WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:05.400 Welcome to your quiet moment. A deep dive practice. This 2 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:08.960 is a longer journey into stillness, designed to walk you 3 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:12.640 gently through the landscape of release, where you can set 4 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:17.559 down what no longer serves you and return to yourself, lighter, softer, 5 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:22.160 more whole. This practice will unfold slowly over the next hour. 6 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.359 There is nowhere else you need to be. There is 7 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:29.000 nothing else you need to do. You are here, and 8 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.840 that is enough. Take a moment to arrive here fully 9 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:37.520 wherever you are right now, allow this to become the 10 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.880 only place that matters for the next hour. The world 11 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:46.000 outside can wait, the tasks, the worries, the to do lists. 12 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:49.640 They will be there when you return. Right now, your 13 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:54.000 only job is to be here with yourself, in this breath, 14 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:57.119 in this body, in this moment. You don't need to 15 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:00.000 do anything special. You don't need to clear your mind 16 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:03.079 and perfectly, you don't need to feel a certain way. 17 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:08.319 The invitation here is simple. Show up, be present, let 18 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:12.239 your breath find its own natural rhythm, and as you 19 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:15.319 settle in, know that this time is a gift you 20 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:18.959 are giving to yourself, and that gifts given to ourselves 21 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.879 are not selfish. They are how we refill the wells 22 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.760 from which we give to every one else. This practice 23 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.760 is called visualization. For letting go together, we will imagine 24 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:35.200 ourselves releasing what we have been holding old worries, old stories, 25 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:39.280 old identities, old weights, and creating space for something new. 26 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:44.680 Viewuciation is a powerful tool because the mind often cannot 27 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:48.239 tell the difference between what is vividly imagined and what 28 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:53.920 is real. When we visualize letting go with care and intention, 29 00:01:55.239 --> 00:02:01.439 the body begins to follow tension sufferings, The breath deepens, 30 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:06.920 the heart opens. The nervous system received a message that 31 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.199 it is safe to release. So as we begin, bring 32 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:15.479 to mind something you have been caring. It might be 33 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:19.439 a worry that has been with you for days, weeks 34 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:23.319 of use. It might be a relationship you have been grieving. 35 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.719 It might be an identity you have outgrown. It might 36 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:30.680 be a hope that did not unfold the way you wished. 37 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:36.680 It might be anger or regret or quiet shame. Whatever 38 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:41.560 it is, let it rise into your awareness now, gently, 39 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:46.960 without judgment. You don't have to name it perfectly. You 40 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:50.400 only have to acknowledge that it is there and that 41 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:52.159 you are ready to set it down. 42 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:54.960 We will hold this thing. 43 00:02:54.919 --> 00:03:00.879 Together in awareness, and then when you are ready, we 44 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:07.719 will release it, not with force, not with anger, with love, 45 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:14.919 with breath, with the trust that letting go is itself 46 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:19.759 an act of creation. You are making room for. 47 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:21.280 What wants to enter. 48 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:21.919 Next. 49 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:23.840 Let us begin. 50 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:28.039 Find a comfortable position now, one that allows your body 51 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.759 to feel supported. If you're sitting, let your feet rest 52 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:35.080 on the floor, or your legs cross easily. If you 53 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:37.840 are lying down, Allow your whole body to be held 54 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:41.159 by the surface beneath you. Let your spine be long, 55 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:45.879 your shoulders soft, your jaw unclinched. Let your hands rest 56 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:50.199 wherever they feel natural, on your belly, on your sides, 57 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:54.639 by your sides, palms up to receive. Take a deep 58 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:57.719 breath in through your nose slowly, and release it through 59 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.919 your mouth with a long, gentle sigh. Let this side 60 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:04.639 be a small letting go already a first offering to 61 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:08.360 the practice. Sigh it out fully until there is no 62 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.080 air left, and then let the inhale arrive on its own, 63 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:16.720 and now another inhale, Feeling the breath fill your belly first, 64 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:20.360 then your reps, then your chest and exhale, letting the 65 00:04:20.439 --> 00:04:24.879 air leave without rushing, without forcing, Just allow each exhale 66 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:28.319 is a quiet release. Each inhale is a quiet welcome. 67 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:32.040 Let your breathing find its own pace. Now there is 68 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.199 no right way to breathe. There is only your way. 69 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:38.800 In this moment, let the breath move through you like 70 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:43.839 a soft tide, arriving and receding, arriving and receding, the 71 00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:47.560 way the ocean touches the shore, without effort, without hurry. 72 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:50.759 The breath has been moving through you since the moment 73 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:53.360 you were born, and it will continue long after this 74 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:58.279 prexare end. You don't have to control it. You only 75 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:01.680 have to notice it. You only have to let it 76 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:06.319 be as you breathe. Notice the points where your body 77 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:10.199 meets the surfaces around you, the weight of your hips 78 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:13.800 on the chair or the floor, the backs of your arms, 79 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.800 the backs of your legs, the crown of your head 80 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:23.600 lifted gently toward the sky. You are supported, You are held, 81 00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:27.879 You belong here. The earth, in its quiet way, is 82 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.319 holding you up. Right now. You don't have to hold 83 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:36.360 yourself up. You can let go just a little and 84 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:41.600 be carried. And if thoughts come, and they will, because 85 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:47.319 the mind is always moving, always sorting, always planning, that 86 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:51.639 is perfectly fine. Notice them the way you might notice 87 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:56.360 clouds passing across the sky. You don't need to chase them, 88 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:01.040 You don't need to push them away, You don't need 89 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:04.720 to follow them into the stories they offer. You only 90 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:08.360 need to see them, and then gently bring your attention 91 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:13.240 back to the breath, back to the body, back to 92 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:18.720 this moment. You are safe here, You are exactly where 93 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:22.759 you need to be. Nothing is required of you but 94 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:30.199 this to be here, breathing, present, willing. Now we will 95 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:35.040 begin to imagine together a landscape inside you. Visualization works 96 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.519 best when you let the images come softly, without forcing them. 97 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:42.040 There is no need to see anything specific. If pictures arise, 98 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:45.439 let them. If only feelings arise, let those be enough. 99 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.879 If nothing arises at all, that is also fine. The 100 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.279 mind knows how to do this work in its own way, 101 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:54.360 in its own time. Trust whatever comes. 102 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:55.079 Bear. 103 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:59.480 Then, and as you breathe out, imagine that you are 104 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:04.560 walking slowly along a path. The path is one you 105 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:09.079 have walked many times before, a path that leads to 106 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:13.560 a place that is yours alone, a place of quiet 107 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:18.519 and beauty that no one else can enter. The path 108 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:24.519 is soft beneath your feet. Maybe it is grass, maybe 109 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:30.319 it is earth. Maybe it is sand. The air around 110 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.240 you is calm and mild. 111 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:38.160 The light is gentle, the kind of light that comes 112 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:42.600 just after dawn or just before dusk, when the world 113 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:47.000 is hushed and waiting, when even the birds seem to pause. 114 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:53.000 With each step, you feel yourself becoming lighter. With each step, 115 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:57.240 the weight of the day begins to fall away behind you. 116 00:07:57.240 --> 00:07:59.720 You don't need to look back at it. It is 117 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:04.720 simple there, growing more distant with each breath. Whatever happened 118 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.319 before this moment, the conversation that didn't go well, the 119 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:10.639 worry that woke you at three in the morning, the 120 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:12.920 small grief you have been carrying like a stone in 121 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.639 your pocket. It is loosening its grip on you now 122 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:18.480 it is fading into the path behind you. After a 123 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.399 few moments of walking, you arrive at a clearing. The 124 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:24.240 clearing is open and round, and at its center there 125 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:27.639 is a single, beautiful tree. This tree has been here 126 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:30.639 as long as you can remember. It is yours. It 127 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:35.039 has witnessed everything you have carried and everything you have released. 128 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.720 It has stood through every season of your life, and 129 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:42.279 it has never judged you, never rushed you, never asked 130 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:45.480 you to be anything other than what you are. Take 131 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:49.440 a moment to look at the tree. Notice its trunk, strong, 132 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:54.039 rooted deep into the earth. Notice its bark, the texture 133 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.480 of it, the way it holds the history of every 134 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:01.960 year it has lived. Notice its branches reaching upward and outward, 135 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:07.240 like arms open to the sky. Notice the leaves moving 136 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:10.600 gently in a breeze. You can barely feel each leaf 137 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:13.919 catching the light in its own way. Notice the way 138 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:20.240 the tree stands, patient, unhurried, ancient, alive. It does not 139 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:23.240 try to be anywhere other than exactly where it is. 140 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:24.960 This tree is. 141 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:28.080 A symbol of you, rooted in the ground of your 142 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:32.600 own being, reaching toward the sky of your own possibility. 143 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:37.240 Standing through every storm, every stone morning, every ordinary afternoon. 144 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.080 The tree does not struggle against the wind. It bends, 145 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:46.440 it breathes, it continues, And so in your own way, 146 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:50.960 have you continued. Walk closer to the tree. Now, place 147 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:55.679 your hand on the trunk. Feel its texture, rough, real, alive. 148 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.519 Feel the warmth of it or the coolness of it, 149 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.799 depending on the weather of your imagined world. And as 150 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:06.000 you touch it, let yourself feel your own rootedness, your 151 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:11.039 own strength, the quiet, enduring truth of who you are. 152 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:16.080 Beneath every story you have told about yourself, Beneath every 153 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:20.080 mask you have worn, beneath every role you have played, 154 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:26.799 beneath every wound you have carried. There it is you, steady, real, Here. 155 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:32.039 You are, like this tree you have endured, You are 156 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:37.000 still have, and you will continue to be here long 157 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:43.919 after this practice ends, long after you have forgotten the words, 158 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:49.919 long after the breath has carried you into whatever comes next. Now, 159 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.320 still standing near your tree, take a slow breath in, 160 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.039 and as you read out, allow the thing you have 161 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:59.159 been carrying to appear before you. Don't force it. Let 162 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:02.440 it come in whatever feels right. It might be an image, 163 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:05.759 a color, a shape, a small object in your hands. 164 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:08.600 It might be a memory. It might be a feeling 165 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:12.000 more than a picture. It might be a person, a place, 166 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.519 a version of yourself you are ready to leave behind. 167 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:17.480 All of these are welcome, All of these are honored. 168 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:20.960 Here whatever has appeared, to look at it with kindness. 169 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.519 This thing you have been carrying, it came into your 170 00:11:23.559 --> 00:11:26.639 life for a reason. Maybe it taught you something, Maybe 171 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:29.039 it protected you for a while. Maybe it served you 172 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:31.519 when you needed it most. Even if it has since 173 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.320 become heavy, even if it no longer fits, even if 174 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.279 you have outgrown it. It was not meaningless. Nothing you 175 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:41.159 have carried has been meaningless. Acknowledged it, thank it silently, 176 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:44.600 or allowed for what it gave you, wel it taught you, 177 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:47.480 for the way it shaped you into who you are today. 178 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:51.480 Even the painful things have been teachers. Even the losses 179 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:55.200 have made room for something. Even the regrets have softened 180 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:59.080 into wisdom if you let them. Even the anger has 181 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:01.960 protected something tender in you that was not yet ready 182 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:05.639 to be seen. Take a moment now to really feel 183 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:09.879 this acknowledgment. Let your heart soften around what you have 184 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.480 been holding. You are not rejecting it, You are not 185 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:17.879 pretending it did not happen. You are honoring it. And then, 186 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.879 when you're ready, you are allowing it to complete its 187 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:24.320 time with you, the way a guest eventually leaves the 188 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:27.600 dinner party, the way a season eventually gives way to 189 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.279 the next, with grace, with gratitude, with the understanding that 190 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:36.279 nothing stays forever, and that this, too, is part of 191 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:42.639 what makes life beautiful. Breathing slowly, hold the breath for 192 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:47.600 a moment at the top, feeling the fullness, feeling the 193 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:55.279 air expand every part of you and Breathe out slowly, 194 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:00.679 beginning the process of release. Letting the breath begin the 195 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:04.559 work the body will finish. Look again at the thing 196 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:08.519 you've been carrying now, imagine that it has a weight. 197 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.200 It might be light like a fever, or heavy like 198 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.120 a stone. It might be the size of a pebble 199 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:17.639 or the size of a boulder you have been dragging 200 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:22.360 behind you for years. Either is fine. Notice how heavy 201 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.039 it feels in this moment. Notice the way your arms ache, 202 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:30.799 or your shoulders rise, or your chest tightens just from 203 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:34.679 holding it. Notice how much energy you have been spending 204 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.879 all this time on carrying this one thing. And now, 205 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:42.240 in your imagination, see a place at the base of 206 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:46.240 your tree, where the earth is soft and dark and ready. 207 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:50.399 It is a place prepared for receiving. It has been 208 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:53.879 waiting for this moment, perhaps for a very long time. 209 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.720 The soil there is loose and welcoming. It is not cold, 210 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:01.919 it is not harsh. It is the kind of earth 211 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:07.919 that receives without judgment, that holds without grasping, that transforms 212 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.360 everything it touches into something that can give liw Slowly, 213 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.879 with reverence, bend down and place what you have been 214 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:20.639 carrying into the earth. Let your hands open, Let the object, 215 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.399 or the image, or the feeling settle into the ground. 216 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.840 Don't drop it, don't throw it. Place it there the 217 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.200 way you would place a sleeping child into a soft bed, gently, 218 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:35.440 with care, with. 219 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:38.320 The full attention of your heart. Stay with this moment. 220 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.600 Feel your hands opening, Feel the likeness that begins to 221 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:45.399 move through your body as the way it leaves your arms, 222 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:49.519 your shoulders, your chest, to your back. You might feel 223 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.559 a weight of emotion rise, a sudden well of tears, 224 00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:55.200 or a quiet sob or a deep, full breath you 225 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.399 didn't know you were waiting for. You might feel a 226 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.360 quiet sigh of relief. Might feel nothing at all, And 227 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:03.879 that is fine too. Whatever is here is welcome. 228 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.679 Let whatever is here be here. Now, take both hands 229 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:11.320 and gently cover what you have placed in the earth, 230 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:14.840 as if you were tucking it into bed. Press the 231 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:19.080 saft soil over it with care, pat it gently, and 232 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:23.799 whisper silently or aloud in whatever words feel true to you. 233 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:27.840 I release you, I thank you, I let you go. 234 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:30.840 And then imagine that the earth begins to absorb what 235 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:34.759 you have given it. The object soften stulls becomes part 236 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:38.799 of the soil, Any pain carried is transmuted into nourishment. 237 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:44.679 Any fear becomes wisdom, Any grief becomes quiet acceptance. Any 238 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:48.360 anger becomes the warmth of the sun. Nothing is wasted, 239 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.519 Everything becomes food for new growth. The earth does not 240 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:56.840 judge what it receives. It simply receives and transforms and 241 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:00.720 gives life. Stand up slowly, now, step back. Look at 242 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.240 the place where you lay down your burden. See how 243 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.519 the earth has closed over it, soft and whole, as 244 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:10.039 if it had never been disturbed. And notice in the 245 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:15.080 soil the smallest, brightest green shoot beginning to emerge, a 246 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:20.320 single point of new life growing from what you released, tender, bright, alive, 247 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:23.080 the beginning of something you could not have made room 248 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:25.960 for while you were still carrying what you carried. This 249 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:31.799 is the gift of letting go, not lost creation, not emptiness. Space, 250 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:34.919 the kind of space into which new things can grow, 251 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:37.360 the way a forest grows from the fallen trees of 252 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:41.440 previous season. There may be more to release. Often when 253 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.600 we said one thing down, we discover there were other 254 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:50.120 things beneath it, quieter, older, more tender, things we did 255 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.679 not even know we were carrying, because they had been 256 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:57.480 there so long things we have forgotten we had the 257 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:03.600 option to put down. Let us release these now. Take 258 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:06.920 a slow berth in, and as you breathe out, allow 259 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:09.799 another layer of what you have been carrying to appear 260 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:12.880 before you. It might be related to the first thing, 261 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:17.000 or it might be entirely separate. It might be a 262 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:21.440 person a moment I regret, I hope that did not 263 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:23.920 come true. It might be a story you have been 264 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:25.279 telling yourself about. 265 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:25.640 Who you are. 266 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:29.839 It might be a relativeship you have outgrown by kept 267 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:33.240 a returning to out of vabbit. It might be a 268 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:37.400 perfectionism that has been whispering that you are never quite enough. 269 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.559 Let it show itself again. Look at it with soft 270 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:48.960 eyes again, feel its weight again. Ask it silently, what 271 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.839 did you give me? What did you teach me? What 272 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:57.240 were you protecting me from? And let the answers come 273 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:04.240 in whatever form they want, A memory, a feeling, and knowing. Again, 274 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:07.160 when you are ready, place it gently into the earth 275 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:11.240 at the base of your tree. Bend down, open your hands, 276 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.799 cover it with soil. Whisper your release, I release you, 277 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.200 I thank you, I let you go. Watch the earth, 278 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:22.559 receive it, watch the soil close. Watch another tiny green 279 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:26.079 shoot appear in you by joining the first. Take another breath, 280 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.119 and another layer, if there is one. I release you, 281 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.000 I thank you, I let you go. Another green shoot, 282 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:36.160 another layer of lightness settling into your body. Take another breath, 283 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:40.039 another layer, another release. I release you, I thank you, 284 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.279 I'll let you go. Let this continue for as long 285 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:45.759 as it needs to. There is no rush. The tree 286 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:48.680 has all the time in the world. The earth is patient. 287 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:49.519 You are held. 288 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.519 If tears come, let them. They are part of the release. 289 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:57.079 They are the body softening around what was held too tightly. 290 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:01.599 They are not weakness. They are honest. The body knows 291 00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:04.240 how to release what the mind has held for too long, 292 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:09.359 and sometimes the only way out is through. Let the 293 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.759 tears come. They are the rain that helps the seat 294 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:17.720 you have just planted grow. If laughter comes, let it. 295 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.319 Sometimes letting go as light and the relief arrives as 296 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:25.759 joy as the sudden absurdity of having carried something for 297 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:30.000 so long. Let the laughter come. It too is part 298 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:34.680 of the release. If silence comes, let it. Some releases 299 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.640 happen in the quiet, without words or images, and they 300 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:41.400 are just as real, just as complete, just as much 301 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:44.359 a part of the practice. Continue until you feel a 302 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:48.599 softening in your chest, a quietening in your mind, a 303 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:51.160 sense that you have given away what was ready to leave. 304 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.799 You might feel a kind of emptiness, but it is 305 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:57.680 not the emptiness of loss. It is the emptiness of 306 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:00.839 space cleared, the kind of entry as you feel when 307 00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:03.240 you have cleaned out a closet and can finally see 308 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.160 the floor. It is the kind of emptiness that is 309 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:11.920 paradoxically a kind of fullness, fullness of possibility, fullness of breath, 310 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:15.559 fullness or room. When you feel this, take a slow, 311 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:20.599 deep breath and gently step back from the tree. Look 312 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:23.160 down at the earth where you have been placed in 313 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:28.039 your burdens. Notice how many green shoots have appeared. Notice 314 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:32.160 how alive the ground looks now. Notice how different it feels, 315 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:35.880 even in your imagination, to stand in the clearing that 316 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.599 has been tendered this way. Now, in this cleared space, 317 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:42.079 Imagine that a figure begins to walk toward you from 318 00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:46.559 across the clearing. The figure is you, but a future you, 319 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.000 a you who has fully released what you have been carrying, 320 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:55.680 a you who has lived through whatever comes next, and 321 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:59.160 who has arrived in a place of peace, wisdom, and 322 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:03.839 quiet confidence. Are you who has made all the choices 323 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:06.359 that you were afraid to make, and discovered that you 324 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:11.799 survived them, You who has laughed fully, grieved fully, laughed fully, 325 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:16.440 rested fully, and becoming the process more truly yourself. This 326 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:21.440 future self is calm. Their eyes are clear, their posture 327 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:25.480 is easy. They are not perfect, They are whole. They 328 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:28.039 have made it through. They are the version of you 329 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:31.440 who has finally become the person you are becoming, even 330 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:34.319 if you cannot quite see it yet from where you stand. Now, 331 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:38.160 stand face to face with them. Notice how they move. 332 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:45.759 Notice the way they hold their shoulders, relaxed, unhurried. Notice 333 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:51.279 the way they look at you, without judgment, without expectation, 334 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:59.039 only with a quiet, steady kindness. Notice the small smile 335 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:02.200 at the corner of their mouth, the smile of someone 336 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:06.279 who has weathered many things and come out softer, not harder. 337 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.960 They are not above you, they are not better than you. 338 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:13.039 They are simply further along the path you are walking 339 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.160 right now, and they have come back to meet you 340 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:21.880 here in this clearing to remind you of something important. 341 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:25.279 And imagine that they have something to give you. Maybe 342 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:28.160 it is a word, Maybe it is an object, a 343 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:32.519 small stone, a flower, a key, a feather. Maybe it 344 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.440 is simply a feeling they can share with you, the 345 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:38.880 feeling of having made it through the feeling of being held, 346 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.880 the feeling of trust in what comes next. Receive it, 347 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.960 whatever it is, open your hands and let them place 348 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.279 it there. Sin If they speak, what do they say 349 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:52.400 to you? What do you need to hear from them 350 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:55.200 right now? Maybe they say you are doing better than 351 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:58.400 you think. Maybe they say it is okay to rest. 352 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:01.400 Maybe they say that thing you're afraid of is not 353 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:04.519 the thing that will happen. Maybe they say nothing at 354 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:06.759 all and only look at you with eyes that say 355 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:10.440 I know I was you once I made it, So 356 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:14.319 will you. If nothing comes in words, that is fine. 357 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:15.759 Just stand with them. 358 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.480 Let their presence remind you that you are still becoming, 359 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:21.880 that there is a you on the other side of 360 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:24.839 all this, that you are not finished, that you are, 361 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.880 in fact just beginning, That the life ahead of you 362 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:30.799 has rooms in it. You have not yet entered gardens, 363 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:33.599 you have not yet seen lolves, You have not yet 364 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.480 met versions of yourself you have not yet discovered. Take 365 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:40.519 a moment now to ask this feutu yourself, in whatever 366 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:45.759 way feels natural, what do I most need to remember 367 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:52.720 right now in my life, and listen. Let the answer 368 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.759 come in whatever form it wants to come, a feeling, 369 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:03.720 a word, an image, anning in the body, like a 370 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:05.400 small warmth in the chest. 371 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:10.119 Maybe they answer his patience. Maybe it is tenderness. Maybe 372 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:13.200 it is you are not alone. Maybe it is let 373 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:17.559 yourself want what you want. Maybe it is simply preaed. 374 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:21.039 When you are ready, thank this fute yourself for coming 375 00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:25.359 to meet you. Bow to them gently, let them know 376 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:29.319 that you heard, that you received what they offered, that 377 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:31.160 you will carry it forward. 378 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.640 And then slowly let them walk back across the clearing, 379 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:37.720 fading softly into the light of the farage of the trees, 380 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:42.319 but staying with you always a quiet presence you can 381 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:45.440 call on whenever you need them, in moments of doubt, 382 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:49.400 in moments of fear, in moments when you forget who 383 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:50.240 you are becoming. 384 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:54.559 Now return your attention to the tree, stand with it again, 385 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:58.720 beside it, and as clearing that as a little more spacious. Then, 386 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:02.640 when you are arrived, notice how you feel. Notice the 387 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:06.480 likeness in your arms, your chest, your shoulders, your jaw. 388 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:09.400 Notice the way the air moves a little more freely 389 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.200 around you. Notice the way your breath comes a little 390 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:15.640 more easily. You have given away what was ready to leave. 391 00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:19.119 You have made room. You have met the self you 392 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:23.960 are becoming, and you have been met in turn by 393 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:29.039 your own quiet wisdom. Now look up into the branches 394 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.799 of your tree. See how the leaves move in that 395 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:40.400 gentle breeze. Imagine that each leaf is a wish, a possibility. 396 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:45.200 A small new beginning, something that could only grow now 397 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:48.319 that there is space for it. There is so much 398 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:51.880 room to them, now, so much room for what wants 399 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:52.720 to come next. 400 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:56.319 Some of these leaves are things you can name, a 401 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.640