With your eyes closed or turned downwards,
Hands on your knees or in your lap,
Feet planted firmly on the ground,
Making good connection,
Sending down roots deep and wide.
Your sit bones connected to the chair beneath you,
Your weight travelling evenly and smoothly down through your supple spine,
Through your hips,
Through your sit bones,
Into the chair beneath.
It's as though there's a golden thread attached to the crown of your head,
Gently floating you upwards,
So you're anchored,
Supported by the earth,
Supported and drawn upwards by the sky and the sun above you,
Perfectly balanced,
Perfectly aligned and perfectly connected.
Take two or three deep breaths,
Full inhales as though your lungs were a bellows,
Holding for a moment at the top,
Allowing the energy you've drawn in with the air to permeate your body to grow,
Expand,
And then slowly,
Gently letting go of the air,
Letting it funnel back out slowly through the nose,
So gently and smoothly,
Till your lungs are completely,
Completely empty.
On your own now.
And then relinquishing control and focus on the breath,
Let it return to a gentle,
Soft rhythm all of its own.
No input from you,
It's as though the air itself is breathing itself in and out of your lungs.
Let's begin our journey.
It's a hot,
Hazy day,
Humid and at the absolute height of summer.
You can almost sense that this is the moment when everything has reached its apex,
Flowerheads flung open wide,
Their heady fragrances powerful,
Intensified by the heat and light of the sun,
And the sun is the hottest it's been all year.
This is the summer solstice,
And you find yourself amongst a large number of people,
Some of whom are very familiar to you.
This is a celebratory event in a large field which is bordered by an old-fashioned dry stone wall.
There are wooden gates too,
Behind one of which you can see a golden barley field,
Its crops ripe and almost ready for harvest.
Stotted about,
There are picnic tables with benches,
Blankets and cushions for sitting on the ground,
Felled logs for sitting on,
And some of the places are already occupied.
There's a large fire pit in the centre of the field on which there is food cooking,
And to the side,
There's a large table filled to bursting with side dishes,
Desserts and different beverages,
All of them handmade and lovingly prepared by the guests who surround you.
You know that the main dish you have bought is now cooking on the fire,
Which has been built and managed beautifully.
Not too hot to burn the outside of the food,
Not too low so as to leave it uncooked.
And the slightly scorched smell of smoke,
Oddly enticing,
Wafts over,
Passing by your nostrils on its way over and across the field.
You hear a familiar voice behind you,
Remarking on the delicious,
Smoky,
Foodie smell.
Turning around,
You see the person who makes your heart flutter for a moment.
It's your partner,
Your significant other,
Your true love,
Or the person you feel romantically about but aren't involved with yet.
Whoever they are,
And however your relationship with them is or isn't,
You feel that flush of warmth rising to your cheeks and meeting your gaze,
They walk over to you,
Holding a beautiful,
Fragrant peony in their right hand.
They inhale deeply of its fragrance,
Kiss the bloom lightly,
And offer it to you,
Before moving over towards the fire.
You feel a rush of excitement,
But deep down,
You know you'll resume that interchange later.
Your soul is telling you that there's someone else you need to sit and eat with.
Now you have to choose what to put on your plate from the abundance of enticing dishes before you.
Some of them are indulgent.
Some are hearty and satisfying.
Real comfort food.
Some are light,
Combining different colours,
Flavours and textures to tantalise and delight the palate.
Looking at such an overwhelming array of food,
Your mind starts to formulate reasons why you should or shouldn't pick each dish.
But this leaves you feeling undecided and torn.
It seems that what you want to pick and what you think you ought to pick are two very different things.
So instead you take another approach.
Sending your awareness into your heart and your body's felt sense,
You move deeper in,
Beyond words and reasons.
You tune into your body's felt responses to the food as you move your gaze around and over the table from option to option.
And you choose the dishes which you feel your body needs,
Wants and craves,
Rather than the ones you like the idea of,
Or the look of,
Or thought you ought to have.
Removing yourself and with a rather full plate,
You look out over towards the far edge of the field to one of the outer areas set for sitting and eating.
And you see them there already,
The person who's been a wonderfully supportive,
Nurturing,
Maternal influence in your life.
That person who isn't perfect,
But who loves you unconditionally,
Takes care of you on a physical and emotional level,
Strong and formidably protective of you,
And who will always drop everything to go to help you whenever you need them.
They are your rock,
Plain and simple,
And your heart jumps for joy to see them here.
You wave your peony in greeting and they wave back,
A yellow handkerchief or scarf in hand.
When you arrive and take your seat beside them,
You can feel your whole being just settle in and start to relax.
You feel the most yourself that you've felt all day.
The person beside you is the only person you've ever known who can make you feel like this.
It's no surprise when,
Smiling,
They tell you that the dishes you've picked were all made by them.
And tasting them,
They are just as delicious and nourishing as your body and heart had anticipated.
This meal makes you feel completely sated,
Just to the point of comfortably full,
Healthy,
Glowy,
Well looked after.
You sigh and relax some more.
And then your special person turns to you and asks how you've been.
With every word you speak,
Every facial expression,
Each implied meaning a nuance.
You see that they just get your meaning completely,
As though they'd lived through the exact same thing themselves.
They immediately understand the heart of what you've been going through,
How you are,
Whether or not you actually voice it.
Even if you don't think you're showing it,
They know you,
Their heart knows your heart.
Once you've finished talking to them,
They give you an understanding look.
Then reach over and squeeze your hand,
Not saying a word.
You realise that now you feel full on a soul level too.
Your satisfaction,
Contentment,
Happiness and ease are complete.
You're utterly replete and completely nourished on every possible level.
So it's time to begin coming back now.
Perhaps you'd like to say your thank yous and goodbyes to your special soul mother.
Maybe you want to take one last look around you,
As the heat of the sun transforms into a fiery coloured sunset and a cool breeze wafts the scent of the fire your way one last time.
There's time for one last moment or two here,
So drink it in.
Now we're going to begin to notice the ground.
Feel the earth under your feet,
The chair supporting you,
The sounds and smells of the room you're in.
It's time to take a big deep breath or two,
Maybe have a stretch,
Wiggle your fingers and toes if you'd like.
And then,
Very gently,
Open your eyes.
