Meditations on Nature (p.64)

Week Three – Monday

Meditations on Nature: Excerpt From Universal Meditations

Mini-Meditation
The courage to be our natural self is both the
challenge and the gift of life.

Meditation on an Animal

(12 minutes)

  1. Choose one of these options:
    Spin your chair around twice; Stand up and turn in a circle twice; or
    Take two slow breaths. Then be aware of whatever animal comes into your consciousness.
  2. Visualizeyouranimalsitting,standing,swimming,orflying in front of you. Ask it to guide you to a place of:
    a. Peace
    b. Protection c. Clarity
    d. Inspiration
    or a combination of any or all of the above.
  3. Stay in the place of your choice for ten complete breaths
    and experience the mood of that place.
  4. If you wish, at the end of the ten breaths ask the animal for any message from the natural world.

Commentary
Many people believe meditation to be some onerous exercise in serious spirituality. This meditation invokes the child within each of us, allows our minds to play, while at the same time the message we receive can be very profound, life-giving, and supportive. One of the reasons the ancients used animals as totems was to symbolize the strengths, powers, and different aspects of wisdom latent in each human being. Imagining the breath of an animal can draw those latencies to the surface. If this meditation makes you very self-conscious, close the door.