Self and Cycle

 

 

Warning: there is a place in this ritual where I say "you open your eyes", if we were outside on a summers night it would be a good idea, but inside in winter, keep them closed, I will tell you when to open them at the end of the ritual.

Sit or lie down comfortably, have a comfortable space around you. Make sure that you can breathe deeply and freely in the position you are in. I want you to, slowly, take a deep breath in. Draw the breath right down to the bottom of your lungs, feel your solar plexus move. Breathe right in until you can feel the breath in the bottom of your abdomen. Now hold that breath in. Not so long that it feels uncomfortable, just until you can feel it, push, pushing to get out. Gently relax your muscles, and let the breath flow out, first from your mouth and then down your windpipe, into your chest, just release that air, gently help it to flow out from your lungs push it up using your solar plexus and push it right up out of your abdomen.

Now close your eyes. Now slowly, take another breath in. X 3.

I want you to feel your feet, and to feel your toes. And become aware of your feet and toes, and become aware that they are your feet and toes. Now I want you slowly to begin to relax your toes. And then your feet... etc.

Now I want you to be fully aware of your body, your breathing, the beating of your heart. I want you to become aware of blood flowing into and out of your hearth, and flowing around your body. I want you become aware of the air flowing into your lungs, into your blood, and air flowing out of your lungs again.

I want you to become aware of the surface that you are resting on. The solidness of the surface. The form of body where it touches the surface.

Become aware that what ever you are resting on rests of the floor and in turn on the earth.

Think for a few moments about the earth. Think of the texture of sand, of the hardness of rocks, of the smooth feeling of pebbles. Think of how the earth feels beneath your feet, the warm feeling of ground on a summer's day. The cool beach sands the softness of the beach sand.

Now feel the air around you. Breathe in, hold it there for a moment, and breathe out. Feel the air, which you draw into your body, which gives you life, around you. Touching your skin, touching your face and hands. Feel the warmth of the air around you. Now think of the air on a cold winter's morning, the brisk, chill touch of the air on your face, the sting of the air in your nose. This is the same air breathe it in deep. Think of the air at the seashore, the smell of salt, the faint smell of fish, possibly the smell of the plants, growing, living around you. Think of the air on a spring day. A breeze, a soft touch, almost a whisper, too soft to hear, but a sound still. Think of the air as it blows down the flatirons. The wind as it blows down to the plains, strong, uncontrollable, think of the scream of the storm wind, but still the air you breathe.

Now think of the rain driven on the wind. Feel the sting of the raindrops as the come down unexpectedly in a thunderstorm. As raindrops splatter against your arms and shoulder and on your head. The moist air around you in summer storm. Feel the water reaching out of the air to touch you, to settle on you. Remember the feeling of the rain soaking your hair and your clothes, falling steady, not hurting you, just touching you, over and over and over again. Feel the wetness against your skin. Reach out your foot and put your bare toes in a puddle of rain still warm from he rocks on which it fell. Feel the warm water surround your toes, welcome you. Feel the sea surrounding your toes; take another step into the sea. Relax its your sea, you are quite alone, there is no-one watching you. But you feel quite safe. The sea will not harm you; it is warm and welcoming teaming with life.

You are quite confident your feel the warm air on you skin, the sand under your toes and the water, supporting you welcoming you. You take another step into the sea. You toes slide into the wet sand on the shore. You are that underneath it is solid, whole but here where you step, in another part of that wholeness, the earth soft, gentle. You stand up to your ankles in water and earth. Feeling the warm around you. A wave washing in from the sea. It breaks and curls in, you feel the push back ward, just sway, stay standing, the water is shallow, no strong current you are quite safe. The wave wets your legs up to the knee, feel the water running down your legs. ....

Now walk out into the sea. It is warm against your body. It washes all around you, touching you, cleansing you, feeling every part of your skin. Lie down in the water, float on it, feel it support you. Feel the gentle wash of the waves lifting you and dropping you, lifting you and dropping you, gently, over and over and over, lifting and drooping you. Breathe the sea air into your lungs. Take a deep breath in. Now dive down. You are surrounded by water, it is warm and dark, but you are safe, in control, have enough to breathe. You are totally surrounded, totally protected; you have all you need for this moment. As you feel the air begin to push up to your mouth you return to the surface. You float up, out of the water. You feel the air on your face, the water running out of your hair. Your eyelids feel warm; you can see a distant heat through your eyelids.

You wipe the water off your face with your hands. And then floating in the sea, and in the air, now a little cooler, you open your eyes.

Above you see the moon, glowing a yellow full round orb in the sky. The moon is bright, shining down on you, lighting up the sea so that it sparkles and glistens around you. As the waves break behind you, against the shore. The moonshine on the water turning it a deep blue. It warms you where you are chilled from the cooling air. It does burn just warms you, gently, tenderly, with no sign of aggression. The moon hangs over you and watches you and helps you. You float on the water, gently lapping around you, rocking you on the waves, breathe in and out as you are rocked by the sea, you watch the moon above you, staring down gently. Just lie there for a while and watch the moon.

There are clouds in the sky. One reaches out and touches the moon, creating a shadow in the water and the sky. It moves gradually over the moon. A cloud carrying tomorrow's storm, tomorrow's rain from the sea. The moon, bit by bit becomes gradually hidden. The air and sea become a little cooler. The sea and the sky become gradually darker. After a while all around you is dark. The air is thick and rich, the water supporting you.

You turn and swim slowly gently into the shore. The waves cradle you and guide you to the shore. You find a sandbank, put your feet down and begin walking in. You stand up and stretch, feel the water running from you. You feel the earth soft under your feet, sliding between your toes, then it become more solid, you are walking out of the water, onto the beach. The sea is lapping around your ankles, occasionally sending a wave in to lap up against you, to remind you that she is there for you. You walk you of the sea, onto the shore still wet and then onto the dry sand.

You are all alone on a beach at night. The air is cool and moist, rich with the smells of life. The dry sand is still warm beneath your feet. There is a cloud passing over the moon, breaking at points to let shimmers through onto the sea, waving gently to itself and you. You can hear the sounds of the waves and the faint sounds of animals living, cididaes and crickets humming. The flap of bat wings.

Take a moment to stand still, to experience all this, to breathe in and out all that life around you.

Sit or lie down for a moment and watch this all.

Gradually the smell of the sea and the sounds of the insects and animals become further away. As you breathe in and breathe out, the move away from you, don't worry, they will be waiting for you to come where again, in other times and seasons this place will remain. And as they draw away say good-bye to them and become aware of your body, where you are lying. Become aware of the breathe moving in and out of you. Of your heath beating. Your body is probably a little stiff in places. Stretch them out slowly and gently. Stretch your fingers and toes out. Wiggle your shoulders, turn your neck a little, now open your eyes. You are back here in this room. It is quite and peaceful, slowly you sit up, say hello to you friends around you. Welcome back with us.