Welcome to Soul Corner.
This is Arrival,
The Thinker.
Before we begin,
Maybe take a moment here just to settle where you are.
Perhaps lying down or resting comfortably where you can allow your body to soften in the support beneath you.
And as you settle,
Take a few gentle breaths.
Just find yourself softening.
Maybe you'd like to come with me as we imagine walking on a small sandy path that winds gently through a grove of Aleppo pines.
The air here is warm,
The smell of resin from the trees and the sharp sweetness of wild rosemary baking in the sun.
And nearby,
Maybe the rhythmic pulse of cicadas rises and falls softly among the trees,
Vibrating against the stillness.
And as you begin just to move one foot in front of the other along this path,
Beneath your feet you can see and feel pale sun-bleached sand.
Every step is slow and steady.
The softness of the ground beneath your feet feels grounded and real.
If you were to peer up between the canopy of the trees,
You'd be able to see the blue sky,
The expansiveness up there,
The space,
The air and the warmth.
But here amongst the trees it's cool and the light is dim as you wander between the shadows.
And you might like to begin to notice the textures of the tree bark,
Texture of the sand pine needles on the ground as you wander gently through the trees.
Soon the trees begin to thin out and clear a little.
Ahead of you,
Nestled very quietly within this landscape,
You begin to notice this simple building,
An old finca with thick stone walls coated in layers of hand-smoothed white limewash catching the balleric light.
You can feel your body softening here as your breath is gentle,
Your feet are grounded.
This building feels organic,
Its corners and walls rounded by decades of salt air.
It feels like a sanctuary,
Somewhere simple to step away from life.
As you begin to feel more and more settled,
Calmness and tranquility around you,
Within you.
Perhaps beside the entrance you can spot that there's an olive tree standing peacefully in a weathered stone pot.
And you can see its silvery green leaves moving and flickering gently.
And this entrance is a simple archway set deep into the heavy plaster wall.
You can pause for a moment here,
Just feeling the balmy warmth of the Mediterranean air,
The sun on your skin,
One last time.
And when you feel ready,
You can step slowly through the arch.
And as you pass inside,
You can feel the atmosphere shifting,
The bright white glare of the sun replaced by a gentle shade,
And the air suddenly still,
Becoming cooler,
Quieter.
And just standing inside this threshold,
Perhaps your eyes adjust to the dimness of the light.
Feel your feet against the terracotta floor.
Notice the candles gently flickering nearby.
Just feeling grounded,
Steady,
And calm.
You have arrived.
