This is a short meditation inspired by animist and shamanic teachings.
These teachings,
Which are ancient,
Remind us that spirit is in everything,
In all of existence.
In the grass,
In the rocks,
In the rivers,
In the seas,
In the trees,
In the hills,
In the plants,
In the insects,
In the animals,
In the weather,
In humans and in the stars.
We can find spirit in all things and we can relate to spirit wherever we go and wherever we are in the world,
On the planet.
So just start to soften your eyes or closing them.
Maybe you are sitting or maybe you are lying down.
Find a comfortable position for the next 10 to 15 minutes.
Start to relax,
Start to come to stillness,
Because this is your time,
This is your space.
This is now your time and your moment to relax and to be still and to stop doing activity and to pause.
See if you can give yourself permission to pause and slow down and come to stillness.
See if you can give yourself a little bit more permission now,
Maybe more permission than you've ever given yourself before.
Permission to pause,
To slow down,
To relax,
To come to stillness.
Soften your face if you can and your jaw and your cheekbones.
Even softening the area around your skull,
Around your ears.
Relax your eyebrows and your eyes and your eyelids.
Relax the space behind your nose,
The top of your nose.
Relax the top of your mouth and your throat.
Begin to relax your tongue and your lips.
See if you can relax just a little bit more.
Sink down into your pelvis,
Into your hips,
Into your sit bones.
Imagine your whole skeleton is starting to soften and relax.
All your bones,
Your joints,
Your fascia,
Your tissues,
Your muscles,
Particularly your big muscle groups,
These are now starting to relax too.
Your arms and your shoulders,
Your chest and your back,
Your ribs,
Your waist,
Your stomach.
All these areas are relaxing as we prepare to meditate and tune in.
Your hips and your legs relaxing.
Your thighs and your hamstrings relaxing.
Your feet and the soles of your feet relaxing.
Your toes and your ankles are relaxing.
And you're settling down,
Settling into this time and space which is completely yours.
There is nothing to do.
Nowhere you need to be.
No appointments you need to keep.
There's no emails or messages you need to reply to.
No calls you need to make.
No errands that you need to run.
This is your time and your space,
Completely yours.
Relaxing your heart space too now.
Release any tightness or tension around your heart if you can.
And maybe imagine the space,
The energy around your heart.
See if you can notice it.
See if you can allow it and make space for it.
Making space for your heart.
Allow that space to be a little bit bigger.
Give yourself permission and your heart permission to expand,
To take up space,
To take up more room in your body and your energy field.
So that your heart space grows.
It feels easier for you,
More fluid.
It feels expansive and light.
See if that's possible for you.
Allowing the heart space to grow bigger.
Be curious with that and easy with yourself.
This is your time and space.
To come fully home into your body.
To come fully home into your breath.
To come fully home into your heart.
Into your soul,
Your spirit,
Your essence.
To embody your energy field.
To take up space.
To give yourself permission.
Some easy breaths here.
Some easy inhales.
Some easy exhales.
Taking your time.
Enjoying this relaxation.
Enjoying this time and space.
Where you have your full attention.
Where you can be completely with you,
With yourself,
With your breath and your heart.
Easy inhales.
Easy exhales.
Begin to picture in your mind,
You are on an old ancient track.
Walking down this old and lovely ancient track.
The path is easy on your feet.
You can feel the aliveness of the earth through the soles of your feet.
As you walk along the track,
The earth,
She greets you.
She knows you.
She is glad that you're here.
Keep walking along the path.
It is a fine day.
It is a good day for walking.
You notice the trees.
There are trees around you.
Woods and woodland.
Forests.
You are alone with the path and the earth and the trees.
You have the place to yourself.
There is no one to disturb you.
The trees also are glad to see you.
They're glad you're here.
The trees are healthy and vibrant.
They are different shapes and sizes and species.
But they sway gently in the breeze.
They are saying hello and greeting you.
They know you.
They recognise you.
You have walked this track way before and often.
The trees are your friends and your companions.
They always keep watch for you.
They always take care of you.
They keep you safe on the paths that you're walking.
Keep walking and you come to the edge of the woods and the woods greet you.
The birds greet you.
The butterflies and the dragons,
They all greet you.
And are glad you're here.
They've missed you.
The woods are always glad to see you.
And so you enter the woods.
And the ground is easy on your feet.
The ground is soft and welcoming to your heels and your toes.
And you walk on gently through the woods,
Along the trails that the deer and the foxes have left for you.
You meander your way along the familiar paths,
The welcoming trails.
And all around you the woods are familiar.
You've been here before.
These are your favourite woods.
These are your favourite birds.
These are your favourite trees.
Your favourite animals and wildlife.
And you feel safe here.
It is your favourite place here in nature.
With the woods to yourself and no one else for miles and miles around.
Just you and the woods and the earth and her creatures.
And you come to your favourite woodland trail.
The one you've walked many times before.
The one that always stirs your heart and lifts your spirit and clears away the debris of the mind and the debris of stress.
You come to your favourite path now.
And the path greets you.
The path is glad you're here.
It is always glad to see you.
It keeps watch for you.
It looks out for you.
It always has your back.
And so you begin to walk along the path,
Further into the woods,
Further into the arms of the trees.
And the ground feels easy on your feet and easy on your legs.
The ground seems to nourish you from your head up to your feet.
Like a gentle,
Happy energy running along your limbs and your shoulders.
This is the love of the woods and the love of the trees.
And the love of the spirit of the forest.
And they are greeting you.
And they are glad you're here.
They always keep watch for you.
They always wait patiently for your visits.
They are always glad to see you again.
And so you keep walking.
And it is a fine day.
It is a good day for walking.
And so you come to a clearing in the woods.
A space where the sunlight shines a little more clearly and brightly above the trees.
And it is somewhere you've been before.
This familiar clearing.
This familiar space.
Maybe it is somewhere you have camped,
Or sat around a fire,
Or pitched your tent,
Or sat quietly and listened to the trees.
It is somewhere that is familiar and known to you.
And you are known to the clearing too.
And the clearing calls you in and is here to greet you too.
Just like the earth.
Just like the trees.
Just like the woods.
This clearing is happy to see you.
It's glad you're here.
Come on in,
Says the clearing.
Come on in,
Old friend.
It is good to see you again.
And so you continue on into the clearing.
Into this familiar spot.
And then you sit down in one of your favourite places in the clearing.
Maybe it is on a log.
Maybe you climb a little into a tree and sit on a branch.
Maybe you sit on the soft green grass,
Or the soft fallen leaves.
And it feels easy on your hips,
And easy on your sit bones,
And easy on your limbs,
Sitting here.
It is good to sit here.
And so you sit down and begin to settle.
And all around you,
You know that the woods greet you and keep watch for you,
And are glad you have come again to see them and visit them.
And as you are sitting,
Maybe you are beginning to soften and relax even more.
Maybe you notice your heart space again,
And notice how your heart is responding to the trees.
Notice how your heart is responding to the earth,
And to the ground,
And to the soil beneath you.
Noticing that your heart seems to be responding to everything around you,
And it is reciprocal.
It isn't one way.
Because you notice that the trees around you are responding too.
They are responding to your heart.
And so you notice the trees are singing to your soul,
And the birds are whispering to your spirit.
And the woods,
The whole of the woods,
They are glad that you are here,
And they are pleased to see you,
Just as they always are.
And this feels easy on your heart,
And easy on your breath,
And easy on your body,
To sit here,
And to be part of this melody,
And part of this dance,
To be part of this orchestra.
And in the clearing,
You are always welcome.
You are always greeted.
In the woods,
You are always wanted,
And always cherished.
The earth gathers around you,
Lifts up your heart,
Sends her loving,
Caring energy towards you,
Through the soles of your feet,
And the palms of your hands.
And your heart feels cradled in her embrace,
In her strength,
In her mighty being.
And the earth,
She is glad to see you.
She is glad you're here.
And always,
Always,
This place is accessible to you.
This place waits for you.
Trees,
And the woods,
And the earth are waiting for you,
Any time that you need them.
Just ask,
Reach out,
Just walk towards them,
And they will answer you.
And in the clearing,
You can remain here for as long as you would like to.
One with the woods,
One with the trees,
One with the earth.
And in your own time,
You may want to rise again to your feet,
Slowly,
Gently,
And you may wish to bid farewell to the woods,
Just for now,
Just until you visit again.
And the woods,
They honour you,
And they say they will be here,
When you're ready to return.
In your own time,
You can start to leave the woods,
And come back to your body,
And your physical surroundings,
Moving your hands and your feet.
And in your own time,
Opening your eyes,
Moving into the rest of your day or your evening,
With the knowledge that you can come back to this again,
And you can visit the woods,
Any time that you want to.
