Picture: Drops of Life by Nicholas Roerich
*************************************************************************************
*************************************************************************************
*
Intro
This reading meditation brings the process one step further. Not only will it include a quick body scan and pictures to visualize, but it will also include picturing sounds, that is, conjuring them in our mind unaided by auditory props. This is not for the fainthearted – I am fully aware of it. Once again, feel free to experiment with it and let us know in the comments below. I will see you on the other side.
*
The Drop
From 5 to 15 minutes
*
Take a slow, deep breath. In – and out.
Let your awareness run through your body: feel your feet and vertically climb up, perceiving the length of your body up to the top of your head; feel your left hand and this time horizontally perceive the width of your body crossing it in its entirety until you reach your right hand.
One more deep breath. In – and out.
Follow my words,
And let your imagination conjure the landscape and soundscape of this meditation.
It’s noontime. You are lying in bed, the room is clean, the temperature is perfectly comfortable; the sunlight with its amber overtones comes through the curtain, painting a pattern of shadows on the wall: strips of light, obliquely lined up, straight and parallel. You hear a muffled high-pitched piano note in the distance. This same note is being played at large intervals. Over and over, leaving room for its echo to gently reverberate. Each piano note reverberates in your body as if dropping inside your heart; each drop creates ripples of relaxation that permeate the whole body.
Pleen…
Pleen…
Pleen…
With each keynote that you hear, you feel your body relax more and more.
Pleen…
Pleen…
Pleen…
You can listen to this relaxing sound for as long as you like.
Now the shadows on the wall begin to acquire different shapes, bending from strips to ribbons, from ribbons to images. The first image is a cat – perhaps your cat. The cat softly leaps off the wall, and he or she comes toward you. You can hear the sound of her or his purring as he or she snuggles beside you. Purr… When you gently look up, you realize that the shadows on the wall keep on morphing – while at times you can still hear a piano-drop in the distance and feel the soothing ripples of relaxation across your limbs. Pleen…
Now the image on the wall takes on your silhouette: it is you. You are floating in front of yourself in the air. Your image looks healthy, calm, and even a tinge excited to see you. You smile candidly at yourself with open arms. You hear the floating image of yourself saying in your own voice: “I love you.”
Pleen…
Take a deep breath. In – and out.
*
Herons
*
Tips for best results:
The golden rule for any sort of wellbeing practice is repetita iuvant: repetition helps. Therefore, I would suggest you repeat the meditation a few times so as to understand its content better and facilitate the process.
Some readers may find it helpful to close their eyes initially to facilitate visualization and imagination, for example, at the end of each sentence, or for as long a segment of text as they are able to hold in their mind. You can then calmly reopen your eyes and proceed with the rest of the text.
Even though this meditation can be read anywhere and anytime, you may find it helpful to read it in a relatively calm space, holding a relatively comfortable position – sitting, lying down, or standing in a long queue – at a time when you know it’s unlikely you will be disturbed or interrupted.
Finally, there is no perfect way to do it; experiment with it, trust your intuition.
*
Find the free PDF version of the meditation below: