Let's begin this journey by sitting in a comfortable chair,
By allowing yourself to gently close your eyes and begin to relax.
Take a deep breath and release,
That's it.
Take another deep breath and release.
This will be a journey to the mountaintop and talking and receiving information or a gift that's important for you today.
Allowing yourself to imagine that you're beginning your journey by walking down a path,
A path that's easy to follow,
Gentle on the feet.
Notice as you look around,
The sky,
The trees and shrubs nearby,
The birds,
Any other animals.
Feel the stones or the bark or the gravel or the dirt underneath your feet.
Allow each of your senses,
Your hearing,
Your sight,
Your smell to help you tune in to this path that you're walking on.
And be aware as you're walking down this path that you're heading towards a nearby mountaintop.
Not a large mountain and not very high.
And be aware that on the top of the mountain,
You're going to talk to a close and loving friend that knows you well.
And now as you're continuing to walk up the trail,
Be aware that you're carrying a bag of stones and in this bag,
Perhaps like a gunny sack or some other kind of bag,
Be aware that each of these stones represents or symbolizes an issue,
A problem,
Something disturbing in your life or perhaps just a burden or responsibility that you have chosen to carry.
Continue walking gently down the path,
Noticing the birds,
The sounds,
The smells,
The beautiful sights and you can imagine it as a beautiful and sunny day or perhaps a cloudy day if that feels more appropriate.
You're walking now and coming up to the edge of the mountain,
Beginning to walk a little bit uphill now.
From time to time you may need to bend over and remove a rock from the mountainside,
Pushing it or putting it to the side of the trail to make it easier to walk.
Still a gentle slope,
You continue walking up the trail.
Still listening and smelling and seeing all of the sights around you.
Just enjoying yourself,
Even though you're carrying the bag of responsibilities.
You enjoy feeling alive,
Feeling strong,
Feeling powerful and excited about this journey.
Continue climbing,
It's getting a little bit steeper now.
The bag of responsibilities feels a little bit heavier now.
Continue walking up the trail,
Removing stones as you go if you need to,
But still enjoying the strength in your legs and your body,
Breathing easily and deeply,
Allowing yourself to notice in your imagination the sounds,
The sights and the smells that are around you.
Getting a little steeper now,
Climbing the mountain,
The hillside and now just up ahead you notice a fence with a gate in it.
As you come up to the fence,
There's a sign that says,
Put all responsibilities down here.
Here is the place that you will let go of all of these responsibilities,
Your bag of stones,
As you set it on the ground next to the gate.
And you notice on the other side of the fence and a little bit down the path,
There's a cabin,
A small cabin,
And that is where you are going.
You now have put down the sack of responsibilities and troubles and concerns.
You open the gate and walk through the gate feeling lighter,
Feeling brighter,
Feeling alive and feeling expectance about what you will learn at the cabin.
You go up to the cabin door and knock on the cabin door and a gentle voice from someone who loves you and knows you well welcomes you in.
And you go inside and there's a fire in the fireplace,
It's cozy and warm,
They offer you something to drink,
Your favorite beverage,
And you sit in a chair across from them and they hold both of your hands.
They have a gift,
A treasure for you.
This wise and loving being who knows you well has a treasure,
A gift to give you.
At first you talk for a while and just enjoy their company and then they hand you the gift.
It's in a box and you open the box and you see and hear or smell what is inside the box,
What your precious gift is,
Some information possibly that can help you on your journey today or perhaps a symbol or a metaphor for what you need in your life right now.
Absorb and accept the meaning of this gift.
Thank the wise and loving being who knows you well.
Take your gift and the box and now you turn and leave the cabin.
You walk back to the gate,
Open the gate and you look at your bag of stones and now you decide which of those stones you will continue to carry,
Which of those responsibilities and burdens are still yours and those that you want to let go of.
You pull those stones out of the sack and lay them beside the fence.
Picking up the sack or perhaps even letting all of the responsibilities go and not picking up the sack at all and carrying only your gift,
That is your choice.
Making your choice about which ones you will carry and which ones you will leave behind.
And now you return back down the path,
Carrying the bag with either just your gift in the box,
Perhaps some of the responsibilities and burdens and returning down the path feeling lighter,
More buoyant,
More alive,
Stronger,
More powerful.
Walking back down the hill,
Feeling lots of gratitude and appreciation for the gift you have received today.
Coming down to the base of the mountain,
Walking back down the path,
Again seeing and hearing and feeling and smelling everything around you in your imagination,
Appreciating the fact that you put the stones alongside the path,
Making it easier to walk down the path than it was to come up the path.
And you walk all the way back to your home and again as you go inside your home,
You open up the box and appreciate the gift and what it means to you today.
Appreciate the symbolism of what it means,
The awareness of how this impacts your life,
The understanding that you need for the next step on your journey.
And you begin to leave this journey in your mind today,
Continue breathing easily and deeply,
And gently,
When you're ready,
Open your eyes,
If you need to bend over and release any excess energy by touching the floor,
And feel yourself grounded and safe and secure and full of gratitude and appreciation for what you have learned today.
