----

Find somewhere comfortable to sit (in front of the computer is fine). Begin to focus on your breathing, letting the incoming breath filter through your nose and head, down your spine, along your abdomen and to your feet. As you exhale, imagine the breath moving from your feet, curling around and along your abdomen and spine, finally coming up and out of your mouth.

Imagine yourself existing as you are, as you appear to you. Starting from wherever you wish, move to and inside your house, apartment, etc., finally entering your room.

As you enter your room, start looking around it and focus on everything that you consider yours.

While looking, you notice a little bag resting in plain sight. Now, as you're searching through your room, try to think of the five most precious possessions you can focus on and put them into that bag.

You tie the bag shut, walk outside, and just keeping walking. Just walk around for awhile, going off into the distance. Stop by anywhere you like.

After walking for a small while, you come up to a mountain and start climbing it. There's rough rocky path slopping up a deep incline. It keeps extending upward, up across and between boulders, rocks, and pebbles. Remember to keep breathing, imagining the breath flowing in and out of you.

Finally, there's a small ridge at the end of the path, right above you. Climb onto that ridge and keeping moving forward, the rocks beginning to blend into a forest.

Walk through the forest, gradually letting yourself see the night sky descending on you and the stars coming out. Listen to the insects and air speak to you, around you as you keep walking.

Eventually there will be a large, open clearing. In the clearing are various branches, sticks, and a box of matches.

Gather the branches together and try to make a fire. Make it small at first. Feed it more and more as time passes, until it's large and blazing.

Open up the bag you were carrying and look at the five things you carried with you. Take each of these five things and throw them into the fire. Watch them burn away, burn to obscurity and ash.

Next, take the bag and throw it into the fire. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing again for a few moments.

Begin to take off your clothes, piece by piece, and throw those into the fire. Everything becomes smoke, ash, nothing, feeding into the night air surrounding you.

Now, begin taking off your flesh, your sinew, your organs, everything that composes you and start throwing it all into the fire, throwing away everything until you are a skeleton.

Finally, throw the skeleton into the fire. Let the bones slowly burn away, burn into a small pile of ash, until there is nothing left of the fire or the bones except ash and smoke.

A wind comes and blows away the ashes and smoke, scattering them everywhere into the pitch darkness of the night.

Feel yourself there, without substance, without anything. Stay there for as long as you think is necessary.

Then, slowly come back to where you are sitting. Feel yourself, your body, everything on you and around you filter back to where you remember it.

Focus on your breathing for four more cycles, recognizing each part of you that the breath flows down and towards.

And then...you're done.

Be well.

previous - next