Begin by making sure you feel comfortable. Just noticing your body and how it is supported by the chair. Becoming aware of your arms and legs, your back… and your head and neck… and just focusing on any areas of discomfort, breathing relaxation into any tense areas, so that you can begin to relax…
Becoming aware of your breathing, slowing down with each breath in lasting just that bit longer than the last breath in… and each breath out lasting just that bit longer than the last breath out…..feeling your whole body slowing down as your breathing slows….and noticing how your thoughts begin to drift comfortably…..
Allowing yourself to drift down deeper and deeper into that comfortable relaxation that you can find so easily when you want to… finding that safe place in your mind that allows you to explore any thoughts… images…feelings…that might be there….
And as you awake your inner senses, you find that your imagination becomes so much more vivid…and the pictures can take shape in your mind… with feelings…sounds and sensations that allow you to feel just as though the imaginings are real and happening…while still feeling totally safe at all times…..
And you might be able to draw your thoughts together now to imagine that you are stepping out through a doorway… onto a path that might be made of earth, or gravel…or it might be tiny stones that glitter in the sunlight….a path that you can see stretches off into the distance, and takes you on a relaxing walk into the countryside…
You might become aware of the garden all around you as you walk slowly and comfortably along the pathway, and maybe you can notice the scent of the flowers and the plants as they grow strong and tall…allowing the scents from the plants to soothe you and draw you in to the image of this beautiful garden with a pathway running through it…a garden that you know is yours and no one else may enter, unless you invite them….
And as you look around the garden, you notice all the different colours, the greens and reds, the golds and yellows, pinks and purples, oranges and blues…noticing how one contrasts with another…noticing how some colours seem to enhance the colour of its neighbours, while other colours seem to blend almost seamlessly with those other colours nearby…..
Becoming more and more aware of each little plant, the details of the petals, the colours, the patterns they make… leaning over to touch one or two to find out what they feel like to touch… becoming aware of the soft gentle texture of each leaf and petal… maybe noticing the rich brown of the earth that nourishes each plant….
And as you study every little detail that you can see around you… you begin to become aware of the birds, singing softly to each other…noticing how they seem to be having conversations… their song filling the air now with joyful sound that relaxes you still further….
And you continue along the path way… enjoying the sights and sounds of nature…. Maybe noticing the sound of a stream in the distance… you begin to wonder about nature, and life… and the planet earth itself… thinking about the way that life just continues…year upon year… age upon age… the planet continues to grow and change… the land that was once sea… the sea that was once land… the different islands, and countries… the way the borders change from generation to generation… the way the people grow and evolve over time…
And you continue walking along your pathway… noticing every little detail of the landscape around you… becoming aware of the gentle warmth of the sun on your head and shoulders…the texture of the path beneath your feet… and the sounds that wash around you, catching your attention once in a while….and you gaze out into the distance, and notice there is a building a little further down your pathway… a large old building, like a castle or a manor house… and it might be surrounded by trees, or some sort of fence or wall… and there might be a gate… or a drive way…
But as you fix your attention on the building you can notice everything about it… the shape… the colour, the windows, the doors, and you walk steadily nearer and nearer to this building….
The nearer you get the more familiar it becomes…the image becomes clearer and you recognise this place… a place you have visited before… a safe place that you are happy to visit again… and even if you can’t quite remember the details, you know that somewhere inside that building is the answer you are looking for… even if it is an answer to a question that you haven’t yet asked…. And so you decide to make your way towards the building… to see what you can find inside….
Walking determinedly towards the door which will allow you inside…. You become aware of keys weighing down your pocket, keys you had forgotten were there… but now you remember… they are the keys which will allow you inside this building…and so you reach into your pocket and take out the keys…
You look down at the keys in your hand and notice everything about them.. the colours the shapes… noticing how they feel to touch … the weight of them… and how one differs from another… and before long you identify the one which opens the door which will allow you to enter the building…. The key to the front door….
And as you study that key you notice how it seems familiar, even if you can’t quite remember the details….
And as you approach the door, you notice everything about it… the colour and what it is made of… and it seems familiar…you notice the place where the key fits… and with a surge of excitement you take the key and place it in the lock…
Before you know it the door swings open and you go inside…where you find a magnificent room with mirrors all around it.… mirrors that seem to each reflect a different image… almost like a hall full of paintings, except you know that the scenes are gateways… gateways that you can enter if you want to, to find out more….and so you spend some time looking round at the mirrors, identifying some and noticing what they reflect…
And as you look, there is one image, one scene, which seems to draw you more than the others at this time… and you know as if by instinct it is safe to explore this scene….
And so you step towards the mirror and study the scene reflected back at you… and as you study it you notice that it isn’t a static scene, like a picture or a painting, but a moving one…like a film, or an image that you could see through an open door…
And the image draws you closer… it intrigues you… it awakens your curiosity… and as you study and notice every little thing before you, you can decide to step into the scene if you want to…as stepping into the scene will allow you to experience everything that is going on within the scene…
Or if you prefer you can just watch, as if you are watching a film….
And just spend some time now, noticing your thoughts, and the images that come into your mind…..
And when you feel ready to leave this scene now, you can just step back through the mirror/step away from the mirror… and maybe find a comfortable chair in the room to sit down for a few minutes while you think about what you have just experienced….
And now it is time to come back from your journey, taking one last look around the room… finding the door again that you entered by, and making your way over to it…. Out through the door into the sunshine… picking up the pathway that leads you back to the beautiful garden…..until you find yourself back in this room… becoming aware of yourself again now… gradually becoming more aware and awake…. Until you are wide awake… and feeling good.
