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Magical Inner Journeys

Page 3

by Anne Marie Bennett


  If it feels right, I invite you to lean a little closer to your flower and let it

  whisper a special secret in your ear… a secret meant for you and you alone…

  Or perhaps you’ve been struggling with a question or an issue in your life…

  If so, you might want to let your flower whisper an answer to you… Listen…

  What is it telling you?... What has it been trying to say to you for a long time?...

  So now it’s almost time to say good-bye to your flower… And you are remembering that you can come back here any time you want to… This inner garden is a special place of retreat and comfort that you can come to any time you wish…

  And now finding a way to say good-bye to your flower… Knowing that it

  is right here for you any time you need its wisdom…its comfort… its beauty…

  You are walking back through your garden now… enjoying every breath you are taking in this magical inner garden that is your growing place...

  Finding the place where you stepped into the garden… and then stepping… carefully… back out… back into the darkened movie theatre…

  And now finding your seat in the theatre… Sitting quietly as you allow this experience

  to be absorbed into your senses… your breath… your body… your being…

  Feeling your legs and back against the chair that you are sitting on in this room today... And finding your way back to the sound of my voice… Feeling both of your feet planted firmly on the floor… Allowing yourself to breathe a little deeper now… And coming back to all the sensations of your body…

  And when you’re ready… go ahead and open your eyes… grounding yourself in the presence of everyone here… taking your time… I will wait for you… And remembering that all is well…

  Treasure Chest

  Please sit as comfortably as you can in your chair with your feet flat on the floor to ground you... Sitting up straight and tall… Straight spine… Breathing deeply as you allow yourself to settle into yourself right now… in this moment… Surrendering your body into the safety of the chair that is supporting you… And closing your eyes when you are ready… or keeping a soft gaze downward if that feels more comfortable

  to you…

  Taking a deep breath in… and letting it go… Taking another deep breath… and letting it go... And now one more deep breath… and letting it go…

  Inviting your body to relax just a little bit more with each breath… Inhaling relaxation… and then exhaling any tension that might be making its home in your body or mind… Inhaling relaxation…and exhaling tension… Allowing yourself to be more and more centered… and more and more relaxed…

  Now… in your imagination… find yourself in your inner sanctuary space… a place or building that has been created just for you and your inner explorations… Knowing in your very depths that this is a safe and completely secure place for you to go within… And now just walking around for a bit… just exploring… and noticing anything that you see… hear… smell… feel… Noticing how your body feels… Are you moving slowly?... Or maybe you feel like skipping or hopping or dancing… There is no right or wrong way… and you are just moving around your private sanctuary space… however you feel led to move…

  I invite you now to stop for a moment and look all around you… Find your favorite place in your inner sanctuary space… Just looking all around until you find a place that seems to be inviting you… And if you choose to, go ahead and go there now… sitting down… relaxing… breathing…

  As you are looking around this new setting… you notice that there is a large box right next to you… It looks like a treasure chest... Hmmm… Just looking at it for a moment… Noticing what it’s made of… Noticing its color… its shape… Then picking it up and holding it in your lap… What does it feel like in your hands?... Can you sense any curiosity about what might be inside?...

  Inside this treasure chest there will be many gifts, many treasures that await you… This treasure chest holds all the bright and lovely parts of yourself… all the parts of

  yourself that you really like… the parts that others admire and cherish about you…

  I’m inviting you now… if it feels right… to open the treasure chest that is on your lap… and see what is inside just for you… Sifting through these gifts… these treasures… these bright and beautiful symbols of your best, most authentic qualities…

  What are you finding here?... Maybe there is compassion… love… creativity… power… blessings… happy memories… What else are you finding here?...

  Not trying to make anything happen… just letting these treasures show themselves to you… If you are opening the treasure chest and it appears empty for now, allow that to be okay too… Your particular treasures will make themselves known to you in a different way or at a different time… Knowing that it’s all good… whatever is happening … And it’s all okay…

  In just a moment I’m going to invite you to do one of two things… You can either close the box and set it back on the ground beside you… Or you can put your hands out in front of you… and imagine the treasure chest shrinking… shrinking small enough to fit in the palm of your hand… and then imagine opening your heart

  and putting the chest inside your heart for safe-keeping…

  So go ahead and do one of those things right now… Set the chest on the ground…

  or shrink it to fit in your palm… and then place it gently in your heart…

  Now, slowly standing up… still in your imagination… Stretching and breathing deeply in this wondrous space… Then beginning to walk back to the place where you entered your inner sanctuary…

  And as you step out of this sacred space… if it feels right… find yourself turning around

  and making a little bow to it... promising it that you will be back… promising that very soon you will return to see what other gifts this inner sanctuary holds for you….

  Now… making the journey out of your inner sanctuary… and back to this time

  and place… Taking your time… Feeling your feet solidly on the floor beneath you… Noticing how your chair feels against your legs… Breathing in and out at your own pace as you return to the sound of my voice… as you return to this moment in time…. And when you feel yourself fully present here again… open your eyes…

  Take your time… I will wait for you… remembering that all is well…

  Inner Guidance System (Your IGS)

  I invite you to find a way to make your body comfortable… shifting your position if you need to… keeping your spine straight and supported as best you can… And as you shift into a more comfortable way of being, you may choose to

  close your eyes… or just keep a soft gaze downwards…

  Take a deep breath… and as you exhale slowly… invite your body to relax… Take another deep breath… relaxing a little bit more with this exhale… making

  any sounds you need to make… One more deep breath… and relax… Ahhhhh… Scanning your body briefly and noticing if any place in your body feels tight or tense… Gently breathing into any part of your body that is holding tension or pain… Simply inviting it to release… and relax… just a little bit… and then just a little bit more…

  Now take another breath… and as you exhale… give yourself permission to relax your mind… Let any thoughts or ideas just float away… As a new thought comes up in your mind… watch yourself let go of it… There’s no need to hold on to any thoughts right now… Just let them go and continue to bring your attention back

  to your breathing… back to your relaxing… back to your breathing… back to your relaxing…

  Taking another breath in… and as you exhale, imagine that you can move your awareness out of your mind… out of your head… and drop your awareness slowly down into your body… Letting it rest in the area of your solar plexus… your belly… for a moment…

  And now… with the next breath… I invite you to let your
awareness move into

  your very center… that’s right… You are finding your center… finding your center…

  With every breath… as you exhale… you are beginning to allow yourself to move a little deeper… and a little deeper… until you come to rest in the deepest… most central place you can find within yourself… And now just allowing

  yourself to rest here for a moment…

  This is the place where you have easy access to your own intuitive inner guidance system, your own IGS… It is always available to you here… If it feels good to you, go ahead and invite an image of your IGS to come forward in your imagination…

  It might appear as a person, real or imaginary… It might show up as an animal … or maybe it looks like something mechanical… a magical compass… or even a glossy

  high-tech device… Just allow whatever comes to you to be okay… and if nothing comes right now… know that that’s okay too…

  Spending a little time with your own Inner Guidance System right now… whatever it looks or feels like to you…

  You might decide to choose to ask your IGS what message it has for you right now in your life… What does your IGS want you to know?...

  Being aware that if an answer comes… it might come visually… or in the form

  of a sound… or a color… or simply an awareness… an inner sense or knowing… Or it might come in words… Just allowing whatever bubbles forth to be okay… Or simply choosing to rest in the quietness…

  Now finding a way to thank your IGS for its presence in your life… and for any specific help that it gave you today… Knowing that you can return here to the deepest center of your being where all knowing is available to you at any time… simply by closing your eyes… and taking a breath….

  Bringing this deep sense of connection to your center… to your inner knowing,,, back here with you... Go ahead now and bring your awareness back up through your

  body… back to your breath… Feeling your breath now… Feeling your heart beating… Moving your awareness back up and up… back into your mind… back to your thinking mind…. back to your body…

  Now finding some way to connect with your body again… Perhaps wiggling your toes or stretching your neck… Feeling your body fully supported by the chair… Now taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly…

  Opening your eyes when you feel ready and coming back to our Circle… Take your time… I will wait for you… Remembering that all is well…

  Walking Your Internal Red Carpet

  Please take some time to settle into your body by focusing on your breath… Bring yourself home to yourself by breathing in and out… in your own rhythm… whatever that is for you today…

  Letting your eyes softly close whenever you are ready... And in your imagination, I invite you to bring yourself to a very special place… indoors or outdoors…

  This is your own safe inner sanctuary where you can come to explore your inner world at any time…

  Now that you are in your inner sanctuary, take a moment to lay down your own red carpet, just like they do for the big award shows and film openings… Making sure the carpet is very long and velvety and soft… You might add decorations like jewels or feathers or shimmering embroidery… I invite you to make this internal red carpet your very own so that it pleases you very much…

  Now, if you choose to, slip into your most beautiful outfit… whatever you feel like wearing right now that will make you feel like a million bucks… Maybe even adding accessories… and don’t forget your hair…

  Very good… Now it’s time to walk your own internal red carpet… so go ahead and bring yourself to the beginning of the carpet… And as you do, you find yourself noticing that lined up on either side of the carpet… as far as you can see… are all of your most adoring fans… You are realizing that, even when you’re having a bad day or week, you do have a crowd of admirers who love to cheer you on….

  Visualizing all of them now… your inner paparazzi, so to speak…

  All of your Community members who offer or who have ever offered you love and encouragement and support… All of your inner Committee parts who exist to help you on your journey… Seeing your many Council spirit guides… Noticing any Animal Companions who have joined you here today… Allowing all of your fans to be present for you… Allowing them to cheer you on…

  Taking a few moments now to stride down your inner red carpet alone… basking in the joy and well wishes of all your supporters and devotees… You might be called over to sign a few autographs… Don’t hesitate… Let the love and adoration of all of your fans, both inner and outer, wash over you with gladness… and take some time to fully absorb their words of encouragement, their love…

  Waving… waving to all your fans… continuing to walk your internal red carpet right up to the theatre that showcases your own blessed life… Gracefully walking up the steps of the theatre… Then turning around and blowing final kisses to the adoring crowd that has shown up today just for you…

  And as you are waving… you find yourself

  thanking them all for being present in your life…

  Now you are entering the theatre… offering gratitude for your life journey that has brought you here today...

  And now finding your way back here… Taking a few slow deep breaths to bring your body and mind back together…

  As you slowly come back from this inner journey now…

  know that you are bringing the admiration and praise that you just experienced… back with you into your daily life… allowing your adoring fans to accompany you through the rest of your day today…

  Opening your eyes slowly… gently… when you are ready… I will wait for you… Remembering that all is well…

  Opening to Blossom

  If it feels right, invite your eyes to softly close and then bring yourself to stillness … whatever that means for you today… Give yourself permission to come home to yourself for this next little while… Give yourself permission to come home to Spirit… to the One that holds the many parts of your world…. Give yourself permission to relax… even to relax just a little bit more… Paying attention to your breath…

  Not trying to change it… Just noticing as you breathe in… and noticing as you breathe out… Breathing in the stillness that is always inside of you… Breathing out any inner chaos… Breathing in a radical acceptance… acceptance that embraces and encompasses all parts of you… And breathing out any thoughts that might be

  getting in the way of that acceptance… Giving yourself permission to just breathe in… to just breathe out… and to simply relax… just a little bit… and just a little bit more…

  Now I invite you to imagine yourself in a beautiful spring garden… Looking around and noticing that the trees and bushes are in new leaf…

  a shiny bright green color that is so luscious to look at… There are flowers in new bloom everywhere… and you are smelling the fragrance of a new spring season... Walking around the garden… Looking… Listening…

  Now you are coming to a stop in front of dark green bush… You may be noticing that the buds on this particular bush have not popped open yet… Crouching down in front of this bush… Observing swollen buds all over this bush… And now just resting one of these buds against the palm of your hand… gently…

  Not taking the bud off of the bush…

  Just letting it rest in your palm and observing its fullness… Wondering if it is almost ready to burst open…

  And as you are feeling the newness of this bud against your hand… I invite you to begin paying attention to a place inside of you… a place that is similar to this bud… A place inside you that is just about ready to blossom… to burst open with a full expression of growth… What is this place?... Can you name it?…

  And what needs to happen in order for it to fully bloom?...

  If you choose to, spend some time holding this inner part of you in the center of your soul… Tenderly… Observing it as it is closed
… and imagining what it will be like when it is fully open…

  Now I invite you to slowly bring your attention back to the green bush…

  and to the physical bud that is in the palm of your hand… Taking a moment now to thank it for its presence and for its gift to you today… Slowly standing… maybe even bowing to the bush that has not yet bloomed… Bowing also, to the inner part of you that is also getting ready to blossom…

  And now taking a moment… preparing to leave this beautiful spring garden… Coming back to your breath… Reminding yourself that you are in a body… And now feel all the parts of your body against your chair…

  Following the sound of my voice back to this present moment...

  If it feels good… go ahead and stretch your body in any way that brings you back to this moment… maybe just moving your head slowly from side to side… Bringing yourself back into your body…

  opening your eyes when you are ready… Taking your time… I will wait for you… Remembering that all is well…

  Breaking Into Flower

  Begin by making yourself as comfortable as you can… Closing your eyes when you are ready… or choosing to keep your eyes open with a soft downward gaze…

  Giving the weight of your body over to the support of your chair… Leaning back… Surrendering… Giving the weight of your thoughts and feelings over to the presence of the Divine… however you imagine the Divine to be for your life right now…

  And as you are relaxing more and more… listen to these words by author, Rebecca West:

  Were it possible for us to wait for ourselves to come into the room…

  not many of us would find our hearts breaking into flower…

  as we heard the door handle turn...

  Now… as you are breathing in and out… as your thoughts are coming to stillness… as you are becoming more and more relaxed… I invite you to imagine yourself standing in a crowded room at a party… There is music in the background… People are talking in pairs and groups all around you… You are hearing laughter… and a savory aroma is coming from the kitchen…

 

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