light that's also rising through your bones,
Your sinews,
Light that's flooding your veins and arteries,
Light that's being pulsed in your heart,
This purifying energy,
This light moving all through your body.
It's almost feeling like the sun is rising from the inside out.
So now go ahead and raise that light using the rheostat and feel it warming up as a sun in your heart and your brain.
It's a fire that's rising and as it rises,
Burns away old stuff that you don't need,
Old forms,
Anxieties around the past or the future,
Burning away distractions,
Worries,
Tightness,
Things you've clung to too long.
Even as you experience this sense of purifying light,
Know what needs to be burned away in light,
Know what needs to be released into the light.
And this light becomes brighter so you can almost hear its sound as it burns.
The fire gets larger,
The light gets stronger.
And as it gets stronger,
You can feel these old worn out ideas,
Energies and attitudes,
Anything you don't need in your body or mind,
Memories,
Habits,
Burning away,
Falling away.
The fire gets larger,
The light gets stronger and its purifying capacity grows in you.
All you need to do is be present with this and let the light do its work.
Now bring the light down,
Dim it.
Get a sense that you can sit by this inner fire,
Feeling safe,
Warming your own hands of the fire.
And now raise that light back up a bit,
Up a bit more,
Up and up,
Bringing the light up knowing that the light is energy and that light attracts light.
And this inner light is created by you and sustained by you so you can use it in any way you need to illumine,
To empower,
To find warmth and comfort,
To burn away that which you have outgrown.
And we all have people and places on the planet that we care so much about.
So will you out of the graciousness of your heart,
Call to mind someone who could use some healing and comforting light right now.
And when you know who that is,
Imagine taking some of that boundless light and rolling it into a great ball of light.
And taking that ball of light and rolling it away,
Releasing it and sending it to that individual or place who most needs it.
Doing so now.
Extending it outward from the generosity of your heart,
Light to light,
Heart to heart.
And now set that rheostat,
That dimmer,
Set the light wherever you want to leave it for the day,
Knowing you can return here again and again to restore and renew at your own inner fire.
Let's return attention to the breath now,
Following the breath in and out of the body.
Again noticing our body where it's seated.
Having an intention to return to this sense of presence again and again.
And finally when you're ready,
Opening your eyes again,
Opening them to the light of this new day.
