This is a meditation to honor you.
It's a meditation in self-compassion,
Focusing on self-acceptance and not self-improvement.
Carl Rogers had a beautiful saying when he said the curious paradox is that when I accept myself as I am,
Then I can change.
Self-compassion provides the safety needed to see ourselves clearly,
To see ourselves sometimes as others see us.
This meditation is to honor you and to allow all the people who you've helped or been with or shared in or journeyed with for them to honor you as well.
It's a meditation in self-compassion,
Self-awareness,
Self-love and honoring.
And with that,
Let's begin our little journey.
Let's start with breathing in and breathing out and breathing in and breathing out.
Make sure you're comfortable.
Your eyes might be closed by now.
Just breathing,
Paying attention to the breath as it enters through the nostrils,
Down the throat,
Through the lungs,
To the belly and back up again through the nostrils,
Completing a full cycle,
Full journey.
Sitting and breathing.
And now I'd like you to imagine that while you're sitting in your chair or if you're lying down in the bed,
Just imagine yourself lying there,
The awareness after you there,
Gravity pulling you down,
Grounding you,
Making you feel secure.
And imagine that you open your eyes and you see through the doorway that someone's calling you.
They're beckoning you.
And you get up and you walk out of the room,
Down the hallway and they appear to be outside and you follow them.
The air is crisp but not cold.
And this person is about a hundred meters away,
Still beckoning you.
You can't make out who they are but you know that you trust them.
And because you feel safe,
You start walking towards them.
And as you get closer,
You see that they're standing by an open gate.
They ask you to follow them through.
And as you enter,
You see that this is the most magical of places.
It's full of greenery and flowers and pine.
It seems to have tiny fairy lights that thread amongst the branches of the trees,
Casting a soft white glow in the past.
You look up and you see a sky full of stars,
Millions of them,
Galaxies and planets,
Stars and meteors gracing the beautiful night sky.
You start walking down the path,
Amazed that this place actually exists.
And as your eyes become adjusted to the beauty and the magic,
You realize that there are people standing on either side of the path as you walk down.
First you see your loved ones,
Those people who are important to you.
And they're all applauding you as you walk along.
But bigger than the applause are the smiles and the look of love and admiration on their faces.
And as you walk along further down the path,
You see friends,
Long time friends,
New friends,
Friends you haven't seen for a while,
Maybe childhood friends,
Friends of friends,
Colleagues,
Clients,
Patients.
Everyone is smiling at you and you realize that almost everyone you know is on either side of this path.
You keep walking forward and more people appear,
People you work with,
People you see every day but you don't really know.
Could be the kids waiting at the bus stop as you go to work,
The person who gives you coffee at the drive-thru,
The cashier at the store,
So many people gathered in one spot and it starts dawning on you that they're all here for you.
You in some way have touched them,
Been a part of them and they've come here to honor you.
As you keep walking on this path,
You see a raised stage and the only place you can go is to walk up the five stairs that are in front of you.
As you extend the first step,
Love just fills your heart,
Embracing every single cell.
You walk up the second step and compassion enters your heart.
You take the third step and wisdom just flows into you and on that fourth step a white light courses through you and around you,
Through you and fills you.
You reach the fifth step,
Filled with compassion,
Wisdom,
White light and you turn around and you see hundreds of people filling this magical space,
This magical place that was created just for you.
Everyone's looking up at you in awe of you and so grateful for who you are,
For what goodness you have shared with them.
Grateful for just being in your presence,
Grateful for coming across you on their journey and some grateful that you came across them on your journey.
As you stare out of the sea of faces,
You feel someone touch you and embrace you.
You've taken all these faces,
A special place and you know that now it's time to go home and you slowly walk down the five steps back along the path filled with love,
Compassion,
Wisdom and white light protection and that final touch that was you allowing you to accept this place,
These people,
This message,
Allowing self-compassion to course through you.
And as you walk down the path,
You see the end of the path and the gate that you originally came to.
You turn around one more time to absorb,
Inhale,
Consume and embrace this feeling and this place of love.
You close the gate behind you and you see your house and you go back inside your house,
Back into your room,
Back into the chair that you had been sitting in when you started your meditation.
Become aware of your surroundings,
Feel the ground beneath you,
Aware of the place that you fold in your seat and perhaps put your hands close to your heart.
Feel the love and the compassion and know that you have a gift of knowing that you are loved and you are honored.
Let this meditation connect you with the wisdom that lies inside of you,
The love that always surrounds you.
You've just downloaded a tiny piece of happiness that now resides inside of you and can be accessed at any time.
Everyone here is part of a bigger picture and we all leave our own indelible imprint on the world and the people we touch.
Life is a journey and you are the driver in this journey.
You make your own destiny,
Make this journey count,
Continue making your life count and cherish it,
Knowing that you are honored and that you are so loved.
Namaste.
