Welcome.
It's great to have you here.
We'll be going on a river adventure in a short while,
But before we head downstream,
Let's spend a few minutes quieting your mind and body.
Watch out or make yourself comfortable in a chair and take a few deep cleansing breaths.
With each exhale,
Allow the stresses of the day to leave your body.
Breathe in peace,
Breathe out tension.
Bring your awareness to the vibrational field of the earth,
The force that energizes our living planet emanating up through the ground into your body.
Let it seep into you as a warm and weighted presence.
As gravity pulls your body toward the source of all that sustains us,
Your torso and limbs become slack and heavy.
Held in the loving embrace of Mother Earth,
Quiet your thoughts and let the cadence of your breath lead you to peace.
Now it's time to enter an even deeper space of relaxed awareness by gently releasing that grounded energy along with any psychic weight you've been holding onto.
Visualize the cells of your body loosening their tight matrix so there's a humming spaciousness to your whole being.
Allow any heaviness you're carrying to sink back into the earth through the soft looseness of your body.
You are left with a blissful weightlessness filled with light.
We'll soon be heading to the river,
But this profound contentment will stay with you through the entire adventure.
And though you'll be having new experiences,
You'll remain relaxed and safe,
Always tethered to your body through your breath.
As your awareness comes into a new focus,
You find yourself walking along the green bank of a lovely slow flowing river.
It's a mild early autumn afternoon and alternating currents of warm and cool air breeze past,
Inviting you to fully give yourself to the beauty of the day.
Robins and rands serenade as you make your way along the river's edge,
Following a deer path scattered with the first red and gold leaves of the season.
Rounding a slight bend,
You notice something in a clump of tall weeds.
At first,
It looks like it might be the remains of an old wooden floor.
But walking closer,
You see it's actually a raft made of shaggy barked tree limbs lashed together with heavy twine.
A few spiky weeds poke through the branches.
You can tell the raft hasn't been used for quite some time.
Half obscured by lanky grasses in the muddy shallows,
You spot a long bamboo pole that was obviously used for steering.
Your curiosity and sense of adventure get the best of you.
And without a care for your old sneakers,
You wade in to explore.
Go ahead,
Climb onto the raft and test its strength.
It's wide enough to be stable and supports your weight without a problem.
Grab the bamboo pole and push out of the vegetation.
The river is moving at a gentle pace as you sink the pole into the sandy bottom and head into the current.
With just a few more pushes,
You're easily gliding downstream.
As far as you can see,
You're the only person on this river.
But you're certainly not alone as you drift into deeper waters.
A school of silver blue minnows flash by and you float past a family of turtles happily sunning themselves on a protruding old tree trunk.
Dragonflies dart and skitter across the water surface and Canadian geese noisily converse as they fly overhead.
The river's musky aroma is carried on a light wind and the afternoon sun shines bright.
A peaceful drowsiness fills your soul.
Kick off your sneakers,
Tuck the bamboo pole next to you and stretch out for a bit.
The sun is low in the sky now and as you peer over one side of the raft into the river's dark channel,
Your reflection stares back.
But it's not exactly your face.
A different yet familiar face takes shape and with some surprise you realize you are looking at a loved one you've carried in your heart.
Someone who's no longer in your life.
Was it death that took them away?
Perhaps just the vagaries of life that forced a separation?
Whatever happened,
Here you are looking into the eyes of this person who means so very much to you.
A breeze ripples across the water,
Softening and dissipating the image.
But then there's the arm-tingling reality that your loved one's spirit is right here with you.
It's a visceral knowing and you're filled with joy.
Ride the waves of happiness as memories pull you back to your first encounters with this person.
Take some time to relive your earliest days.
Coming back to the river,
You look around and see the late-day sun sparkling on the water's surface like a thousand dancing diamonds.
Your loved one draws you back into the happiest times you experience together,
Days of connection and laughter.
Breathe deeply and relax into these precious memories.
The sun is dipping into the horizon and your raft has drifted into a quiet,
Inky pool close to the shoreline.
Vivid rays of orange and pink shoot across the water as thoughts and emotions from your final days together swirl through your soul.
Was there anything you left unsaid?
Now is the time to let them know.
They are ready to listen and accept.
Now listen,
For they too need to share their heart.
The river,
Which spent the day soaking up the warmth of the sun,
Calls to you now in a new way.
Trail your hand through the dark water and feel its tepid silkiness.
Tethered to the safety of the raft,
You're drawn to immerse yourself into the shimmering pool.
Let yourself be enveloped by the river's welcoming embrace.
Your drowsy doubts are washed away.
There is a swell of euphoria as your senses fully wake and you enter into soulful communion through the energy of the flowing water.
Your deepest connection to each other is ineffable.
Floating on your back,
Staring up into a galaxy of mystery and starlight,
There is no more separation.
Body becomes water,
Water becomes sky,
Sky becomes stars,
Stars become love.
Having drifted closer to land,
The moonlight beckons you out of the water onto a soft,
Mossy bank to rest.
A meteor arcs across the night sky.
You are at peace.
Like the eternal flow of the river and the vastness of the twinkling heavens,
Love transcends the limits of space and time and remains yours now and always.
