Look to the warm caress of the newborn Sun, as it rises, fresh and full of hope for a new day. The wind brushes softly through your hair, caressing your cheek, as you stand on the precipice. Before you yawns a chasm, waiting for a leap of faith. You know that only through carrying complete trust in your heart and soul can this distance be crossed. Resembling The Fool of the Tarot, you comprehend that the wisest person is often the one who is without preconceived limitations, and is therefore open to all that the universe can bestow. Here is the knowledge that only by dropping barriers and giving yourself over to the universe, can you spread your wings and learn to soar.
In the South you find the heat of the noonday Sun. Shining brightly, it warms you with its fiery passion. Its energy courses through your veins, driving you to dare...and to dance. In the distance, lava pours down the side of a volcano as Pele watches. A hibiscus flower in her hair joins with her glowing smile as a reminder of the beauty of renewal. A butterfly flits by, freshly transformed. Like the snake, coiled nearby in a circle, here we learn that all must suffer in order to grow. The dead must be cut away to make room for the new life and only by shedding your skin can you become free.
You sit on the beach, calmed by the ocean...pacific. Waves make soft soothing sounds on the edges of your perception. The beauty of the sunset transfixes you as the water laps softly at your toes. Mother ocean cleanses away the stresses of your day. Away goes the fatigue and the fear, leaving only contentment and love. The feeling here brings to mind a picture of Kuan Yin seated on a lotus blossom, holding a vial containing the tears of humanity. In her pose of royal ease, she is ever ready to go to any who need her. She reminds you that compassion is necessary for understanding of yourself and of others. Thoughts of peace extend out to those across the waters, as an inner tranquility fills you.
It is dark in the forest and probably nearing midnight. All is quiet except for the hoot of an owl in the distant shadows. You snuggle closer into the gnarled trunk of the old willow tree, as its strength supports your back and its roots cuddle you close. The umbrella of the leaves above you protects you and offers you a safe place to stay and rest for a while. You meld and join with the tree, remembering all the creatures who have lived and died here, playing out again and again the circle of life. Your roots reach deep into the earth, keeping you grounded and secure. Your trunk is strong enough to support you and yet flexible enough to bend when outside forces twist and pull upon you. Your branches reach out to the heavens, finding joy in the presence presence of their distant glow. The connection from earth to sky flows through you, and here you finally understand the connectedness of all existence. Here you know that you are never alone. Here all are one.