Meditation… Releasing judgement & allowing the imagination to roam free
My meditations now are often when I sit and play my bowl, whichever one I feel pulled towards on a particular day. I set my intention to connect with source and usually I start to use my voice to tone with it. Then things drop in. I get taken to different places on different days. I might just sit with the sounds. I might journey somewhere. I might end up receiving some healing or I might send some. It can go in many different ways.
Thoughts will drop in. Sometimes they are about what’s on my mind, sometimes they are quite random, but while I tone and play I’m partly occupied, more relaxed and I am shown things in my minds eye. Being ‘shown’ things is not what I used to think it was. It might be a crystal clear image, but more often than not it’s just wherever I get taken when I am relaxed enough, when the active mind takes a backseat and I allow my attention to go where it goes.
In this relaxed state I sometimes ask questions and I might be taken to particular situations, memories, places or have a sense, image or feeling of something. For example recently I asked for a message and received the word ‘Westmorland’ and had a sense of a wolf. On googling it, I discovered Westmorland was the old name for Cumbria and it was said to be the place where the last remaining wild wolf was known to be killed in the U.K. Interestingly there were different sources of information on it and some evidence of a wolf skeleton which has been preserved from the time.
What does this mean? I don’t feel the need to over analyse it, but I have been feeling a stronger connection to animals and animal spirits (as messengers) over the last few months. It felt to be a confirmation of that and I appreciated being shown something about the history of the land in relation to native animals which I was unaware of. It could relate to the discussion around re-wilding areas and re-introducing animals such as wolves to help rebalance animal population.. something it has lead me to think more about.
It now occurs to me that meditation this way is about being free to roam. It may be that this is the message from the wolf, as this blog has taken an unknown path too. There are so many different kinds of meditation (traditional and otherwise) with different approaches and levels of focus. I could call this way something like ‘just sitting’, connecting’ or ‘channelling’ instead, but it doesn’t really matter. Words can help to differentiate and discern, but often ideas around what meditation is can be limiting and counterproductive. We can miss the point and even put ourselves off it completely.
Another way we limit ourselves is not only judging our ability to meditate based on someone else’s definition of meditation, but we also judge the imagination. How often do we hear ‘it’s just the imagination’ when we hear, see or feel something intuitively? This is a complete disservice. The imaginal realm is the key to integrating the conscious and subconscious. Being able to imagine freely keeps us connected and well. Young children are the perfect example of a healthy, unrestrained and abundant imagination. There’s more around this, for another blog.
Allowing the imagination to be free of judgement and go where it wants to go has been the key to unlocking my ability to journey and connect. It’s taken years to be able to allow the more subtle imaginative cues some room. They have now become much louder, less subtle and have opened doors, showing me much about myself. This might be why some are so keen to dismiss it. As I started to let go of the judgements and let my imagination roam freely, a whole world started to open up which I had previously been unable to access and explore. It has lead to important insights, healing and confidence in my own abilities, helping me to release the views, judgements and limitations of others.
In my card readings we always look at messages from the animals, we explore where energy may be blocked at present and where the opportunities are to move forwards. They’re very little about ‘prediction’, more about unlocking and freeing up energy, choice and possibility. Clients often feel lighter afterwards. If you’d like to, feel free to get in touch.
‘Angels and Ancestors Oracle deck’ by Kyle Grey