HOPE – a Guided Meditation
Hope focuses on renewal, rebirth, and healing.
Find a place to be comfortable where you can rest undisturbed during this time.
As we experience this meditation, feel the “old” drop away and “new” opportunities present themselves.
Leave everything around you behind and bring your attention to yourself.
Relax as you go on this journey.
Get comfortable.
Breathe in from your abdomen – slowly, slowly, to the count of three.
One – Two – Three
Now – hold your breath to the count of four
One – Two – Three – Four
Now – exhale to the count of five.
One – Two – Three – Four – Five
Repeat this breathing pattern three more times.
In – one, two, three
Hold – one, two, three, four
Out – one, two, three, four, five
In – one, two, three
Hold – one, two, three, four
Out – one, two, three, four, five
In – one, two, three
Hold – one, two, three, four
Out – one, two, three, four, five
Continue to breathe deeply as you go into this relaxation.
Your relaxation becomes a blanket of warmth. Sink down into this quiet place inside yourself.
PAUSE
You are calm and peaceful now. It is time for your journey.
PAUSE
You are strolling along a path in a forest. Notice this path. How does it feel under your feet? Is this path a smooth grassy path? Are there pebbles? What kind of shoes are you wearing?
As you walk down this path, take a moment to feel the air on your skin – the sunlight shining down – gentle breezes caressing your clothes.
As you travel, notice sights, sounds, and fragrances: birds, butterflies, wind in the trees.
What is your reaction to this place? How do you feel beyond your body?
Strolling for a short time, you come to a clearing in the forest with openings to different paths.
As you look at the different paths, one attracts you.
You look down this path and see something shining in the sun off in the distance.
You’re drawn to this shining spot in the sun. What is it?
You walk along this path that you just selected. How does it feel under your feet? Is it smooth? Are there pebbles? Is it a smooth dirt path? Are there stepping stones?
As you walk toward the shiny spot ahead, you feel layers and layers of your past drop away.
The weight of the world evaporates from your shoulders.
PAUSE
You soon arrive at the end of the path where you see a bench waiting for you.
There, on this bench, you see new clothes, neatly folded.
When you look at them, you see they are more beautiful than any you’ve seen before.
You remove the clothes you are wearing and put on these new clothes. They are a perfect fit.
You walk up a slight hill toward the shining object you saw at the beginning of your walk.
As you approach the shining object, you discover it is a mirror.
You look in this mirror and see your reflection.
You see:
The person you have always known you were.
The person you have always wanted to be.
You see yourself as strong, and happy.
NOW – you can continue to explore your new “you” as you return to this room.
You know you can return to this place anytime you want.
This meditation is part of a new program I’m offering called “Hope on the Road”. I am sharing this meditation along with a reiki session and hand blessing to anyone who requests it.
This program is adaptable to zoom and in- person groups large or small. It will also be on my YouTube channel.
Thank you for participating.
Thank you for reading this meditation blog post. Please share it with your friends and forward it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman
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Now, Try a 1-Evening, Digital Detox
My last blog post focused on having a mild detox – actually, a limited detox. It focused on receiving three extra reflexology sessions and cutting out the inevitable junk food which greets us every day.
Now, I’m inviting you to enjoy something you may not have even thought of – or even dreamed of – in a long, long time:
A digital detox event one evening every month.
Several years ago, I signed up for a detox vacation. I enrolled in a 7-day, supervised, fast. This vacation included drinking special juices during the day.
I also drank 2 broths each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This broth was a specially prepared soup of vegetables designed to rid my body of toxins.
Pure water was also part of the menu. I drank glass after glass of glorious, pure water.
Between drinking juices, broths, and waters, we went on walks around the area. Some of us practiced yoga daily. Others of us received massages. Yet others listened to live guitar concerts.
I don’t have to tell you that I loved this whole experience. The juices, the waters, the walks…everything.
We did one thing that really wasn’t on the brochure. Nobody even whispered about it. WE SLOWED DOWN.
Stress simply was not part of the reality.
As I recall this experience, I feel the absence of stress was probably the single most important positive portion of this whole event.
As the toxins left our bodies, they took the stress with them. When our bodies realized that they were on vacation too, other things happened:
We laughed more.
Our kidneys relaxed.
Blood pressure began to slowly, gradually, lower for some of us.
Intestinal problems took short holidays.
People commented about brain responses becoming a bit faster.
Most of us lost a few pounds.
Since that fasting vacation years ago, I’ve sought ways to replicate this experience in smaller, more intimate events when the seasons change.
I felt then, have felt since, and still feel now, that it is easier to do a good thing for my body more often. An ongoing detox can pamper my body in ways that an occasional week-long fast cannot.
So, now, one evening a month, I go all out for a digital detox.
I give my ears, my eyes, my brain, and my hands a break from phone calls, emails, social media pages.
heart with wings
At first, it felt a little weird. But, now I know that a technical vacation is less a luxury than a necessity.
One evening a month I turn everything off: TV, phone, tablet, laptop, and everything else eletronic in my home. I close these things up and put them away.
Imagine: no little blue light!
I sit down in a comfortable chair and enjoy the evening. This is my time to meditate for a few extra moments, read a book, have a conversation with a loved one.
When this break is over, I’m refreshed, grounded, and feeling positive.
Guess what. I know something that a lot of people don’t yet know. There is more to my life than the small screen and the little blue light.
Now, I’m inviting you to do something you may not even have thought of – or even dreamed of – in a long, long time.
Turn off everything that has a little blue light. Everything. Just for one short evening. Silence your phone, computer, tablet, TV, and every other distracting electronic thing in your space.
A short break from technology can refresh you, ground you, and remind you there is more to life than a message from a small screen.
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