Close your eyes.
Let your body rest.
Let the outside world begin to melt away.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and sigh loudly out through your mouth.
Again inhale deeply,
Softly and exhale slowly allowing it to release any tension you might be holding.
Let your shoulders drop.
Let your hands be soft.
Let your heart begin to open gently like a flower in the sun.
Now in your mind's eye begin to imagine a beautiful garden.
It's quiet here,
Still and you feel completely safe.
The air is warm and fragrant and all around you are roses.
Every shade.
Blush pink,
Soft cream,
Deep red,
Gentle peach.
Their petals are full and velvety kissed by morning dew.
This is your rose garden.
A sacred,
Secret place of peace.
You begin to walk slowly along a winding path.
The earth is soft beneath your feet.
With every step your heart softens.
With every breath your mind quiets.
You reach out and gently run your fingers across a bloom.
It is delicate,
Alive and full of beauty.
Just like you.
You sit down on a nearby stone bench surrounded by roses.
Birdsong echoes softly in the distance.
A gentle breeze brushes your skin and in this moment nothing is missing.
Let yourself rest here.
There is nowhere to be.
Nothing to fix.
No role to play.
Only this moment.
Only this breath.
Only the beauty that surrounds and lives within you.
Now quietly repeat in your mind,
Like petals falling one by one.
I soften into stillness.
I breathe in peace.
I am surrounded by beauty.
I allow myself to rest.
I am safe to be gentle.
Allow these words to settle in you.
Let them root deeply.
Let your whole being bathe in the peace of this place.
Now begin to return very slowly.
You rise from your bench and take one last loving look at your rose garden.
You can return here any time you wish.
It lives in your heart.
Take a deep breath in and a soft breath out.
Begin to wiggle your fingers.
Gently roll your shoulders and when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Carry the softness of the rose with you.
Let beauty lead you.
Let peace find you again and again and again.
And so it is.
