Spring is a time of new
green, of blossoming, of finding beauty popping
up in unexpected places. Bulbs planted in
the fall, seedpods that spun to the ground
with the dying leaves, all sleep under the
winter snows, waiting to germinate as the
days lengthen and the ground warms.
The metaphysical axiom “as
above, so below – as the macrocosm,
so the microcosm” is rarely better
illustrated that in this change of seasons.
So we present to you here a new meditation,
to get your mind and heart and soul as ready
for Spring as your body is.
Settle into a quiet place,
where you will not be disturbed. Use incense
(spring florals? Rain scents?), candles,
music - whatever will create within you the
easy flow outward to meet your Guides. If
you want, you might record the meditation
and then play it back (remembering as you
record to give yourself appropriate pauses!)
so that you are not distracted with reading.
Relax. Get comfortable. Get your wiggles
out and settle down.
Close your eyes and take a deep cleansing
breath in… and let it gently go.
Again: in...clean out your lungs,
pull in sweet oxygen… and let it
out.
One more time... in... and.. out.
Locate your Centerpoint. Feel yourself
completely balanced, completely at ease.
Feel your spine lengthen like a taproot,
planting itself deep in the Earth, giving
you strength and stamina. Let the top
of your head, your Crown Chakra, open
like a skylight, letting in the Cosmic
Light. You are now settled, anchored,
and can let your body go. It will take
care of itself while you walk the corridors
of thought and imagination.
Now…bring yourself out into
a green space outside your house. It
might be your own back yard…the
woods or meadow just down the road…a
city park that you love to visit.
What do you see, for now? Is it snow
covered and cold? Muddy and slushy? Simply
an expanse of grass browned and dry from
the winter weather? Take it in. Acknowledge
that this scene is but the beginning
of growth. Not death, but sleep and waiting.
Look at yourself. How are you dressed
for the occasion? What coat, what shoes
or boots? Hat and gloves? What colors
and materials have you dressed yourself
in? Examine your clothing, and explore
what it says about how you have cloaked
yourself in thoughts and doings over
the past few months.
Now, begin to walk. And as you walk,
keep your eyes trained on the ground.
Soon, you will begin to see signs of
spring. What do you find? There’s
a flower: what does it look like? How
does it manage against the wind? Is it
one large one, or a group of smaller
blossoms? What is its color? How does
it smell?
Bend down and pluck the flower. Another
will grow instantly in its place; know
that it is glad to be with you. And as
you cup it in your hands, breathe on
it gently. It will open up, and in its
center is a gift … something to
help bring the spring into your own life.
What is it? How can you use it? What
does it touch inside you that wants to
grow?
Tuck the blossom and its gift into
your pocket, and go on. Now, raise your
eyes and begin to look at the trees and
bushes around you. Walk and observe until
something special catches your eye. Is
it the buds on the trees? Blossoms on
a forsythia bush? Whatever is growing
that calls to you, approach it. Admire
it. Welcome it. And then, pluck a bit
of it, knowing that another bud or blossom
will appear instantly in its place.
Put what you’ve plucked in your
mouth. Feel its shape and texture. Then
slowly start to chew. Its nourishment
for you can taste like anything – sweet,
sour, salt, bitter; full or thin; clean
or loamy. What is its taste to you? What
does it remind you of? How does it propose
to nourish you?
Your final outside task is to observe
the animals in the landscape. What kinds
do you see? How many are there? What
are their actions, their movements? Are
they scared of you, or friendly, or do
they not even notice you are there?
One animal decides to approach you.
Which one have you inwardly called? What
does it look like? Notice how it interacts
with you. Does it speak? Does it bring
a gift? Be with this creature unafraid;
it has chosen to be part of your process.
What is its meaning for you?
And now…return to your house.
Take your flower gift, and any others
you have received, and place them on
your kitchen table. Shuck off your coat,
stamp your feet to loosen snow or mud
from your shoes, strip off the hat and
gloves. There is a small chest by your
front door into which you may place them.
As you close the lid, it snaps shut,
with a little sign that says “open
again December 21st.”
Sit with your gifts. Let them speak
of spring to you, what you wish to do
with this new season. And as you contemplate
them, feel the house grow warmer – not
with firewood or heater warmth, but sunlight.
As you turn your gaze to your windows,
you notice the winter scene melting at
the edges, as if the spring wants to
banish winter instantly and altogether.
You know that in order for spring
to complete its task, YOU must help it
along. You roll up your sleeves and go
to your closet with all your cleaning
materials. What’s in your cupboard?
Mops, brooms, buckets? What kind of bottles
and jars? What do their labels say? Are
they new or old, empty or full? What
do they especially want to clean and
remove that has been lingering all winter?
Feel the heady warmth run through
your veins like champagne. It energizes
you, excites you, and you begin to tackle
the entire house, room by room. Which
rooms are most in need of cleaning? What
does that say about your thoughts, your
habits, your beliefs about what goes
on in each of those rooms? What room
would you go to first? How do you clean
each one? Which gift that you received
will be of especial help in each room?
Notice that every time a room is finished
and cleaned, a little more of winter
melts away from the outside view.
Fling open the windows and doors.
What do you sense being “blown
away” in the spring breeze? What
does it send in for you?
Finally, you step into the middle of your house – now clean,
shining, beautiful, refreshed. You turn and see your green space
outside your window. It is full of new growth, green, floral, trees
fully leaved and waving in the wind. Your helper animal stands with
its tribe among a large grouping of your special flower. The bush
or tree that gifted you has miraculously planted itself in your yard,
growing and blossoming with vigor and beauty.
Take it all in. Take in all that you
have done. Acknowledge the growth you
have achieved, perhaps slumbering and
unbeknownst to you during the time of
frost and dark. Focus all your thoughts,
all your desires for the coming season,
all your lessons, in the palms of your
cupped hands. Watch as one miraculous
seed materializes.
Take it outside and plant it among
your guides and friends. As you cover
it with soil, whisper to it what you
intend for it to grow into. Bless it,
bless your helpers, and thank the Source
of All for bringing you through the winter
to this moment. Consign your seedling
to the Source, knowing that it will get
everything – sun and rain, warmth
and nourishment –it needs to grow.
Let the scene fade. Feel yourself
coming back into your body. Let your
consciousness flow back into feet, hands,
torso. And when you are ready, open your
eyes.
It’s
mid-February as I write this, and upstate
New York is paying in spades for our mild
early winter months. Snow over 100 inches
in Oswego, only a couple of hours to our
west; weeks of bone-shattering cold and an
historic Valentine’s Day blizzard where
we are in the Schoharie Valley. Still, according
to the calendar (and Punxsutawney Phil and
his other groundhog cohorts), spring is not
far off at all.
And
as spring approaches, the more practical
of us think about spring cleaning. The house
has been shut up through the winter, both
windows and doors… the shed full of
bicycles and garden trowels and Super CarWax
has slumbered unnoticed… the unremitting
cold and lack of sunlight have encouraged
us all to hunker down, shrink our spheres
of influence and attention, and, like the
animals and plants, wait for warmer times. 
