Welcome to Stars in Stillness,
A journey within and beyond.
Find a quiet,
Comfortable space where you can sit or lie down without any disturbances.
This is your time to connect with yourself and find peaceful stillness.
Begin by gently closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths.
Drawing your breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
As you breathe,
Bring your awareness to your physical body,
Taking a moment to scan it slowly from the top of your head down to your toes.
Notice any areas of discomfort and with each exhale let those areas relax and soften.
If you feel the need to shift slightly to find a more comfortable position,
Allow yourself to do so,
Aiming for a posture that feels easy and supportive to maintain.
Visualize your eyelids softly closing like a curtain,
Resting gently over relaxed eyes.
Let the space behind your eyes become spacious and calm.
Soften the muscles of your forehead,
Imagining any tightness or furrowing melting away.
Allow your jaw to unclench,
Letting your teeth part slightly as the tongue rests loosely in your mouth,
Bringing ease to your neck and your throat.
As you inhale,
Feel the shoulders rise gently and as you exhale,
Allow them to release and slide away from your ears,
Creating space in the upper body.
Feel the chest rise with a gentle rhythmic expansion and contraction with each breath.
Let your arms and hands rest naturally,
Finding comfort and calm.
Your breath begins to find its natural,
Unhurried rhythm.
Imagine the breath as a gentle wave,
Moving in and out,
Consistent and soothing.
Let each breath guide you deeper into relaxation.
Inhale deeply through your nose,
Feeling your abdomen expand,
And then exhale slowly,
Releasing tension and worries with the breath.
Take in a nice inhalation.
And on your exhale,
A gentle sigh escaping your lips.
Feel yourself settling into the moment,
Arriving fully here.
With each breath,
Allow yourself to soften a little more into the stillness,
Feeling the ground beneath you,
Supporting your body.
Embrace the space of relaxation and peace,
Knowing that right here,
Right now,
You are exactly where you need to be.
Imagine yourself standing at the entrance to an ancient passageway.
This is the path of Inanna,
The path of release,
Surrender,
And transformation.
The air is thick with mystery,
Yet there is no fear,
Only the quiet knowing that this journey is necessary.
Before you stands the first gate.
As you approach,
You hear a voice whisper.
To pass through,
You must let go.
The first gate,
The gate of authority.
At this gate,
You remove a crown from your head.
It represents control,
Identity,
The roles you play in the world.
As you set it down,
Feel the weight of expectation lifting from your mind.
You do not need to have all the answers.
You are free to simply be.
Drawing in a slow inhalation and a gentle exhalation.
At the second gate,
The gate of perception,
You release a staff,
The symbol of wisdom and insight.
In this space,
You surrender the need to figure everything out.
You allow yourself to sit in the unknown,
Trusting that clarity will come in its own time.
Draw in a gentle inhale and a slow exhale.
At the third gate,
The gate of communication,
You remove a necklace from around your throat.
Words are no longer needed.
There is nothing to explain.
No need to justify how you feel.
You are allowed to simply experience.
Feel the sensations of breath on your inhalation and a slow and gentle exhalation.
As you arrive at the fourth gate,
The gate of compassion,
You take off your breastplate,
Leaving your heart open.
Vulnerability is not weakness,
It is truth.
Feel the weight of old defenses falling away as you allow love and grief to exist together within you.
As you breathe into this heart space,
Finding a slow and gentle inhalation and a softening exhalation.
The fifth gate,
The gate of personal power,
It is here you remove a golden ring from your hand.
This is the ring of control,
Of trying to force things into place.
As you set it down,
You surrender to the natural unfolding of life,
Knowing that some things cannot be rushed.
Finding a slow and steady inhalation and a deepening exhalation.
At the sixth gate,
The gate of passion,
You let go of your anklets that symbolize movement,
Creativity,
And desire.
There is nothing to chase here,
No need to prove your worth.
You are enough just as you are.
Finding that slow inhale and a gentle exhale.
At the seventh gate,
The gate of the root,
You remove your robe,
Standing completely bare before the unknown.
Stripped of all expectations,
Labels,
And attachments,
You are left with only your essence,
Pure,
Sacred,
Whole.
You step into the presence of your own inner darkness,
The parts of yourself that feel lost,
Grieving,
Uncertain.
But you do not look away.
Instead,
You sit with this part of you.
You do not try and fix it,
Or rush it,
Or make it feel better.
You simply witness.
You hold space for your sorrow,
Your exhaustion,
Your unspoken fears.
Like the small being sent to comfort Eshagal,
You offer no solutions,
No reassurances.
You simply sit in a compassionate presence,
Allowing yourself to be.
And in this stillness,
Something shifts.
Your grief,
Your fears,
They soften simply from being seen.
There is nothing to push away,
Nothing to fight,
Only the quiet recognition that all of you is worthy of love.
From the shadows,
A gentle light emerges.
It carries with it the breath of life.
The water of life.
These healing forces do not come from forcing change,
But from honoring the process.
As they touch you,
You feel the slow renewal of your being.
Your mind and emotions,
Once disconnected,
Begin to align.
The confusion,
The resistance,
The pressure to move forward too quickly.
It all washes away.
Like Inanna,
You are not returning as you once were.
You are returning transformed.
One by one,
You step back through the gates,
But you do not reclaim the old burdens.
You carry only what serves you now.
A quiet mind,
Free from control.
A heart open to both love and loss.
A deep trust in the timing of your own healing.
As you reach the surface,
Take a deep breath in and exhale.
You are renewed.
You are whole.
And in your own time,
You will rise.
As you gently begin to bring your awareness back into your body,
Noticing where movement finds you.
Maybe it is a wiggle of your fingers and toes.
When you feel ready,
Open your eyes.
You are not behind.
You are not lost.
You are exactly where you need to be.
May you honor your journey and may you rise with grace.
