A warm welcome to you.
My name is Fleur Chambers and as always it's my pleasure to connect with you today.
This guided meditation provides you with an opportunity to connect with family and friends past,
Present and future.
As you do,
May you feel less alone.
We're going to start our practice today with our eyes open.
As always offering yourself a moment to get comfortable,
Really listening to what your body needs today.
There is no pressure to sit cross-legged with a straight spine.
It's also okay to meditate lying down or with the support of pillows.
If meditation is about being gentle with ourselves,
How can you be gentle with your body in this moment?
As a way to begin to connect with family and friends,
I offer you these words by Thich Nhat Hanh.
If you look deeply into the palms of your hands,
You will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors.
All of them are alive in this moment.
Each is present in your body.
You are a continuation of each of these people.
Inviting you now to rub your hands together.
Noticing the sound that's being created.
Feeling into any sensation.
Noticing tingling,
Warmth,
Any expression of connection or vitality.
And when you are ready,
Allowing your palms to open,
Facing upwards.
As you take a moment to really connect to your open palms.
Perhaps you notice sensation,
An expression of energy radiating from your hands into your meditation space.
Maybe you are drawn to the lines on your palms,
Each representing journeys past,
Present and future.
Perhaps in this moment,
Certain friends or family are coming to mind and heart.
Allowing this simple moment to have meaning.
And taking one deep and grateful breath into these precious hands.
These hands that allow you to touch,
Hold,
Embrace and express.
These hands that connect you to all life.
You may like to place your hands back in your lap or beside you.
And closing down your eyes if it pleases you.
As you allow your awareness to land on your breath.
The steady rise and fall of your chest.
The gentle expansion and contraction of your belly.
The natural flow of air as rhythmic as the tides in the ocean.
Guiding you into the sacred present moment.
Your breath,
This life force that moves through you,
That connects you to all humans,
Animals and plants on planet earth.
Really sensing into the idea that breath can be deeply personal and also communal.
All living things connected by this shared act of breath.
Each breath connecting you to family and friends,
Past,
Present and future.
And now together from this relaxed and expanded state,
Let's take a walk into a beautiful garden.
Remembering that there is no right or wrong way to visualize in meditation and that it's okay to trust in your unique experience.
In front of you,
There's a gate.
You notice its details,
The color,
The shape,
The texture.
And in your own time,
You open this gate and walk into the garden.
Really noticing the trees,
The flowers and plants that are contained within this garden.
Perhaps you can see,
Feel or sense animals,
Butterflies,
Birds or bees.
Maybe the dappled light captures your attention as it dances across the grass.
Can you feel the air as it greets your skin?
Is it warm or cool?
You take a few deep breaths and notice yourself feeling relaxed and peaceful.
This place,
This garden feels both safe and enchanted.
Your gaze lands on a beautiful place to sit.
Maybe it's a garden bench,
Perhaps it's a perfect patch of grass,
Trusting your own imagination here.
And you sit down.
A quiet wave of contentment washes over you.
And over the next little while,
In their own time,
Family and friends past and present come to join you.
Some will bring words or messages for you.
Others will offer memories of times gone by.
Perhaps you'll have something to say to them or maybe you'll sit in silence.
Trust in this experience,
In this moment of dreamy connection,
Knowing that it will offer you just what you need.
I'll leave you in silence for a few minutes now so you can welcome any visitors in peace.
If your awareness has floated elsewhere,
Gently bringing it back to this sacred garden and any family and friends who are here with you.
Allowing your presence and curiosity to deepen now as you notice the energy held in this garden.
Perhaps it's the energy of gratitude,
Love,
Forgiveness or peace.
And really allowing this energy to hold you,
To heal you in this moment.
Breathing this energy deep into your mind,
Body and heart.
This garden holds the memory of your ancestors,
The heartbeats of family and friends.
It also contains the blueprint for people yet to come.
And so here in this moment can you take a gentle walk through this garden,
Every footstep connecting you to your past,
Present and future.
Every step reminding you that you are not alone,
That you belong.
As you make your way back to the gate you notice someone is standing there waiting for you.
It could be a person,
An animal,
Someone real or mystical.
Trust in yourself here.
They smile at you.
Their eyes are gentle and hold so much wisdom and love.
They have a message to share with you and so you listen.
Long smooth inhale.
Long smooth exhale.
You allow this moment to feel both illuminating and healing.
You say goodbye,
You open the gate and leave the garden.
But you know in your heart that you can come back to this space of connection and belonging anytime you like.
Awareness returning to your body resting on the surface that supports you.
Breath steady,
Heart rhythmic,
Body at ease.
Returning your awareness to the space you are in.
May you move through today,
Buoyed by the feeling that you are not alone,
That you belong.
