We begin and we end with breath.
Breathe in and out.
Breathe in and out.
Squeeze the lungs,
Filling as deeply and as fully as you can and then pausing and then emptying it all out till there's nothing left and then pausing.
This is the rhythm.
This is the rhythm of the journey.
Filling and emptying.
Stay in that rhythm,
Allowing every muscle,
Every part of your body to ease and soften.
Soften and release.
All the way down to your toes,
All the way out to your fingertips and then all the way up filling,
Filling and easing and softening all the way to the top of your head.
Start to feel that radiance glow move out from your skin.
This place of softness,
Of gentleness,
Of rest,
Vibration,
Calm,
Peace.
Let your mind's eye open.
See yourself in the clearing.
You are standing in the same place you come to over and over and over.
It is safe here.
It is calm here.
Open your eyes,
Take it in with your senses.
Meet and greet this land,
This space that has held you and holds you and welcomes you time and time again.
We forget sometimes,
So eager to find where we're going,
So eager to meet a new guide or see over the hill,
Greet the trees.
We forget the land itself below us,
Holding us,
Welcoming us.
Reach down,
Place your hands on the earth below you.
Remember your gratitude and your blessings and your love.
Feel the warmth of the return of that love.
And here we go.
This journey,
Tonight's journey,
Is about giving and receiving.
It is about sacrifice and gratitude.
It is about finding the balance within the wheel.
Can you smell the autumn as it's coming?
It's still hot summer,
And yet and yet,
If you close your eyes and send your senses outwardly,
You start to feel harvest coming.
Things are ripening.
Look around you.
And in that ripening,
We know that death is near.
Within this fullness of life and vitality,
There is death drawing near.
And that is the wheel.
Tonight's journey is to find the thing or the moment,
The understanding,
The guide of understanding sacrifice,
Gratitude,
And your balance.
Are you sacrificing too much?
Are you sacrificing too little?
Are you cultivating,
Harvesting for yourself as well as for others?
Move down the path toward the wheat fields,
Those beautiful fields in the distance where their crops are gently flowing in the wind.
Perhaps there's a cornfield and it's taller than you.
Find the entrance to the field.
You may have to search.
You may have to find your endurance to get through.
Perhaps there's a maze.
But somewhere in the middle sits a guide,
A message,
A moment waiting for you.
Go now.
Take your time coming back.
Really allow yourself time here to wake your body up.
There's no rush.
Breathe into the parts of your body that feel still sleeping.
Then start to move slowly,
Toes and fingers.
Start rotating your shoulders or rubbing your arms.
When you're truly ready,
Open your eyes,
Sit or stand,
Move.
Write in your journal,
Capturing everything you remember.
And if there was something here that feels bigger,
Maybe there will be art that will follow,
But it's not necessary.
Definitely answer questions around was this difficult or was it easy?
And if it was difficult,
Why do you think it was?
Blessings upon this journey.
