Welcome to the season of Imbolc,
A Celtic festival at the transition point between the longest night of the winter solstice and the equal day and night of the spring equinox.
I invite you to sit and meditate with the cyclical energy of the earth as the slow turn of the wheel transitions from dark to light,
From rest to renewal,
From dreaming to possibility.
Open yourself up to receive the first signs of spring.
Come into a comfortable position,
Allowing your body to relax and soften,
Giving yourself permission to just be.
There is nowhere else you need to be.
There's nothing else you need to do right now.
And closing your eyes if that feels comfortable for you.
Bring your awareness to your cycle of breath,
Just becoming aware of your natural rhythm.
Then with each out breath,
Allowing yourself to descend deeper into the depths of your being.
So on your next exhale,
Allowing your day and your week to fade off into the distance.
And the next exhale,
Allowing your responsibilities and your work to fade away.
And on your next exhale,
Allowing anything else that may pull you away from this present moment to disappear out of your conscious awareness.
As you come to settle at the core of who you are.
As you are settling down into this inner landscape,
Notice the hold at the bottom of the out breath.
I invite you to sit at the bottom of this out breath.
Be still here for a moment until you feel the gentle urge to fill yourself back up.
That yearning to inhale again after this pause at the bottom is the transitioning energy of in bulk.
After the still rest in the dark of winter,
A desire to invite back the movement of light emerges.
Again,
Holding your body at the bottom of your out breath.
Then tuning in to that sense of desire as it grows gently until you are ready to inhale again.
And then coming back into your natural breathing rhythm.
The earth cycle is unfolding from the deep dark of winter,
Gently rolling towards the light of spring.
Maybe you can't see this yet where you are on the earth,
But underneath there may be a feeling.
Feel your connection to the earth below you.
And the cold solid ground beginning to thaw.
And the snow melting into water.
The green beginning to peek through the white and gray.
The soil begins to soften under you.
It holds you here in a place of safety and comfort.
As the earth begins to gently warm,
Draw that energy from the earth into your body.
Feel the chill of the winter begin to thaw within.
Those places within you that have been stuck and stagnant,
They are beginning to loosen and move.
Releasing the heaviness of the winter,
Feel yourself get lighter.
Feel yourself softening.
Allow your mind to soften,
Allow your body to soften.
And then at the edge of your awareness,
See that faint light begin to rise over the horizon.
Allow this light to emerge from the depths within.
The glow radiating warmth from the inside out.
The ground of your body and the ground of the earth are preparing for the seeds of possibility to be sown.
You are waking up and expanding into this renewed sense of life.
Be curious and wonder what may be unearthing from these seeds.
What is unfurling from the core of your being?
A seed holds all of its potential of what it can and will become in a singular point of focus.
With this renewed sense of life,
Embed your potential into the seeds.
Plant them in the soft dark earth below.
Holding on to hope and trust of the new life and the new beginnings to come.
The ground is fertile and ready to birth after resting in the presence of winter.
It is embracing the seeds of your potential,
Hugging them with growing warmth of the soil.
Waking them up saying it is time to begin again.
The seeds becoming pregnant with possibilities.
Feel those first stirrings of spring as the roots of your seeds grow far and wide yet still in the darkness.
Feel this energy emerging and expanding,
Moving gently up and out from their winter resting place.
Feel that connection and that flow of energy between you and the earth as you warm one another with this spark of creative potential.
As the cyclical energy unfolds around you,
Ground your roots into the here and now.
Just be.
Feel the moist soil under your feet soft and giving to your body.
Hold that sense of hope that what you have planted will arrive to support you at the time you need it most.
Believe in the cyclical magic to deliver your winter dreams into a spring reality.
