ARTICLES
Meditation for the Change of Season
Season changes powerfully affect our inner environment just as much as the colour of the leaves on the trees. Meditating during these times can support our wellbeing and harness the positive qualities of each season.
Deeprak Chopra says to imagine you are about to begin a journey of preparing for a long winter. During this time, you know that the days will be shorter, the temperature will be colder, and some of your creature comforts won’t be available. What do you want to let go of? What has become too burdensome or unnecessary on your journey?
It is a time to retreat inward, light a candle, and see what cobwebs need clearing.
We have an Autumn meditation you might like to follow to help you on this journey courtesy of Courtney Archer.
Autumn Meditation
Envision yourself standing inside a room, with a door that leads outside ahead of you. Pull a key from your pocket to unlock it, turning the latch, and stepping outside.
In front of you is a colourful autumn landscape, with hundreds of trees with leaves in brilliant reds and golds. Some are green, not yet changed, while others have become crisp and brown on the edges.
A little further ahead, water babbles down a shallow stream. Only a foot or so deep in the deepest part, you can see the stones and sediment that the water travels over. Leaves that have floated down into it collect on the edges where the water ripples toward shore, creating a golden lining on either side.
You sit on a perfectly sized sitting rock on the edge, comfortable and content as the water runs by. Breath in the crisp autumn air, filling your lungs with the scent of water, leaves, and the grasses that are yellowing around you.
Feel the warmth of the afternoon sun on your face. The heat of summer is gone and in its place is this wonderfully pleasant day, just warm enough for comfort and cool enough to invigorate.
As the breeze blows around you, notice the way that it coaxes leaves to let go of their branches to float to the ground below. Some take a more direct path, while others drift and sway in the wind, spinning and twirling as they make their way down.
“Just a little longer,” they protest to the breeze. “We’re not yet ready to fall.” So they hold on a little longer, even as the world changes around them.
The yellows become orange, the oranges red, and the leaves on the ground become brown. But still, the leaves on the trees hold on, hoping to evade the relentless movement of time.
Visualise the changing world of fall around you as you continue to breathe crisp autumn air, in and out, leaning into this moment.
As you breathe in and out, bring to mind something that you have been holding onto. Something that no longer serves you, that you would like to let go of but have not done so yet.
Imagine this thing as a leaf on a tree, clinging to a branch high above the ground, refusing to give in to the change of the season. Once it had a place in your life, as every leaf has its place in a tree.
It might even be a blossom that you cherished in the spring of its existence, that you have watched unfurl and grow, and that has now exchanged its green for gold.
This leaf is not a bad leaf. This thing is not a bad thing. And yet, the time has come for it to release the branch. The time has come for you to let it go.
Take a deep breath, the deepest breath you have taken this far, and visualize the leaf letting go. It releases the branch and drifts gently to join the other leaves of red and gold below.
Just like the leaf has not entirely disappeared, neither has the thing you are letting go of. It has just joined all of the other things that you have grown with and learned from, and are now ready to let go of.
For a moment longer, enjoy the autumn world around you. Experiencing again the warmth of the sun, the chill of the breeze, and the distinct scent of leaves and earth.
When you are ready, leave the side of the river and return to the door you entered this world through. Step back inside, taking care to pull the key from your pocket to lock the door once more.
This door is always available to you. You can always return to the autumn world by the river, with the trees of red and gold. The key will always be in your pocket.
Return your focus to your breath, breathing in and out, in and out, soft and slow, experiencing the way your lungs also release the old to bring in the new.
And finally, when you are ready, end your meditation and return to your day.
Organic teas to support your meditation
Our organic tea blends to support meditation:
