Giving Tree | Morning Meditation

So good morning for those of you that have joined me,

My name is Cori and we're going to do a guided meditation together,

Just sit and meditate for the next 25 minutes or so.

Thank you for being here,

I appreciate it.

Good morning,

Good morning,

Good morning.

Okay so if you can close down your eyes for me please,

Make sure that you're sat in your comfortable seated position and all is well in the world.

Straighten your spine,

Rest your hands on your lap or on your knees,

Face the palms open and up to receive from spirit.

I'll place the palms down on your knees towards the ground if you feel like you need a little bit of grounding this morning.

So we get either some mama energy or some papa energy.

Let's start by taking all of our focus and attention down into the feet.

Pull your breath,

Pull your focus all the way down into your feet.

First of all go on the outside of your feet,

So if you're wearing anything on your feet just feel the texture of that on the skin.

If you're barefoot what are your feet touching,

Can you feel the surface of the ground or maybe you can feel a carpet,

The seat that you're sat on if you're crisscrossed applesauce.

Just pay attention to all the sensations on the outside of your feet.

First of all,

If you're barefoot can you feel the air around your feet,

The temperature of the air on your skin.

Slowing down your breath,

Hopefully by now you found a nice slow pace with your breathing.

Relax your shoulders down while you pay attention to your feet,

Soften your jaw while you pay attention to your feet.

Go on the inside now of your body,

So travel in to the inside of your feet,

See if you can feel any tingling sensations,

Any subtle vibration in your feet.

See if you can get even more detailed in your search,

Go into your left big toe more precise,

Go into your left big toe and just feel into that space on the inside.

It might be difficult,

It might be easy,

Notice your own ability to become more acute,

How it feels when you zone in to something even more detailed,

Even more small in your body.

See if you can go into your right big toe and feel the space in there.

Try feeling into your right little toe,

See if you can feel any vibration or tingling.

Or if you can feel nothing,

If it's difficult and challenging to feel that precisely into that part of your body.

Sometimes it's hard because we don't have many nerve endings and different things,

Certain parts of our body are easier to feel vibration and energy in,

Like the fingertips for example.

If you all try right now and feel into your hands and your fingertips,

It's quite easy to feel some subtle energy movement in your fingers and your fingertips.

Starting to play with our imagination now,

Let's go on a little journey.

Imagine that on this beautiful morning,

Whatever your reality is,

We are creating a beautiful morning and you're walking through a field full of wildflowers.

The sun is shining down.

The flowers are the type that feed nature,

So there's lots of bees and butterflies.

There are happy bees though,

You know the kind that are just chill and they leave you alone.

They're just enjoying the flowers,

They don't really mind you being there.

And there's lots of different butterflies.

So many different colors in the flowers,

All different types because they're wildflowers.

Just let yourself slowly walk through this space,

You're all alone,

It's perfect and peaceful.

You can feel the sun warm on your skin.

If you look up at the sky,

There's big bright clear blue sky with the occasional white fluffy cloud.

That's a nice day,

A wonderful morning.

Over there in front of you,

There is a big giant oak tree.

Just one single one there in the middle of this field and that's where you're heading.

Walking,

Taking your time through the flowers,

Enjoying the wilderness and the wildlife and the sun.

Walking towards the oak tree,

It's probably about 10 more steps there in front of you.

And when you get there,

I'd like you to just turn around,

Sit down and put your back towards the tree.

So now you can sit and look out at this field that looks quite endless of all the different colors of wildflowers.

Take a nice big deep breath,

Breathe in all the way down to your abdomen,

Hold your breath there,

Sit in this peace,

Stillness,

And then slowly breathe out.

Breathe out until you're completely empty and then hold on the empty for me.

And then breathe again,

Find a nice pace with your breath.

Looking out into this field with this beautiful view there in front of you.

Start to focus inwards,

See if you can feel the back of the tree on your back body.

So pay attention now,

Body awareness,

Feel the back supported by this big oak tree.

Maybe it feels slightly rough to the touch,

Maybe you can feel the different texture of the bark on your back,

Maybe you can move slightly from side to side a little bit,

Just a whittle to kind of settle in and soak into that sensation of the bark of the tree.

It'll be rough but it feels firm underneath your body,

Like you could push back with all of your might.

Maybe in your mind imagine that you're just pushing into the tree,

Pushing in to get a deeper connection,

Testing how much he's going to support you,

This big oak tree.

The energy of the oak tree is sturdy and strong,

Yet flexible when needed.

He can move and sway with whatever comes his way in the weather.

He's kind of an example of what we would like to be.

Sturdy,

Steadfast in our strength to stay true to who we are.

Sturdy and strong,

Not being pushed easily out of our way.

Staying strong so that we can honour ourselves,

Take care of ourselves and put ourselves first.

That way we have the love,

The nurturing ability,

The strength,

The support to give others when needed,

But we have to feed our own cup first.

So let's feed our cup from this tree.

He's willing to share his energy.

Imagine that you can start to zone in on the energy of that which you're resting your back on,

So start to feel into the tree.

I don't know whether you've ever done this,

But I've done this many times with my daughter.

We go around and hug different trees,

And each one of them feels very different.

They have different characters and different energy.

So what does this tree feel like to you?

If you push back and lean in,

It may be a she energy to you,

It may be a male energy to you.

Feel into the tree.

Does the tree already start to feel as if it's wrapping around and protecting you?

Does the tree feel like it can hold and support you?

What magic does this tree hold for you?

What do you need today to absorb and pull energetically from this giving tree?

Sit with that for a minute.

What do you need in your life?

Do you need a good hug?

Something simple like just being heard or supported?

If you feel like you need to be heard today,

Then tell your tree exactly what you want to say.

If you feel like just being quiet and being held,

Grounded,

That's what I need today.

Think about the ability of this tree when it's summer,

It opens up and receives.

It's willing to be open.

Vulnerability.

Do we need a little bit of that?

When it's winter,

It's hardy and steadfast and capable to maintain itself in rough conditions.

Do we need a little bit of that?

Pull whatever you need from this tree.

In spring,

It's ready for new beginnings,

New buds,

New life,

Change.

Do we need to be open to change?

And in autumn,

It's willing to die in a way,

To let go.

To let go of all of the life it lived through spring and summer.

To let go of the old,

So that it can prepare for something new around the corner.

What example would you like to take from the tree?

What strengths?

Make sure that your breath is nice and slow.

Your shoulders are soft and relaxed.

Your body is relaxed into the back of the tree.

You can either have your eyes closed or you can have your eyes open,

Staring out at the wildflowers.

Maybe it's nice to just be here and be in a peaceful moment before the day begins.

It's time to maybe turn around and face the tree and just give gratitude.

Say thank you for all that you've received.

If it feels right for you,

You can share a hug,

Maybe just touch the tree,

Whatever you want to do.

Or just saying thank you if that's where you're at.

Make sure that you share your gratitude though,

An appreciation for the exchange of energy.

Come up,

Back to standing.

We'll take 10 slow steps back through the field before you open your eyes.

I'll count with you.

1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

6,

7,

8,

9,

10.

Coming back into your body,

Wiggling your toes if you need to.

Just move your hands around on your lap,

Feeling your physical body again.

And opening your eyes whenever you're ready,

Coming back into your space.

Closing the meditation.

Namaste,

My friends.

Namaste.