Step 4: Liberate
From tapping into your unobstructed healing energies within, your body becomes more open, enabling you to become a channel for creation.
To open yourself to receive your heart's warmth and your body's healing energies, go back to the center of your being, the chamber of essence. Picture your earliest memory of yourself as a baby. Breathe deeply into your source and meditate on the face of that child. See in her eyes the full potential of who she was created to be - before she received any messages about who she should be. This is your true self. Her essence contains your innate gifts and her Divine spark is your Divine spark. She is the inner driver of your subconscious mind.
Now, bring those gifts and dreams into your present-day self. Integrate the two parts of yourself and feel the life and the love. Receive. Be grateful. Acknowledge who you are. As the river accepts the raindrops and the ocean welcomes the rivers that flow to it, it is your nature to receive, for you are a channel of creation. Realize that you are a miracle and that, by staying true to your true nature, you can live your greatest dream.
Tina, a retreat participant, describes her journey through the inner universe: Best Season To Get Pregnant
Then began one of the most profound experiences of my life. It was so intense that it seemed to go to the very core of my being, my very life force. Suddenly, I was lying next to everyone in this circle and people were all around me, but despite this I felt the deep reality of how alone each of us is. As single souls we enter the world and as single souls we die - the realization of this was so powerful. I understood that no one can be what I am or experience what I am feeling except for me, that each of us, although we exist along-side each other, has a personal and unique journey.
The power of that feeling was overwhelming - as if a curtain had been removed from between my normal daily life and the profound reality of life. The truth was laid bare. It was at that moment that I thought that in this lonely life the most precious gifts might not be granted to me. I think for the first time ever I really came face to face with my fears, the fears I kept so tightly locked away. At that point I welled up with tears so intense they were unstoppable. Sobs shook my body, rising from deep in the base of my stomach.
But then a sort of withdrawal started to take place. An image formed as I faced my fears. Above me was a circle, a Source, and behind me the world and all that I hold dear. Over my shoulder I could see and sense the green world, my dear, dear angelic husband, the dreams I had for my life. Amazingly, despite the fact that my hopes and my dear one was behind me, I was focused on the circle above. I kept repeating to the circle, "Bring me closer to you, let me come closer to you, take me to you."
The intensity of my pleas grew to equal the intensity of my sobs and seemed to come from the same place, deep at the bottom of my stomach. But then I became overwhelmed by the realization that despite all my yearning, I didn't need anything or anyone - not even my husband, who is such a treasure to me.
I gradually realized, like some sort of gift being handed to me, that the only true source of peace, comfort, and joy was the Source above me. Everything else was a diversion, even an illusion. It was as if I was moving towards a universal center and that all earthly things were behind me. Only my desire to move closer to the source remained.
As I kept pleading to move closer, I realized that I wanted nothing else, just that. Everything that I had yearned for and that I had and cherished seemed insignificant. Then, in the depth of the experience I began to fear that perhaps I actually wanted to die, but I realized that this couldn't be because my heart was full of love and longing for the Source above me. Best Season To Get Pregnant
Afterwards I remembered a saying by the prophet of Islam, Muhammad: "Die before you die." I wondered if this was what I had felt. The experience had the feel of passing into a different realm and through different and intense emotions, in some way a death-like experience. It was an abandonment of everything that I held dear. which all seemed minor, almost illusory, compared to the Source. Through that understanding and that experience I found my unity, my strength, my peace within. I became the healer I was looking for.
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| Best Season To Get Pregnant |
Mandala Making
The final step in savoring the inner journey is one of my favorite retreat projects: mandala making. Put on soft music, take a piece of paper, and draw a large circle on it, nearly touching the edges, Then draw a smaller circle in the middle of it that represents the earth. Then separate the large circle into the four quadrants of the other elements, Wood, Metal, Fire, Water.
On a copy of the circle, use paints, markers, pencils, or chalk to draw a pictorial representation of what you felt and saw on your inner journey, to help you integrate your meditation into the creative aspect of your body and mind. Display your mandala on your wall or sacred space afterwards to remind you of your growth and change. Make a mandala each time you feel yourself growing and changing. The artistic process can access answers from deep within and show you the way. To learn more, you can check out Best Season To Get Pregnant.
