The Sacred Home Of You - A Guided Meditation

Hi I'm Shannon and grateful that you're joining me today for this guided practice.

Today we'll be exploring the theme of home.

What is home for us?

What does it represent?

How do we find home?

Home can be the family that we're born into.

Home can also be a place,

A place we live,

A dwelling that we come home to.

Home can be our Mother Earth where we each walk and connect with her trees,

Plants,

Oceans,

Lakes,

Streams,

Birds,

Insects.

Home can be a group of friends where we find home and safety.

Home can be spiritual community.

Home can even be this present moment.

There's a quote by the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh from his book I Have Arrived,

I Am Home.

He says this,

With each step you have to say,

I have arrived.

I have arrived.

Whether your home is in Washington DC or New Delhi,

You have to come home to this moment.

You have to be here with each blade of grass.

This is Nirvana.

This is the kingdom of spirit.

You have to be your own hero.

No one else can do it for you.

It takes determination,

Concentration.

This is the essence of the heart.

If you take one step,

You can take two.

The present moment is a teacher that will always be with you.

A teacher that will never fail you.

Home can also be you,

Your body,

Your mind,

Your spirit.

Here's a quote from John O'Donohue from his book Anamkara about the importance of the sacredness of the home that is you.

He says this,

The body is your only home in the universe.

It is your house of belonging here in the world.

It is a very sacred temple.

To spend time in silence before the mystery of your body brings you toward wisdom and holiness.

Each part of the body holds the memory of its own experience.

Your body is,

In essence,

A crowd of different members who work in harmony to make your belonging in the world possible.

We should avoid the false dualism that separates the soul from the body.

The soul is not simply within the body,

Hidden somewhere within its recesses.

The truth,

Rather,

Is this.

Your body is in the soul,

And the soul suffuses you completely.

Therefore,

All around you,

There is a secret and beautiful soul light.

This is where we'll focus our practice today,

Around home.

You,

Your body,

That sacred space of you,

Your sacred temple of being in this world.

The reason I want to focus on this is that all the other homes that I mentioned earlier,

Family,

Friends,

Dwelling,

Communities,

They all shift and change over time.

Sometimes we can keep them together,

And sometimes we ourselves change.

Those changes create changes around us about what home can be.

But what if we ourselves,

Our bodies,

Our sacred temple,

Is our home?

If we are at home inside of ourselves,

Then,

No matter where we go in the world,

We always have safety within us.

So today,

I'd like to take us on a guided visualization,

A meditation,

Where we move within ourselves and build a sacred temple of belonging,

So that no matter where you're at,

You'll always find yourself.

To get ready for this guided meditation,

I encourage you now to move into a comfortable position,

Seated or lying down.

Allow yourself to be in a space of groundedness,

Quiet,

And tranquility,

So that when I give you these different prompts through the meditation,

You're able to spend time inside of yourself,

Visualizing the sacred temple that you're building within you.

Allow yourself to explore the images that come up and unfold during this meditation.

Let's create your sacred home now.

I'll have you begin by closing your eyes and connecting with your breath,

Breathing in deeply,

Filling your lungs,

And exhaling,

And feeling yourself connecting with the earth beneath you,

Her presence here,

And connecting with the earth and her trees,

The earth and her air and sky,

The earth and her water,

Knowing that all the elements of earth are also you,

And through this connection,

Taking another deep breath in,

Bringing you home to the body that is you,

And exhaling fully.

Take one more deep breath in,

Integrating the connection between your body and mother earth,

And exhaling.

From this place of connection,

I'll have you take both of your hands and place them gently on your stomach.

This is the energetic place in your body where home lives,

This second chakra,

The sacral chakra of creation,

Bringing your hands in connection with this sacred space where that energy of home lives inside of you.

Take a deep breath in,

And allow the air to fill your lungs and then move down through your arms and into your hands,

Through your hands,

Into your stomach,

And filling this place of creation within you with breath,

Life,

And exhaling.

Take these few moments now in silence to allow your body,

Your hands,

To connect with this sacred space inside of you,

Feeling that life,

That connection of creation that you are.

Breathe in deeply,

Exhale fully.

Now this space in your body where your hands are over your stomach,

I'll have you imagine that you are standing inside yourself,

Inside this energetic space of you,

This sacred place where we will create the home of you.

And as you stand in this space,

I'll have you open your eyes and your imagination and imagine that there is a beautiful place in nature that lives within you,

That represents the space where you want to create your home.

As you look around to this sacred place,

What does the place of nature that represents the home within you look like?

Take this time to imagine walking through this place in nature that is inside of you.

Are there mountains?

Is there a lake?

Are there trees or open spaces?

Is there a beach and an ocean?

When you walk the sacred space of you within,

Where are you standing?

Take this time to connect with this space within you.

Breathe in deeply,

Exhale fully.

Now as you continue to explore this place within you,

Continue walking through these areas inside of you.

And as you explore the nature within,

Look and see if there is an open space where you'd like to create the temple of you,

Where you'd like to build that sacred home inside yourself.

Allow yourself to explore the area to find just the right place.

Breathe in deeply,

Exhale fully.

Now as you stand inside of yourself,

Standing in this space in nature,

Having located a place in which to build the sacred temple of you,

What materials do you need to build your sacred structure,

Your home?

Will you build it out of brick or wood,

Logs and trees,

Crystals and light?

Take this time now to connect with this space inside of you and ask the home that is you what materials you would like to build this sacred space out of.

And as you think of these materials,

They seem to magically appear all around you,

Ready to be constructed.

Allow yourself to connect with the land,

The materials,

And imagining what your home is built out of.

Breathe in deeply,

Exhale fully.

To build,

Construct,

Create,

Design the sacred home of you inside this space,

You don't have to do it alone.

You can ask your angels,

Your guides,

Your spirit helpers,

Your ancestors to be present with you to help you build the sacred temple of you.

Call on them now and ask them to come in and see who shows up to help you build your sacred home.

Allow yourself to connect with whomever comes into the space to help you.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Now take this next moment of silence to begin working with your helpers,

Your angels,

Your guardians,

Your ancestors,

All working with you together to build the home of you.

Allow yourself to create this home together now.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Now this sacred home of you is constructed and created.

Allow yourself and your helpers and guides to stand back and look at and connect with the home that is sacred within you that you've built.

Now that it's completed,

What does it look like?

As you look at it and connect with it and walk around it,

What does it feel like?

And when you call this your home,

What makes it home for you?

Connect with the energy of your new home now.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Now having connected with your sacred home inside of you,

You ask your angels,

Guides,

Ancestors to create a circle around the outside of this sacred home,

Creating a circle of light,

Allowing the energy of all of you to bring a blessing to this new home inside yourself.

Allow the connection of you and all of your guides and helpers present to create a shield of light around this sacred home of you.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

I'll have you now begin to move inside this sacred temple of you.

You ask your guides and helpers to step inside this sacred space with you,

Exploring what it looks like inside,

What colors are present,

How is it decorated,

What kind of light is present,

And what does it feel like inside?

Connect with the inside of this sacred home of you now.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

I'll have you now find a space within in which to sit down so that you might connect your energy with the energy of this home inside of you.

You may have your guides,

Ancestors,

Angels join you as well.

Take this time to find a place to comfortably sit.

Breathe in deeply,

Exhale fully.

In this next moment of silence allow your body to connect with this spiritual home inside of you.

And the spiritual home inside of you to begin to send you energy and connection so that you begin to integrate this energy knowing that this spiritual home resides within you and your physical body is also your home.

In your imagination closing your eyes and allowing the energy between your physical body and your spiritual home within to connect with one another,

Bringing each other light,

Love,

Safety.

Connect with this energy now.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

In your imagination opening your eyes,

Each of your guides,

Angels,

Ancestors who are present,

Who helped you build this temple of you would like to offer you a gift,

A welcoming home gift.

One by one each of your helpers,

Guides,

And angels comes up to you offering you a gift to bless the inside of your new home.

Connect with this now.

Allow yourself to receive their gifts.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

You are grateful for all of the gifts that have been given to you by your spiritual team.

Take this time to thank each of your guides and helpers not only for their gifts but for their help in constructing this beautiful temple inside of you.

As you thank each one of them they in return thank you for being present and then they turn and each one by one leaves the space until it's just you here inside this sacred home of you.

In your imagination I'll have you imagine laying down in the center of this sacred home,

Surrounded by these gifts,

These blessings.

Lying down and closing your eyes and allowing yourself to fully connect with this space inside of you.

Receive the blessings of energy of this welcome home for you.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

In your imagination opening your eyes,

Sitting up and when you're ready standing thanking this space for being inside of you.

Now I'll have you walk back out into the space and nature inside of you where your sacred home is built.

Turning around once again connecting with the outside of this space,

Knowing that you can come back here anytime.

All you have to do is place your hands on your stomach,

Close your eyes and find yourself back home.

Now in your imagination closing your eyes,

Bringing your hands to your stomach and taking a deep breath in,

Bringing your breath through your arms and hands into your stomach and exhaling,

Taking another deep breath in,

Connecting with your physical body and as you exhale you find yourself back here with me in this present moment,

Back in your physical body,

Back in this time now.

Take one more deep breath in and exhale.

When you're ready opening your eyes and joining me in this time now.

As you fully come back to your physical body just gently stretch your arms and legs,

Your fingers and toes,

Rolling your shoulders,

Your wrists,

Your ankles,

Stretching your neck,

Lifting your arms overhead and back down.

Thank you for joining me today for our practice,

Coming home to yourself.

I'd like to close our time together with a poem by Jane Hooper called Please Come Home.

Please come home,

Find the place where your feet know where to walk and follow your own trail home.

Please come home,

Home into your own body,

Your own vessel,

Your own earth,

Into each and every cell and fully into the space that surrounds you.

Please come home to trusting yourself,

Your instincts,

Your ways,

Your knowings,

And even the quirks of you.

Please come home,

And once you are firmly there,

Stay home for a while,

Finding rest within.

Treasure your home,

Embrace your home,

Get a deep sense of what it's like to be here.

Please come home,

And when you're really ready,

There's a delectable urge on the out-breath to express who you are to us,

To me.

Trust us to see you,

To hear you.

Please come home and let us know all the nooks and crannies that are calling to be seen.

Let us know more.

Let us know what lives inside of you.

Inhabit your place fully,

So we can learn from you,

From your voice,

Your ways,

Your presence.

Please come home,

And when you feel yourself home,

Welcome us.

For we too forget that we belong,

That we are called to express who we are,

You,

And you,

And you,

And me.

Thank you Earth,

For welcoming all of us home.

May we wake up and remember who we truly are.

Come home.

Come home.

Come home.

I'm grateful that you've spent time with me today.

I'm grateful that you've spent time with yourself.

And I'm grateful that you've taken time to create that sacredness of the temple of you,

That lives inside of you,

So that no matter where you are in the world,

No matter who you're with,

That you always know you belong.

I wish you a beautiful day.

Namaste.