Rest Easy In The Stillness Of Autumn & Winter

Hello,

Dear Intuitive One.

It's Joanna Schmidt.

Thank you for joining me in this moment,

For this guided meditation.

Rest easy in the stillness of autumn and winter.

For this meditation,

I invite you to cozy in.

If you're able,

Snuggle under the covers.

Perhaps put a pillow underneath your knees and underneath your head to support you to get even more comfortable.

When you feel settled in,

Give your whole being,

Body,

Heart,

Mind,

And soul permission to fully arrive in the here and now with the goal of being as present as possible.

So you're able to fully settle in to the nourishing restorative layers offered to you by the energies of autumn and winter.

These seasons give you that meditative space to turn your attentions inward,

To be more mindful in the present and in the here and now.

And the shorter days that autumn and winter offer give you loving permission to do a little less of the big outward growing and stretching that spring and summer hold space for.

Those lyrical qualities of spring and summer hold so much space for growth,

Which can feel so wonderful as though it could just go on forever,

Like the fullness of it all should go on forever.

Yet nature's nourishing cycles and seasons support harmony and balance.

Cycles which hold profound sacred space for both the bright light-filled qualities of the day and for the restorative meditative qualities of the darkness of night.

The cycles of nature hold spring and summer in equal reverence with the cozy inward restorative darkness of autumn and winter.

Each season,

Spring,

Summer,

Autumn and winter,

When called,

Carries forth a seasonal torch until it is called to pass it along to the next season.

Each season in balance with one another existing in alignment with the natural world.

Autumn and winter have profound gifts to share with you as they offer gentle nudges to slow down,

Uncoil,

And turn your attentions from the big outward growth to the more subtle inner growth of your own inner roots.

And so when spring and summer do return,

Your roots will be stronger,

Restored,

And able to handle the profound growth and blooming that lies ahead for you.

In this moment,

I invite you to tune in with your body's knowledge of this remembering that you too are a part of nature.

You just like plants and trees need time in that meditative still space that the seasons of autumn and winter provide.

Give yourself a moment to tune in with this permission that is being offered to you by nature to slow down,

To do a little less outward,

And do a little more inward,

To get cozy and sit with things a while longer,

To take time to process and integrate the big growth and change that occurred over the previous spring and summer.

Give yourself this moment to tune into your own inner roots and your own inner world that's supported by the cycles of nature.

This changing of the seasons,

This passing of the seasonal torch and welcoming autumn and winter after the fullness of summer is not always an easy transition.

If you feel resistance,

I invite you to tune inward and sense where this resistance lives in your body and contract these areas tightly and then release that contraction fully with the knowing that the light always returns.

The spring will always come again.

And the light is always just on the other side of the dark.

You can also sense into the movement created by your breath,

The movement that you can feel from inside your own body when you breathe to help give any areas of lingering resistance an inner hug.

You can do this by breathing in and sensing the pressure created within your body and use this pressure to push up against this inner resistance,

Creating an inner hug that reminds your whole being that summer will come again.

The kind meditative darkness is offering you its loving attention,

Its support in this moment to help you restore.

It is offering you profoundly relaxing restoration for body,

Heart,

Mind and soul.

Restoration like you might find in a warm cedar sauna within your heart during a meditation or perhaps like in those moments when you are safely tucked within the coziness of your home on an autumn or winter evening.

You've got a warm cup of tea and you're watching the warm light of a flickering beeswax candle,

Reminding you that this kind of darkness is okay.

That you are safe and spring and summer will come again.

And for now,

In this moment,

It's time to rest.

It's time to let go.

And it's time to go within.

If you like to imagine and visualize things intuitive one,

I invite you to visualize the seasonal torch being passed from one season to the next.

Starting by visualizing the bright hands of summer.

Hands that help gardens and forests bloom.

Hands that support butterflies,

Blue skies,

Fluffy clouds.

I invite you to visualize these loving hands of summer passing the seasonal torch to the kind hands of autumn.

Autumn,

Who helps the leaves of the trees make that transition from the bright greens of summer to the brilliant oranges and yellows.

Hands that help bring the rains and help bring the snow.

From here,

I invite you to envision this full cycle that this torch travels,

Being passed from season to season.

From the hands of autumn to winter.

From winter to the hands of spring.

From the hands of spring to summer.

And then again from summer to autumn.

Sense into the timelessness of this cycle of passing this torch from one season to the next.

I invite you to visualize this torch being passed from season to season until you're ready to pause for a moment and see this seasonal torch being held in the hands of the current season.

The season you're listening to this recording.

The season that you are spending this time listening inwards.

And in your visualization,

I invite you,

Just like you might with a close friend who you love,

Envision reaching your hands and placing them on the hands of this season to welcome this season with your full presence.

Perhaps within your vision,

Look into the kind,

Soft eyes of this season that's holding the torch and thank them for showing up.

Thank the current season for being.

Thank them for helping to keep divine timing in our world.

Thank them for this opportunity to rest and restore.

Thank them for the cues and reminders that are unfolding all around you in nature.

The trees dropping their leaves.

The plants returning to the stillness of the earth.

All of which is reminding you too that it's time to let go of what you no longer need so you can rest.

So you can focus on the growth of your own roots.

So you are strong and you are flexible.

And in your visualization,

As you are sharing this moment with this current season,

I invite you to take a breath into your body to assure you are fully present in the here and now.

Remembering that there's nothing quite as powerful in a connection as when you are seen.

And when you're able to see another in fullness.

When two beings genuinely feel that they belong and that they're welcome.

This is the full presence I invite you to welcome this new season with.

And perhaps pause and recognize that for just this moment in the here and now in your visualization,

You and this season are both holding this torch in love.

Let your body's wisdom remember that in this moment,

You are divinely a part of nature.

Your body and your soul is a part of this natural cycle.

Let yourself pause here and sense into this feeling of sacred connection.

And when you're ready,

In your visualization,

Release this connection between your hands and the hands of this season holding the torch.

Releasing this current season to go on and do their work.

Freeing you to rest easy in this meditative restorative space offered in the here and now.

Let your body and your presence and your spirit rest easy now.

Sense into the ways you're able to breathe a little more deeper in some areas of your body now.

Let your whole being settle into the coziness of where you are in the here and now.

Remembering that there are amazing things to come this season.

And as we bring this time together to a close,

If time allows for you,

You are welcome to drift off to sleep knowing that you are supported in love by this spacious,

Nourishing meditative stillness that this season has to offer.

Thank you for tuning in with me today.

I appreciate you and I appreciate our connection.