Hello friends and welcome to this meditation.
Today a meditation using the imagination.
An opportunity to take a deeper wider breath and to create some still space within the busyness and the noise of life.
An opportunity to connect more deeply with where you are,
With how you're doing and with what the divine God is offering at this time.
As I record this outside let the sounds of nature of life become part of the meditation.
Welcome it all to bring its gift.
As we begin I invite you to stillness.
Breathing deeply,
Filling the lungs and letting the belly expand,
Pausing for a few seconds at the end of the inhale and slowly exhaling and pausing again before breathing deeply on the inhale.
And as you repeat a few more of these deep and wide breaths let yourself sink and settle.
Coming to stillness and rest.
Let yourself arrive into this moment exactly as you are.
Fully loved and accepted,
Seen and known.
Allowing what is to be.
Allowing yourself to come however you feel in body,
Soul and spirit.
And I invite you to imagine yourself at the start of a path.
You're standing on the path and it's stretching out ahead of you and you can see that it leads into a forest of trees.
As you stand on this path be aware of what you can see.
What's it like underfoot?
How wide or narrow is the path?
Is it a straight line?
Does it bend left and right?
Does it have a sense of invitation for you to walk along it?
I invite you to gently and steadily in your own time begin to walk along this path step by step.
Noticing what you see and hear.
How you feel and what you carry with you internally as you walk.
And as you continue to walk the path begins to lead into the forest.
You gradually begin to walk through the trees.
What's it like to enter the forest?
What kind of trees surround you?
How does it feel to be here?
Let the path be your guide.
Let it lead you into the trees,
Into the woods,
Step by step.
Continue to notice your surroundings,
To notice how you feel as you walk through the forest.
As you continue to walk you notice up ahead that there is a clear in the woods.
You can see a space in the trees,
An open space.
Within that space there is soft grass and there is a place for you to sit leaning against the strong trunk of an ancient tree.
This place invites you to rest,
To lean back into the tree,
To be supported,
To feel the soft grass underneath,
To welcome the shade that the tree offers.
You may look up and notice the leaves blowing in the breeze.
You may be aware of the ancient wisdom of this tree as it has stood within the forest for many years with deep roots and tall branches.
Let yourself rest a while in this place,
Welcoming the love of God,
The grace of the Spirit.
I'm going to read a poem by Martha Postlethwaite called Clearing.
Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose.
Instead create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently until the song that is yours to sing falls into your open cupped hands and you recognise and greet it.
Only then will you know how to give yourself to the world so worthy of rescue.
So as you continue to sit in this clearing in the forest you may want to open your hands as a way to receive the song that is yours.
As you do that what do you notice?
What is God offering to you in this open quiet space,
This clearing in the forest of your life,
This stillness amongst the noise and the busyness of the day today?
Let what comes come and receive it as a gift.
Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose.
Instead create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently until the song that is yours to sing falls into your open cupped hands and you recognise and greet it.
Only then will you know how to give yourself to the world so worthy of rescue.
Beloveds as we come to the end of this meditation,
Pheasant noise and all,
I am inviting you to stay in this clearing as long as you want to,
Leaning against the tree,
Receiving the gifts that are yours at this time into your open cupped hands.
May you know the song that is yours to sing and may you bring it to the world with joy and life and fullness.
May you too know stillness and peace in this clearing in the forest of your life.
Amen.
