Deer And The Crystal Cave

After a busy day playing in the snow, Deer is tired, and feels a bit overwhelmed. When she and Dragon find a magic crystal cave, and a mysterious white wolf, Deer discovers how meditating with something she can hold makes her feel like herself again.

Transcript

Hello,

Friend.

Welcome to We Meditate.

Our story today is about deer and dragon.

Get in a nice,

Cozy,

Comfortable position.

This might be in a beanbag chair,

Lying down in bed,

Or on a sunny spot on the floor.

You might want to listen with a teddy bear,

A soft blanket,

Or your service dog.

Now that your body is comfortable,

Take a few long,

Slow,

Deep breaths to help you relax even more.

Breathe in through your nose slowly.

Think 1,

2,

3 as you inhale.

Hold your breath for just a second,

Then breathe out through your mouth.

Think 3,

2,

1,

Exhale.

That was wonderful.

Breathing slowly calms your mind and your body.

Let's begin our story.

Deer and the Crystal Cave.

Our story takes place in Dragon's World,

A very magical forest.

In our story today,

It is winter.

The trees are covered with snow.

Icicles hang from the tree branches.

The air is the shivery kind of cold that almost takes your breath away.

But our friends,

Deer and dragon,

Love the cold.

They spent the day building a snowman,

Ice skating on the frozen lake,

And sledding down snowy hills.

Their snowman had a carrot nose,

A funny hat,

And arms made from twigs.

They watched it as they did glides and skates,

Making figure 8s on the frozen lake.

After skating,

They carried their sleds to the top of the highest hills.

Sledding down hill felt like an icy roller coaster.

As they walked home,

Deer signed to dragon,

I'm tired.

Today was fun,

But I need to rest.

She sat down in the snow.

Dragon knew that deer liked walking in nature,

Catching snowflakes on her tongue,

And counting stars under a bright full moon.

While they had spent the day outside,

It hadn't exactly been calm and peaceful.

Dragon knew that being still would boost deer's energy and her mood.

Dragon signed,

Let's visit the crystal cave.

Deer looked surprised.

I've never seen a crystal cave in the forest,

She signed.

Dragon smiled.

He blew a magical rainbow-colored breath.

The air sparkled with a shimmering mist.

When the mist settled,

Deer and dragon were on the other side of the frozen river.

An enormous stone cave was in front of them.

A white wolf,

The color of snow,

Greeted them at the opening.

Her golden eyes twinkled.

Like the moon,

Her fur glowed with a soft halo of light.

Hello,

Dragon.

Hello,

Deer,

She signed.

Deer blinked.

She had never met a wolf who knew sign language.

I'm Luna,

The keeper of the crystal cave,

She signed.

Please go into my home.

Dragon and deer walked into the cave.

The entrance was low,

So dragon had to duck his head until he was inside.

Instead of being dark,

As deer imagined all caves to be,

It was bright and beautiful.

The walls were made of purple,

Pink,

And blue crystals.

Crystals hung from the ceiling,

Like beautifully colored icicles.

The crystals shined so brightly,

They looked like they were lit from the inside.

Deer looked for Luna,

But she was gone.

Instead of being cool and damp,

Deer was surprised that the cave was warm and cozy.

A small fire burned in the center of the cave.

Instead of being red and orange,

The flames were every color of the rainbow.

Where are we?

Deer signed.

The magical crystal cave,

Signed dragon.

A place where you can find peace and stillness.

Dragon and deer sat down.

The cave floor was warm,

Even though it looked like ice.

Would you like something to drink?

Dragon signed.

No thank you,

Signed deer.

But she giggled when dragon snapped his fingers,

And a steaming mug of hot chocolate appeared.

Deer smiled at dragon's magic.

Let's meditate,

Signed dragon.

Now deer didn't know much about crystal caves,

But she did know a lot about meditating.

She loved feeling her body and mind relax with calm,

Slow,

Deep breaths.

For a few minutes,

Deer and dragon breathed in slowly through their noses and exhaled slowly through their mouths.

They silently counted in breath 1,

2,

3,

Hold.

Out breath 3,

2,

1,

Hold.

Deer and dragon relaxed,

Then let their breathing fall into a natural rhythm.

Without speaking,

They focused on the things around them.

Deer found a bright green crystal,

The shape of an egg,

On the ground in front of her.

It sparkled like a diamond.

It was so smooth,

It felt slippery in her hoof.

Deer held it up to the light and saw that it was iridescent and laced with green and blue hues.

Deer noticed its shape,

Texture,

Colors,

And coolness.

In the softly glowing cave,

Holding the comforting weight of the crystal,

Deer felt peaceful.

She looked at dragon.

He held the mug of hot cocoa.

Before taking a sip,

He smelled the rich aroma of milk chocolate and marshmallows,

Letting steam from the frothy sweetness tickle his nose.

Dragon took a sip,

Then closed his eyes.

The warm cocoa touched his lips,

Then his mouth and tongue,

Before slowly sliding down his throat and making its way down to his tummy.

Yummy.

He smiled,

Fully enjoying every sip.

When he finished drinking,

He opened his eyes.

It was nice meditating,

Deer signed.

Indeed,

Signed dragon.

Are you ready to go home?

Deer nodded.

Meditating in the crystal cave had restored her energy.

Deer's body and mind felt settled.

Just right.

Deer put the green crystal on the ground where she had found it.

She followed dragon to the opening of the cave.

Luna was waiting for them.

She gave deer the green crystal.

Please,

Take it with you,

Luna signed.

It will remind you of your visit and you can use it to meditate again.

Deer didn't know how Luna had found her crystal,

But she was happy she did.

Thank you,

Deer signed.

Luna handed dragon a to-go cup filled with hot chocolate.

For your journey,

Signed Luna.

Dragon bowed his head.

We will visit again,

He signed.

Dragon and deer walked out of the cave.

They crossed the bridge over the river.

Snow flurries danced in the air as they headed toward the forest.

Deer turned to wave at Luna.

She looked across the frozen water,

But the cave was gone.

Dragon,

Deer signed,

What just happened?

Magic,

Dragon signed with a smile.

They made their way past holly bushes with bright red berries.

They smelled pine trees and smoke from a distant campfire.

Can we go back again,

Deer signed.

I liked meditating in the crystal cave.

We will return,

Dragon signed.

But until then,

You can visit any time in your imagination.

The End.

I hope you liked our story.

Dragon and deer felt peaceful meditating in the crystal cave.

You can always visit a magical crystal cave in your imagination.

It is good to find a place where you can relax and feel calm and peaceful any time,

Day or night.

When you feel overwhelmed,

Overtired,

Or overstimulated,

Your imaginary crystal cave will help you feel better.

Your crystal cave can be anywhere.

Maybe you make a fort with pillows and pretend it is a cave.

Maybe your crystal cave is a corner of your room,

Or just a place in your mind.

You know where your special place is.

Go there now if you wish.

I will wait for you.

Very good.

Your cave might be warm and cozy like the crystal cave.

Your cave might be cool and misty like in a fairy tale.

Your cave might be filled with fairy lights and blankets.

However you imagine your cave is the way it should be.

While you are in your special place,

Relax with slow,

Deep breaths.

Remember in breath 1,

2,

3.

Hold for a second.

Out breath 3,

2,

1.

Good.

Now like dragon and deer,

Focus on something you see,

Touch,

Smell,

Or taste.

Remember when deer saw the beautiful colors in the green crystal?

She felt its smooth coolness.

She felt its soothing weight in her hoof.

Dragon focused on the smell and taste of his hot chocolate.

He savored its sweet aroma and its delicious flavor.

You may not have a crystal or hot chocolate with you right now.

That's okay.

Find something you do have.

Maybe a squishy ball.

Maybe a stuffed animal.

Maybe a special toy.

I will wait for you to find it.

Very good.

For our meditation today,

You will focus on that special thing.

How does it feel?

Is it hard,

Soft,

Smooth,

Or rough?

What color is it,

Or is it many colors like deer's crystal?

Does it taste sweet like dragon's cocoa?

Is it salty or crunchy?

Is it cool and swirly like soft serve ice cream?

Is it light or heavy?

Is it thick or thin?

For just a few minutes,

Or as long as you'd like,

Focus on what you are meditating with.

If thoughts come into your mind,

As thoughts often do,

Just notice that a thought came into your mind.

Think of your thoughts like a cloud blowing by in the sky,

Or a leaf floating down the river.

Thoughts come in,

Thoughts float away.

Thoughts are just thoughts.

Not good,

Not bad,

Nothing to worry about.

Just thoughts.

Then go back to focusing on your special thing.

Soon,

You will feel calm and peaceful.

As you focus on the object you have chosen to meditate with,

You might notice things about it that you didn't before.

Meditating makes things even more special to us,

Because we see more things when we are still.

Very nice.

When you are done meditating in your make-believe cave,

You might want to blink your eyes,

Stretch and reach for the stars,

Or wiggle your fingers and toes.

Take another slow breath in… and another slow breath out.

When you are ready,

You can get back to your day.

Our meditation time is almost over.

I hope you have enjoyed meditating with something special in your pretend crystal cave.

If you listen to this meditation again,

You might want to choose something new to meditate with.

It will make the meditation different every time you do.

Please come back again soon.

Bye for now.