Magical Inner Journeys

by Anne Marie Bennett

  Connection — People need to feel a sense of connection with themselves, with others, and with Spirit (however they define Spirit). Prefacing a guided imagery with the above paragraph gives your workshop participants a sense of connection with you, and helps them to relax enough so that they can perhaps connect with others about the experience after the inner journey is complete.

  Also, if you are going to ask them to journal when the imagery is over, you will want to make sure that ev- eryone has a pen and paper nearby before you begin. This allows the transition to be much smoother when you are finished with the script.

  During the Magical Inner Journey

  Here are my best suggestions for the time when you are reading the script aloud and guiding everyone through the journey:

  1 Read slowly. Read even slower than you think you should be reading!

  2 Practice reading the script aloud before the workshop.

  3 Pause often! In the scripts, a pause is indicated every time you see: … Each new paragraph indicates a longer pause as well.

  4 Find your own rhythm. Make the script your own, keeping the cardinal rule of “Read slowly” always in mind.

  5 You have my permission to adapt/adjust the script for your audience in any way that you need to.

  6 Follow your own intuition as you lead the inner journey.

  Change wording if needed, to make it more personal for your audience.

  7 Be aware of your participants as you guide the journey. Be sure you have

  a few boxes of tissues available if needed. If someone begins snoring loudly, you may add a line such as, “Keep focusing on my words… allow any sounds in the environment to blend right in to your experience…” Don’t worry if you notice that someone’s eyes are open. They are choosing to experience the guided imagery that way, and it’s all okay.

  8 Keep in mind that these Magical Inner Journeys are not meant to stand alone.

  It is important to preface the journey (see above) as well as offer some follow-up activity to help participants integrate the journey into their life (see below).

  After the Magical Inner Journey

  What happens when you’ve read the last word of the script?

  Believe me when I say that the journey isn’t over!

  It is vitally important that participants have some way to process the experience, either within themselves, or out loud. Keep in mind the needs of your audience as you choose exactly how to bring closure to each Magical Inner Journey experience.

  Here are some suggestions for follow-up activities:

  1 Invite participants to spend five-ten minutes journaling (or drawing) on their own about the experience. You might remind them orally of the key points of the journey, to refresh their memories. For example, after the “Inner Garden” journey, you might suggest, “What did your garden look like? What kind of flower was at the center? What did your flower say to you?”

  2 If you are inviting them to journal for several minutes, also offer them the option of not journaling so they can soak in the silence and allow the imagery to settle within them. Some people prefer that to immediately writing about the experience.

  3 Once participants have had a chance to process the inner journey alone in their journal, you could divide participants into pairs or triads, and invite them to share as much or as little as they choose about what happened for them during the journey. Trust your intuition about whether this is a viable option for your participants. For some, it will be enough to journal on their own.

  4 Always allow time for a couple of people to speak their experience aloud to the whole group. Some people need to process orally instead of, or in addition to, processing in writing. Be aware of the time. In order to avoid someone taking over and going on and on (and on!), I usually say something like, “We have time for two or three people to share briefly about their inner journey.” Including this sharing is a good way to bring everyone back together into the larger group (more connection!).

  5 Remind everyone that you will be available during card making time if anyone would like to share their inner journey experience with you privately.

  6 Once you have allowed people time to process their individual journeys through writing, and out loud, it’s time to invite card making! At this point it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to share some of your own cards on the particular theme of the Magical Inner Journey you were leading.

  7 After card making, it is important to always bring participants back together for a journaling activity where they can tune in to the energy of one of the cards they made. For more ideas on journaling with a SoulCollage® card, please visit www.KaleidoSoul.com/soulcollage-cards-interpreting

  8 Please share with me any other follow-up activities that you try with these scripts, and I will include them in a future edition of this book. My email is: kaleidosoul@gmail.com.

  Part 1

  Inner Treasures

  Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.

  Imagination encircles the world.

  ~ Albert Einstein

  Journey with a SoulCollage® Card

  Before we begin this journey, please place one of your SoulCollage® cards in front of you. If you don’t have any SoulCollage® cards yet, you can use an image from a magazine that intrigues you. You can do this same meditation many, many times and use a different card each time. Or use the same card several weeks in a row and see how deep you can go with it.

  Please take a moment to move your body into a comfortable position. I invite you now to take a moment to gaze at your SoulCollage® card or your magazine

  image… Slowly scan it from top to bottom… and from side to side… Taking note of the setting… Taking note of each being or object that is on the card…. If you have already done some work with this card… just try setting that aside for a moment and looking at it anew…

  If you like, use one finger to trace around the edge of the card slowly… noticing anything about the edges or border of the card or image… And then try tracing around any of the figures or objects that are there as well…

  When you are ready, allow your eyes to softly close… and bring your whole self to a sweet centered stillness… Giving yourself permission to relax… Taking time out of your busy day to pause… and pay attention to your breath… Just noticing as you breathe in… and as you breathe out… Breathing in the stillness that is always inside of you… Breathing out any inner chaos… Breathing in a radical acceptance… an acceptance that embraces and encompasses all parts of you… And then breathing

  out any thoughts that get in the way of that acceptance… Giving yourself permission to just breathe in… to just breathe out… and to simply relax…

  Now in your imagination… if you choose… enter the setting of your SoulCollage® card… Join the being or beings that are on this card…Notice what happens when you connect with these images…. Just spend a few moments in silence with this energy… Remember, this is your inner journey… You are safe and protected at all times…

  Breathing in and out now… with the energy of this card or image…

  If you choose to, go ahead and ask this being “Who are you?” and listen as it responds… What is its story?...

  You might also want to ask “What do you need from me?”…

  or “What special message do you have for me today?”… Allow this being time to answer you… and then listen… just listen… Remaining as open as you can to the possibility of any answers you are given…

  Now, taking a moment to find a way to thank this being, this image… knowing that

  you can come back and spend time with it whenever you like… Knowing also that

  you can choose to bring its energy back with you into the world in some special way…

  I invite you now to think about returning from your inner journey… I invite you to focus on your breath now… Sensing all the parts of your body against your chair or the floor… Following the sound of my voic
e back to this present moment… If it

  feels good to do so, you might want to stretch your arms and legs a little, or maybe move your head slowly from side to side… And in whatever way feels good to you, accompanying yourself back into your body… If you choose to do so, try offering

  a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of your imagination and for this particular SoulCollage® card (or image) and its message for you today…

  Allowing your eyes to open when you are ready… Taking your time… I will wait for you… All is well…

  Inner Sanctuary

  Begin by making yourself comfortable wherever you are right now…

  Please listen to your body and respect whatever it is asking you for in this moment…

  I invite you to close your eyes whenever you feel ready to do so… And now try focusing on your breath for a moment… Feel the air flowing in and out of your nostrils… in… and out… in… and out… Feel your chest rising and falling

  with each breath… rising and falling… rising and falling… rising and falling…

  Now you are feeling very comfortable and more relaxed… In your imagination I invite you to see a path… It can be any kind of a path… a little trail in the woods… a country road… a brick walkway in a garden… This path can be anywhere you want it to be… by the ocean… in the city… up a mountain… in a meadow…

  Wherever this path is… know that it is a path created just for you… It is a friendly path… You feel safe on this path… And as you start walking on this path, you feel a lovely sense of expectancy and joy…

  Continuing to walk on this special path that is your own…

  Following it and trusting that it will lead you where you need to go today...

  As you walk… you are looking around you… observing… What do you see?... What colors surround you?... What sounds do you hear as you continue to walk on your path?... You are just listening... What can you smell?...

  As you continue on this path, after a while, you are going to come upon your very own sanctuary… This inner sanctuary is a safe place in your imagination that you can access any time you need it for shelter… for comfort… for support…

  Continuing to explore your particular inner path now… And when you see your inner sanctuary space up ahead… I invite you to stop walking for a moment… and just stand still in front of it for a little while… Your sanctuary space can be any kind of a structure that you choose… This is your path and it’s your sanctuary… It might look like a house… or a cottage… It might be a castle… or a large tent… a barn... a cave… a treehouse… Make it exactly what feels right to you… Make it a very special place that you will want to come back to again and again…

  So you are simply standing in front of your inner sanctuary now… Noticing as much as you can about it… What color or colors is it?... What is all around it?...

  Remember, this is a completely safe place for you… This is an inner refuge and a place of joyful discovery…

  If you choose to, go ahead and walk up to the main entrance of your sanctuary…

  If it feels good to you, you can enter… And now you are just taking a few minutes to explore… Allowing the music to carry you as you investigate your inner sanctuary for a few minutes on your own…. Walking around… Seeing what there is to see… Remember, this is your own inner creation… This sanctuary space is totally safe

  and secure… The only surprises you will find here are good ones…

  It’s almost time to leave your sanctuary for now… Remember, you can always come back here… anytime you want… just by closing your eyes and taking a breath…

  I invite you now to find your way back to the door or entrance that you came in… And next to that entrance is a small table… And on that table is a blue velvet box… In the box there is a gift for you… just for you…

  So now you are opening the blue velvet box… and taking out the gift that is there for you… Examining it… admiring it… Opening your heart to receive this gift… this very special gift…

  It’s time to think about leaving for now… Be sure to bring the gift back with you…

  It’s important that you don’t leave it behind… Carrying the gift however you need to… and now exiting your inner sanctuary the same way you entered…

  Following the path that led you here… Following it back… and back… and back… until you are once again able to feel your body resting on your chair…

  And now bringing yourself back to your breath… Noticing the breath as it enters through your nose and mouth on an inhale… Noticing how it shimmers through your whole body, then exits as you exhale… Feeling your stomach and chest rising and falling with each breath…

  Begin to pay attention to your body again… your feet… legs… stomach... chest….

  arms… shoulders… neck… head… You might want to lightly flex your fingers

  and toes… or gently shake out your arms and legs…

  When you are ready… and only when you are ready… open your eyes… Take your time… I will wait for you… Grounding yourself back in this present moment… Remembering that all is well.

  Inner Garden

  I invite you now to take a deep breath and allow your eyes to close… Giving your body permission to relax and be comfortable…

  as comfortable as you can be in this moment…

  As much as you can, allow your body to experience the contact that it makes

  with the chair and with the floor… and let your body adjust itself in any way it needs…

  in order to be fully comfortable… Listening to your body… Adjusting as necessary…

  As you tune in to the rhythm of your breathing, imagine that when you inhale… you’re inhaling a little bit of the sky… and it’s very clear and very refreshing… And

  as you exhale, imagine that you’re letting go of whatever you don’t need right now… Inhaling the light, clear sky… Exhaling that which does not serve you right now…

  Letting the rhythm of your breath be just what it is… a simple and beautiful process of taking in what’s fresh and clear… and letting go of what’s no longer needed…

  Each breath you take relaxes and refreshes you… Your breathing and your mind are becoming clearer and clearer… Your body is relaxing a little bit more with each inhale and exhale…

  Allowing your imagination to be open and receptive… Breathing in… and breathing out… You’re going to take a little journey now... a magical journey to the very center of your being… to your inner world… to the deepest, most authentic part of you… Let’s go there now….

  I invite you to use your imagination to picture yourself sitting in a cozy little movie theatre… If you don’t like movie theatres, you could imagine yourself in another kind of theatre… or just a room with a screen on the front wall… It is dark and quiet here… You are sitting alone, wondering what the movie will be about… Maybe you are munching on popcorn... Maybe you’re simply curious, sitting still and waiting

  for this movie…

  Now the screen is lighting up... and on the screen you are seeing a garden… a beautiful garden… You are watching carefully as the camera pans all the way around this amazing garden… You are beginning to sense that this garden is familiar to you somehow… You are recognizing this garden… because it is

  a part of you and always has been… This is your very own inner garden…

  You are brimming with curiosity now… So you find yourself standing up and walking to the screen… You are reaching your hand out and to your amazement, you find that you are drawn right into the screen… into the picture that is in front of you…

  into this beautiful inner garden…

  You are standing on the edge of the garden now… If you choose, go ahead

  and take a few minutes to explore this garden fully… from one end to the other… simply observing… What season is it?... How does the air feel?... What’s the weather like in your garden?... What is g
rowing here?... Is this garden well-tended… or does it need some weeding… some pruning?... How does the soil feel when you bend down and sift some through your fingers?... Does it need water… or more sun…

  or is it just right?...

  Continuing to explore your inner garden now… Simply noticing, without judgment… Simply being aware of what is around you… Are there well-marked paths or is it hard to find your way around?... What sounds are you hearing as you walk through your garden?... Are there any smells in the air that you especially love?…

  Continuing to explore for a few minutes now…

  Exploring this inner garden that is yours and yours alone…

  And now, wherever you are in your garden, I invite you to find your way to the center… to the center of your beautiful inner garden… And in the center of your garden, you find the most beautiful flower you’ve ever seen… the most beautiful flower…

  If you like, walk up to this flower now and sit down next to it… What kind of a flower is growing here?... Is it a flower that you recognize or is it a flower you’ve never seen

  before?... What color or colors is it?... If you choose to, take a moment to lean towards it and smell it… What does it smell like?... Gently and reverently touch its petals

  if you like... How do they feel to your fingers?... Taking some time to notice anything else about this flower…

  As you are sitting with the flower, you are realizing that it is magical… It represents your soul… It knows exactly who you are… And it has all the wisdom in the universe stored in its very essence… It has all the answers to all of your questions right there written into its beauty… because it is a part you… and it has been with you on your entire life’s journey…