Guided Meditation and Hikes
Making the change for a better today one decision at a time.
Four Seasons of Green is currently providing you with the opportunity to learn how to heal yourself and the world around you through GUIDED MEDITATION & HIKES. These guided groups are designed to help people connect to their conscious awareness. By being aware of how our decisions impact our lives and the lives of others we can move to making better choices. Ones that lead us to better health, sustainable living and a community of global citizens. The Guided Meditation & Hikes included a facilitated guided visualization, as well a holistic practices such as YOGA, QI GONG, art and wilderness as therapy. There often open dialogues on topics such as spirituality, healing, inner work, connecting to nature, healing the earth, personal growth and energy work.... The seated mediation is followed up with hike using a metaphor for change, transition and healing. At the end of the hike participants are given some suggested work for at home and are given the opportunity to express an interest in a particular topic for future classes. |
It is a time of personal healing, focusing, and giving the Earth a change to connect with us again. Body, mind and soul are integrated pieces of what we define as self. And just as we cannot extrapolate one of these tangled pieces of ourselves – we as humans cannot think of ourselves as separate from nature. We are nature. No matter how we compartmentalize, or segregate or build cement walls around ourselves, we do not cease to be made up of the natural world. And our actions do not cease to affect the world around us.
These are pay it forward activities. If you miss the class a digital audio copy is available for $5 per meditation or $20 per class you will be emailed an MP3 of the guided meditations from that class. Please email Four Seasons of Green for more information or to register for one of the classes.
June 9, 2009
Theme: Listening to the Wisdom of Self
1. Who are You?
If we are not the roles we perform, not the constraints set upon us, not our actions, and not our thoughts, then who are we? This meditation explores this concept and reveals the answer to this question.
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2. Growing Joy
Travel inwards, through the pain, though the anxiety, past the depression, to the source of creation... The creation that designs our existence. Here we can heal our wounds, disease, and remedy our pain. This is an advanced meditation.
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3. The Deepest Level of Existence
The source of our decisions always leads us in the direction we have chosen to go. What is this direction? How do we know we are doing the right thing? Travel to the deepest level of your existence to retrieve these answers.
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June 2, 2009
Theme: Change, Choice & Resistance
1. Tension Release
This meditation prepares the body and mind for deeper meditations through a tension release technique. When we are holding onto the anger, frustration and disappointment of the day, it is very difficult to move forward and allow ourselves to grow. This meditation clears the way for a deeper and more present practice.
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2. Flexibility to Change
A brief talk examining the rigid patterns of thought and behavior that can only be observed once change has taken place. Reflections of how our physical bodies mirror our thoughts patters. The resistance to change.
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3. Pine Cone Meditation
Manifesting change through clearing emotional obstacles, healing wounds and facilitating change in your life. Individuals are guided through a meditation to bring about change through choice and consciousness. As we connect to our body, our thoughts and our behavoirs we can see that we are the obstacle to our success. We have the ability to remove these obstacles heal our own wounds and actively move in the direction we would like to go. This meditation helps to establish a practice which allows for this typ of change.
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The group discussion centered on how to visualize effectively using a myriad of senses and techniques. Experiences while in meditation and how reflecting on the process of change reminds us it is always taking place. Observing not only our self, our mind, our body, our behavior but the world around us. The spike-like branches of a giant cedar (of which we were laying under), the Blue Jays that came to visit, the spongy forest floor that supported us... And how we relate and experience the world around us.
May 19, 2009
Theme: Grounding
1. Hedge Grounding
An introduction to grounding to the Earth through breath and energy work while laying down.
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2. The Butterfly Meditation
Most of us aspire to be like the butterfly... living light on the Earth, Spiritually transformed, and indulging in the decadence of life. However before we can ascend to the level of a butterfly we must learn the lessons of the caterpillar. Caterpillar is a supreme example of groundedness and connection to the local community. Caterpillar can teach us how to reach a level where we are prepared to transform into that butterfly we know we really are.
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3. Drawing up Earths Energy
This is a more complex guided meditation on grounding to the Earth's energy to balance chakras and deeply connect to the Earth. This is a standing meditation.
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Through group discussion a sharing of interpretations and experiences of the butterfly meditation were explored. Further examination on how to practice Caterpillar's lessons in everyday life. As well we discussed how different people connect differently to the Earth and the meditations, some prefer standing, other sitting and some laying down - regardless each person is finding their own connection to the Earth, to themselves and ultimately the path to their own healing.
May 12, 2009
Theme: Balance.
1. Balance of Breath. Pranayama (Yoga Breathing)
This practice of breathing encourages balanced breathing with concentration.
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2. The Boundary of Protection
With specific breathing, movement and visualizations individuals are directed in creating a distinct boundary between themselves and the world of stress and daily demands.
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3. Water Lily
This guided visualization takes the individual through a practice of opening and closing their energy field to ensure that they remain balanced through the turbulent times in life, including daily stresses. Through life the Lily Flower floats undisturbed by ripples, splashes, or rain. It's beauty is noticeably whether open or closed. The water lily flower adjusts to the movements and sway of the water balanced between water and air, with roots traveling into the depth of water - the source of all life. Stress, change, challenge - these are inevitable. One must learn to maintain balance in order to think clearly, to heal and to act with conscious awareness.
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4. The Mask of the Blue Morpho
This guided visualization allow participants to explore themsleves, their response to situations and to others. To notice how our bodies and our behvoirs tell us when we are safe and when we feel threatened.
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The group discussion centered on implementing the Water Lily meditation into daily life and the importance of maintaining balance. During this meditation practice we sat at the edge of a pond and were serenaded by peepers, woodpeckers and various songbirds. To close the evening a Barred Owl swooped down onto a nearby branch. She watched over the last mediation and allowed us to approach her. We managed to stand within 10 feet of her - us gazing at her in complete fascination and she staring back at us. The sun set cast a soft light, just enough to make out the light spots on her feathers and the shimmer in her jet black eyes. Our hike out was contemplative and connected to the energy of the forest. We continued our discussions on finding balance through perceptual changes. It is important to use coping strategies while practicing change. Change cannot be implemented from the outside in, but rather it starts with a change of mind. Without this change of mindset, noset of practices, or behaviors will really stick - because you do not believe in them. There is a difference between faith and belief. Faith is what we hope for and place out fragile trust in. Belief is a conviction we hold - whether it is accurate & logical or not.
The homework for the week is contained on the "Mask of the Blue Morpho" clip.
May 5, 2009
Theme: Deepening our connection by letting go.
1. Transmutation of Non-Beneficial Energy
This meditation focuses on converting our worries, fears, frustrations and stresses into positive and nurturing energy.
Negative words, actions & feelings from ourselves accumulate in our bodies. These non-beneficial energies cause fatigue, depression, anxiety, physical & mental illness, constipation/diarrhea, headaches, back pain, disease and discomfort of all kinds. They have fused with our being - with our mind & flesh. It is extremely difficult to ignore or dissect these parts of ourselves so we must transmute this energy - convert it to something that heals us not hurts us.
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2. Balancing
In Buddhist traditions the negative cycles we engage in are called Samsara. We have the capacity to control our decision and therefore adjust our patterns to create positive outcomes and peace rather than continue to engage in cycles of stress and disease. This is a Qi Gong exercise to balance our energy, encourage focused breathing and connect our minds with our bodies for the purpose of balancing.
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3.Tree of Life
Vedic and Yoga practices include a system of energy centres within the body called Chakras. Each centre has a specific location and colour assignment, as well as connection to organs, emotions and behaviors. This meditation focuses on flexibility and grounding to pull energy up from the Earth aligning and clearing our Chakras.
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4. Spring Bloom
We have the capacity within ourselves to to bring into fruition what our heart desires. In order to do so effectively we must have a greater connection to the Universal Energy, to the Earth, to all the beings on the Earth. As we practice this connection our ability to manifest positive outcomes in our life becomes easier. This meditation provides a practice to achieving that connection and nurturing our dreams to blossom.
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The group discussion explored the connection between transmutation* and daily struggles - such as anger management. Ultimately if we are able to transform these worries, fears, anger (all the things we carry in our heads that gnaw away at us shrinking our patients - making it impossible to respond to situations - only to react with volatile emotion) we find that we are able to remain in the present moment. This would mean we do not require anger management, or coping skills - because those stresses no longer exist for us. One example that we discussed was as a parent we often over-react to situations with our children. For instance a toy was left out and the parent stepped on it resulting in momentary discomfort for the parent and a broken toy. Isolated this is not a very tragic or enraging circumstance - but add to it the dishes that were left on the table, the leaky facet, the driver who cut you off in traffic, the boss that yelled at you, the unending pile of laundry and house chores, bills... not only all the things that happened that day that have impacted you, but the things that have happened over weeks and years. We carry these lists of injustices, frustrations, and impacts with us that serve no other purpose than to fuel the rage and self-doubt. If, however, we take the time to transmute these memories and emotions into detached experiences we are able to respond to such situations without filing up with anger until we explode. We can train ourselves to take the time to think rationally about this situation in this moment without bringing our entire stress history into this moment.
The meditations from this class provide a framework to begin this practice, specifically the meditation on "Transmutation of Non-Beneficial Energy."
If you would like a digital copy of the May 5th 2009 Guided Meditation & Hike please email
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You will be emailed your MP3 copy of the meditations you order ($5/meditation or $20 for the full class) upon payment.
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*You DONOT need to have a Paypal account to order or make payments
*(Transmutation: converting the negative thoughts, memories, and actions we carry with us into positive and nurishing energy)