Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Stefanie Johnson

           

There are magical places that exist within each one of us, inside our minds, hearts, and souls.  By visiting these places, we can tap into the infinite and bring peace and abundance into our lives.

 

Each journey is unique, as we are unique.  So you may want to have a notebook and pen nearby to record your experience afterward. You may choose to have another person read the meditation to you so you may experience it more fully.      

 

Find a comfortable place, close your eyes, open your mind, and prepare yourself to travel within.

           

This week, let’s explore The Sunlit Beach.  On the shores of the Sunlit Beach, you can relax, let your troubles melt away, and escape the gray winter doldrums on the golden sands and crystalline blue tides.

 

Barefoot, you walk along a warm, sandy path. It’s a, lovely, sunny day, and everything is so clear and pretty the air itself almost seems to sparkle with happiness.

 

Here there is no schedule, no to-do list, no bad weather, and no danger. There are palm fronds, ferns, and vivid tropical blooms blossoming around you.  You are travelling light, and carry only a sturdy picnic basket with you.

 

The undergrowth ebbs, and you are there, surrounded by golden sand, the calm sea stretching out before you.

 

There is no one else on the beach. It’s your private oasis, and it’s quiet but for the sound of waves, the call of sea gulls, and the soft song of the wind.  The sun dances on the water.  In the distance you can see a lighthouse, and the billowing white sails of boats on the horizon.

 

You choose a spot to set yourself up.

(Where do you choose?  Why do you choose it?)

 

Everything you need miraculously fits into your picnic basket. You pull out a beautifully patterned beach blanket, a sun umbrella, and a tube of skin cream.  You lay back and begin spreading the skin cream from head to toe, basking in the glorious warmth of the sun.  As you smooth the cream on, focus on the way it feels.  Feel it seeping into your pores, healing and protecting every inch of your skin.  

 

After you finish, you just lay there and bask, tranquil and content, golden warmth seeping into your bones.  Feeling a bit thirsty, you reach over into the basket and pull out a cold, refreshing drink and drink deep.

(What kind of drink is it?  What refreshes your soul?)

 

After your refreshing drink, you decide to explore the beach.  Carrying your basket, you walk at the edge of the water and watch the waves lick the glistening sand, and feel the wind in your hair.  Occasionally you pass an interesting little piece of rock or seashell that you stop and put in your basket, little gifts from the sea so you can take the bounty of nature back with you.

 

You wade into the water a little, feeling the timeless pull of the tides, the clean coolness of the surf, pulling every last little bit of stress out of you, dispersing it into the endless ocean where it can do no harm.   

 

You are warm.

You are safe.

You are free.

You are loved.

You are full of light.

 

Listen to the water and know these truths.  Know that what you need will be given to you. Let go, surrender, and be renewed.

 

As you are ready, slowly open your eyes.

 

No matter how cold the winter may become, know that the Sunlit Beach is here for you whenever you need the escape, to remind you that warmer times are coming.  Don’t surrender to hopelessness, or the winter within you will never end.  

I was honored to serve as your guide on this journey within. I hope we will travel together again soon.

 

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
-Martha Graham

 

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