Welcome to this meditation to release anxiety,
To release fear,
To release whatever it is that doesn't feel like it's serving you.
Take a few moments to get comfortable.
You can do this meditation lying down,
Maybe under a nice blanket,
Or you could be sitting upright,
Your spine nice and tall,
Perhaps with your hips on a cushion.
Bring your awareness to all the parts of your body that are in contact with the ground.
Receive that stillness and support.
Know that you are held.
Imagine that your breath is rising up from the earth into your body,
And that as you are exhaling,
Your breath is going back down into the earth.
You get to settle into it.
If it is safe to do so,
We have your eyes closed.
And relax into the natural,
Gentle rhythm of your breath,
Rising and falling.
Imagine that you are in a place that you love very much,
Where you feel safe in nature.
It could be a place you know well,
That you visit regularly.
It could be a place you visited once and had a wonderful sense of connection.
It could be a place you've never visited in physical form.
Maybe there's a place that has come to you in dreams or daydreams.
Trust whatever comes up.
See if you can get clear on what you would see around you in this moment if you were in that place.
Either trees,
Mountains,
Rolling fields,
Meadow.
What is the ground like beneath you?
And do you hear any sounds,
Any birds,
The wind?
And what would it smell like in this place?
Take a few lovely deep breaths in,
Breathing this safe and sacred place all the way in to nourish every cell of your body.
Visualize yourself opening your eyes,
Looking around you,
Starting to get up and explore the area that you have found yourself in.
Look around the ground and you're going to find a stone to pick up.
Look around until you've found a stone.
What does it look like?
What's the texture?
How heavy is it?
What color is it?
Hold it in your hands and see how it feels.
This stone is going to help you release whatever it is you don't want or need to carry with you.
Just know that this rock is a friend,
A helper.
And holding this rock,
Look around you until you find a path that's going to start to lead into the woods.
You have deep,
Dark,
Mysterious,
Beautiful woods.
Follow the path and you start to walk into where the shadows are.
The light is filtering through.
You're walking on the path,
The tall trees on either side.
What do you see as you wander following this path?
You can trust that the path is going to lead you where you are going.
You're going to go uphill.
And when you get to the top of this hill,
You can see down below you that the path leads out onto a beach.
Continue to walk,
Find your way along the path,
And then you exit the trees,
You exit the woods and you arrive on a beautiful beach.
There's an expanse of shining water in front of you.
It's peaceful.
What are the waves like?
Are they crashing?
Are they gentle?
You imagine it exactly how you want.
A place that feels expansive.
A place that feels wide open and free.
If you've got shoes on,
Kick them off,
Get your feet in the sand.
Is it cool?
Is it wet?
Is it warm?
How does it feel to wiggle your toes into it?
Come to stand close to the waves,
Close to the edge of the water.
Hold your rock in front of your heart.
As you breathe in,
Breathe in this feeling of expansion and freedom.
The shining water and the size of the world bring it all in to nourish you.
As you breathe out,
Let go of all the things you want to let go of and imagine them going into the rock.
Breathe in,
Bring in what you want to feel,
Bring in that expansiveness,
Bring in the freedom,
Breathe out the fear,
The worry,
The anxiety,
The restriction,
The frustration.
Breathe out whatever it is you want to let go of.
Imagine it going into the rock.
You are literally lightening your heart,
Unburdening your heart.
Feel it going into that rock.
You can feel the weight of the rock in your hands.
Maybe it starts to feel a little heavier as you're downloading this stuff into the rock.
And then look out at that water and know that you're going to let this rock fly.
Wind up.
Bring your arm back behind you and the strongest throw you can,
Chuck that rock out as far as you can into this shining water and let it go.
You see it sail through the air.
You see it land with a splash and then it sinks below the surface.
In a non-burdening yourself,
You have not burdened the world.
You've let go of energy in a healthy way that can be transmuted and transformed and used for something else.
The earth can hold and mulch and help you shift your energy.
And in letting go of the darkness,
Letting go of the fear,
You freed yourself to receive the freedom,
The expansiveness,
To realign with love and peace so you can be of better service to the world.
So your letting go is an offering.
Turn your palms towards the lake.
Open heart,
Open hands.
Stand in a powerful stance.
You are gazing out at this shining water.
You can feel the breeze against your skin,
Maybe your hair flying back a little bit.
Rooted to the earth,
Rising,
Open to what's coming next.
Breathe in how you want to feel and breathe out a thank you.
Every breath a gift,
Every exhalation a thank you.
And then with your lighter heart,
Turn around and find the entrance to the path and walk back up that hill,
Back through the forest,
Following the path,
Noticing the trees,
Creating this safe space to travel through.
And then you re-arrive at your starting point and imagine yourself either lying or sitting down back in that place in the position you began in.
And then open your attention to all the sounds that are around you in this moment in the space you are currently in.
Notice the feeling of the floor beneath you.
Notice the temperature of the air on your skin.
Notice the rise and fall of your breath.
We'll start to bring some movement into your fingertips,
Into your toes.
You might reach your arms overhead,
Either back along the floor or up to the sky and have a nice long stretch through your whole spine.
If you're lying down,
Start to roll over to one side and come back up to a seated position.
Bring your hands together at heart center.
You turn within,
You let go,
And now your bright heart can offer outwards and shine its light to the world.