So how we're going to begin is you're going to sit comfortably,
However that means to you.
It could be legs crossed,
Could be sitting in a chair,
Whatever it is,
Sit somewhere comfortably that you feel relaxed and comfortable and you're going to close your eyes and you're going to take three deep breaths.
Deep breath in,
Count to four.
Deep breath out,
Count to four.
And each time you exhale you're going to try and relax your body a little bit further.
So you're going to inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
So as you're doing this and you're relaxing,
It's in those pauses between breaths where we're going to go.
That is where your creativity meets your imagination,
Meets your subconscious.
So let's see what awaits you in the spaces between breaths.
This time when you pass through the door you find yourself in a new place,
Deeper within the mountain.
It's cold.
It still seems strange to feel cold in this place but as you open your eyes you find yourself standing in the shadow of the rock.
The heat is there too,
Wanting to suffocate and ignite at any moment.
And yet you shiver.
Perhaps it is not the cold caress of a cool breeze you feel but the soft lips of destiny teasing you.
You've never been here yet you know exactly where you are.
It is a place you've imagined often,
However its untamed nature is denied to you until now.
You're inside what looks to be a volcano.
Rivers of magma flow and bubble.
As you step from your shadowed crevasse in which you awoke,
The putrid stench fills your nostrils.
Your path is narrow and precarious,
Winding nonchalantly through the molten magma.
The magma is crusted black,
Yet where it flows you see tongues of red fire.
It is the deep red fire of creation.
You wonder at its magnificence.
The line between creation and destruction so fine that those that dare embrace it are guaranteed an internal battle between the two.
And yet here you are.
Your gaze moves upwards following the walls of the volcano up and up and up.
The sheer size of this mountain is so large that your brain has trouble visualizing the scale.
The walls curve ever inwards towards a quarter-sized opening far above you.
Even from here you can make out the cool blue of the dusk sky.
Your path spirals ever inwards as you inevitably move towards the center.
The heat is there but somehow it is not important.
Was the path in front of you even there a second ago?
It is as if this place welcomes home its master.
It's as if it wants to be tamed.
Tighter and tighter your path spirals.
There you look behind you.
Your path is forward and is not the one you expected.
The center is coming into view now.
It is a circular dais,
An island calmly waiting amidst the sea of magma.
Somehow you know this is where you must go.
Suddenly the ground shakes and your view of the center is blocked by an explosion of lava and flame.
The great dragon bursts from the heat with a great roar that shakes the ground in rock.
This is followed by the roar of boulder and pebble shaking loose and crashing down into the crater only to be swallowed by magma.
The dragon fills your view.
It is breathtakingly beautiful.
Deep red lava drips from glistening gold armor.
Even if its claws are wrapped in gauntleted gold.
Its eyes lock with your own and for a moment the air grows cold again.
There is more than just the power of creation here.
Destiny has seen fit to bust this place.
And so it was that the dragon ablaze with golden armor and the power of creation kneels before you.
Its front legs bend as its nose touches the ground.
This time the cold wind is welcome and you reach out and rest your hand on the nose of the great beast.
An acknowledgement of the gift that has been bestowed.
Your hand does not burn.
And without the dragon raises its head and locks eyes before it disappears back beneath the magma.
Leaving you wondering if you ever saw it at all.
Something dries your gaze up and you see the dark of the night sky far above you.
Just as your gaze adjusts to take in the starlit sky the first sliver of the full moon peeks through.
Like a milky waterfall its gaze flows down the wall of the crater illuminating both rock and shadow with its mysterious light.
It is almost time.
Your pace hurries now as your destination approaches.
The timing is important you are sure of it.
Even as you spiral inwards towards the center the milky flow of moonlight draws across the crater.
Soon the moon will fill the open view far above you.
At last your step onto the dais in the center of the crater.
The path disappears behind you but you take no notice.
Your gaze is ever upwards as your last few steps carry you into the exact center.
Moonlight fills the opening above you.
The last sliver of night sky disappearing as the moon moves across the sky.
And then like a key turning a lock the moon centers over the top of the crater and the full power and mystery of its gaze is upon you.
For a moment you can't breathe.
Its beauty is too overwhelming and the promise of secrets beyond your wildest dreams whisper in your ears.
And then you hear it.
The gentle flapping of wings followed by the caw of a single raven.
You follow the source of the sound.
The trance of the moon gaze broken.
There a single raven flies towards you and circles the cavern coming ever closer until it pauses directly in front of you.
Its wings beating heavily keeping it in place.
Those eyes they hold the knowledge of the ages and for a moment you feel as if you are being judged.
Dare you claim to be worthy?
You do.
Charged with the power of the moon you meet the raven's gaze and for a moment you see the entire universe laid out before you.
The shape of a great inverted pyramid burns into your retinas until the cawing of the raven pulls you back.
Suddenly the sound of wings beating is all you hear and you fall to your knees as a thousand ravens flood the crater cawing and soaring past you and around you.
That cold wind of destiny screams at you now even as you squeeze your eyes shut against the roar of the ravens.
And there deep within the heart of the mountain where the dragon has been tamed a choice is made.
Slowly you stand your eyes still shut yet you slowly extend your arms outwards.
The raven soar around you faster now tighter and tighter until the tornado of black feathers begins to spiral slowly upwards.
Your eyes pop open to the full power of the moon gazing down upon you now obscured by a spiraling caravan of raven moving ever upwards through the eye of the crater.
Without realizing it you give yourself over to the power of the moonbeam and it pulls you ever upwards.
You don't even notice your feet leave the ground as you let it pull you upward with the ravens as your guide.
At last the ravens converge at the apex of the crater and for a moment a thousand dark bodies blend together into the shape of a single raven silhouetted against the light of the moon.
And then they are gone returned to the spirit world for which they came leaving only a shower of feathers floating down the moonbeam even as you move up.
Somehow you know these feathers each one a choice that you made or will make in the path that brought you here to this point and this time.
Each feather bringing the sights and sounds of the memory until one by one they fade away until there is a single feather floating just beyond your grasp.
And so it was that your hand grasped the tip of the feather and the world is forever changed.
Somewhere a blind man sits on a bench and a single raven flies up and lands on his shoulder.
He cocks his head and smiles as the raven whispers in his ear.
