Allow yourself to get into a very comfortable position.
Whether it is sitting down on a chair,
With your back straight,
Or lying on the floor,
Or on a bed,
Find the most comfortable position for you.
Now close your eyes,
Or allow them to stay open with a soft gaze,
Letting your eyes rest.
If you close your eyes,
You will allow your imagination,
Your inner eye,
To open up and become more active.
Shift and move around a little bit until you feel completely relaxed and comfortable.
Feel yourself settling down.
Feel free to use whatever method works best for you.
Maybe it can be focusing on your breath,
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Maybe stretching your body mindfully,
Or using a sound,
A word,
An image,
Or a phrase such as a mantra,
To help you become centered.
Take your time,
Allowing yourself to become more and more at ease with yourself.
Imagine now that you are sitting at a table in a Chinese restaurant after eating your favorite meal.
The meal was absolutely delicious and satisfying.
Take a look around the restaurant,
Noticing the patterns on the dishes,
The tablecloth,
The walls.
As you're looking around,
You notice that the waiter is coming towards your table,
Carrying a large bowl.
It is a special bowl because it is filled with fortune cookies.
Watch as the bowl is placed before you.
Imagine yourself reaching into the bowl and mixing up the cookies with your fingers,
Feeling the texture of the cookies as you touch them,
Hearing the sound the cookies make as you gently mix them up.
Imagine yourself picking up a fortune cookie.
Notice the unique shape that it has.
Be aware of how it feels as you hold it in your hand.
Is it heavy or light?
Should you be gentle with this cookie?
Is it easily breakable?
Or is it hard?
Just hold it without opening it for now.
In this first fortune cookie,
You'll find a phrase,
A word,
A sentence,
Possibly even a picture or a visual image of something positive that you need to know or that you need to see or to hear about yourself right now.
Maybe it's something you have not recognized or that you haven't thought about for a while.
Now,
If you wish,
You can open up the fortune cookie.
Pull out the piece of paper with the message on it and look at it carefully.
What does it say?
Keep it in your mind and later you'll be able to write your message down and think about it once again.
Reach back into the bowl and pick out another cookie.
This second one relates to an issue that you need to work on at this time in your life.
Again,
This may be a word,
A phrase,
A sentence,
A picture.
Before you open the cookie and see what's there,
Take a moment to think about an issue that you need to work on right now.
Now open it up.
Let the message come to you rather than forcing it.
Let it just happen.
Now please reach into the bowl for the third one.
This fortune cookie contains something you need to say to someone.
It may be something positive or it may relate to an issue that is causing conflict.
This message will tell you what you need to say.
Now if you wish,
You may open up the cookie and again find the phrase,
Picture,
Sentence or word that will tell you what you need to know.
Take a few moments to reflect on this,
Something that you need to say to someone.
Now pick out another fortune cookie from the bowl.
Hold this one in your hand and wait until I suggest when to open it.
Open this cookie,
You will find the opposite of what was in the previous one.
In other words,
If in the previous one you saw something positive to communicate to someone,
In this one you will find something that you need to communicate that is more difficult for you,
Something that you have been putting off for a while.
For example,
It may be a conflict that is keeping one of your relationships from being as trusting,
As honest or as intimate as you want it to be.
If in the previous cookie you found something difficult to communicate,
Then find something positive to communicate from this next one.
You may open it now.
Once again,
Take another fortune cookie from the bowl.
Hold it in your hand,
Feel the texture,
The weight.
Pass it from hand to hand,
Feeling it,
Noticing it.
And now put it in an imaginary pocket.
Know that here there is a very important message in it.
I have no idea what that message is.
Please don't open this cookie for at least 24 hours.
When enough time has gone by and you feel ready to open it,
You will find that it contains an insight that is very important to you.
Now spend a few moments looking over the special messages from your fortune cookies.
Notice that these messages are the most important ones that you could have had right now.
Begin to bring your attention back to this room,
Maybe moving your neck from side to side.
If you feel like it,
Maybe bringing your arms over your head and giving yourself a nice stretch of the whole body,
Taking a deep breath in from your nose and letting it go out from your mouth.
Allow yourself to feel alert.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Namaste.
