Guided Meditation - a Different Kind

            Are you ready? 

Let’s begin.

Get in a comfortable position. Sit or lie down. Close your eyes.

But if you happen to be driving on the road, especially on the expressway, better keep your eyes open and meditate once you reach your destination. 

Breathe in through your nose. Hoping everything smells nice at this point.

Exhale through your mouth. 

Now, if you happen to be in a bus or in a train or in a crowded place, you can exhale through your mouth but inside your shirt. 

You wouldn’t want to be in a fight for something unpleasant that comes out from there. 

Now relax.

Feel the sensation of your breath as it travels through your body. 

Inhale energy. Exhale stress. 

Inhale positivity. Exhale negativity… like your toxic boss… or flight delays… or traffic jams… or a fight with a loved-one… or a poor service from a spa… or losing at chess… or finding out about a late onset lactose intolerance… or seeing a dead fly in your favorite sandwich… or chipping your newly manicured nail while preparing salad.

Refrain from dwelling on these negative thoughts. 

Instead, say good-bye to negativity. And now, relax your mind. 

Imagine that you are on the beach. A beautiful beach with golden sand and clear blue water. 

It is peaceful and quiet in this place. Listen to the waves crashing against the shore. 

Do you hear something? That was a seaplane. Listen closely. Listen to the chirping of the birds and the little girl screaming, “shark!” No, not sharks. There are no sharks on this beach. I shouldn’t have included that here. 

Now, slow down your mind. Think slower than that. Think about how you are driving your car so slow because of the traffic jam in the last rush hour that you have been to. You came in late that day. Did you feel annoyed again? No, don’t be. You should be relaxing. 

Today, you will not be annoyed. Today, you will be relaxed. 

Now, start to float on the water. Wow. Look at yourself. You are lying peacefully on the water. You are not sinking. Are you scared of drowning? No, stay away from that thought. 

Now, picture your phone falling from your grip. You don’t care about your phone. Let it go. 

Now, you see your phone slowly sinking to the water. Getting deeper. Deeper. Until you cannot see it anymore. Let it go. Your phone is just a distraction, anyway. 

You are still floating peacefully on the water. 

Suddenly, you see a stingray swimming beside you. But it didn’t hurt you. Breathe out relief. 

Feel the energy of your body and the water around you. 

Now, you are suddenly pulled out of the water. You are floating above the shore. You see trees around you. You see a palm tree. No, it is a mango tree. You actually do not know the difference. Let it go. 

Imagine floating above the trees. You are floating above the palm tree or the mango tree now. You feel the heat of the sun on your face. Don’t think about how you will get sunburned if you stay up there much longer. 

Further, you see a cave. It is a cave where happiness hides. You are floating above the cave. You want to get in. You want to find where happiness hides. 

Suddenly, you see a red thing lying on top of the cave. It is a cape. An actual superhero cape. A cape on the cave. Sounds like something you can put in a nursery rhyme. 

Now, you decided to put on the cape. You feel the energy of the cape. You feel the magic powers it possesses. And now the magic is within you. You find out that you can do anything with the cape on you, but not flying. Not within the cape’s scope. 

Now, you walk inside the cave. You realized that the entire cave is made out of chocolate. Even the floors. But you want to see where happiness hides. So you continue walking inside the cave.

Now chocolate is melting and is sticking to your feet. You want to taste it. But, do you really want to taste your feet?

Carefully walk through the cave. Don’t remove your cape. That is yours and yours alone. 

Now you see people on the other side. These people see you go out of the cave. They see you and your cape. They want to get your cape. They are jealous of the powers your cape gives you. But don’t ever let them take away your cape. The power of the cape is yours alone. 

The happiness that the cape brings you is yours alone. 

Always put on your cape. Always bring happiness wherever you go, whatever circumstance you see yourself in. 

Have a happy day today and always.