I Asked In Meditation One Morning.
What’s Next?
Well, how about love? Self love. Big love. Unconditional love. Love of dark places of the psyche, and light places too. Gracious, forgiving love. Lover of love. Yup, especially self-love. Simply, right here, right now. Loving the self so intensely it emanates from self like the fragrance of blossoms, permeating the air with sweetness and subtly infusing beauty and more love.
As you may or may not know, I’m living a nomadic existence. I find each place I visit holds a theme, a special message for me. My recent stay in Kauai was not an exception. And the message was, and is, love. Right here and right now, love.
Kauai
Kauai is a treasure trove of botanic beauty. The island is one of the wettest places on earth, receiving more than 400″ of rain per year. The result is a florid, lush environment. For this, Kauai is fondly known as the emerald island.
Ever present aroma of flowers, White Ginger and Plumeria mingled with wet-green and salt-ocean welcomes. Visually stunning too, powerfully craggy and jagged, volcanic, mountainous shapes are smothered with verdant fecundity.
And something is uniquely inspiring about the quality of air and light in Kauai. Perhaps the angle of the sun, or the moisture in the air, or the frequent rainbows.
But for me the breezes perfumed with blossoms were the ultimate vehicle of transformation…
Now
I had the unbelievably fantastic fortune to be the guest of a talented landscaping designer. Flowers were everywhere. It was impossible to escape their intoxicating perfume. Almost a delirium of scent. But a delirium that does not take one away from self, but to self. Spirit of blossoms spoke to me in scent, “Be here now, be love.”
A Meditation
I’d like to share with you a meditation that spontaneously came to me while in Kauai. Inspired by the overwhelming beauty and perfumed air. I am now on the mainland and have since practiced it wearing essential oils. Still good.
This morning I wore Rose Otto for love, Frankincense and Sandalwood for their meditative properties, and Neroli for sparkle. You may use any scent that speaks to you. However I do recommend natural floral fragrances. In my opinion synthetic fragrances do not have equal energetic vibrancies. (This lengthy topic is for another blog!)
Read through the meditation once, and set aside a little time to enjoy it on your own. Just follow your memory and heart.
Before the meditation I recommend applying fragrance to the inner wrists, breast bone (heart chakra), between brows (third eye), and ear lobes (like the sufis). If you don’t like to have it on your body, put some drips of the fragrance on a tissue or cotton ball.
Sit in a comfortable position. Make sure your back feels supported, and that you can line your vertebras up comfortably. Lay down, if you won’t just snooze off. Take some deep inhalations of your fragrance.
Now, let your breath just be however it wants to be. Don’t try to control or shape it. Screw the deep breathing or any other techniques you know. Just observe breath entering and leaving the body. Abstain from assessing or judgement. Let it do what it naturally wants. Observe your breath as you might observe something very dear to you. With curiosity, compassion, love. As you’d observe a child at play, your lover, a kitten, a beautiful sunset. If you find yourself pushing or becoming frustrated with yourself, (dammit! I am not loving!) turn up the corners of your mouth into a slight smile, and send love to the part of yourself that is being harsh, judgmental, and generally a shit. Just acknowledge it for what it is and love it anyway.
Allow this gentle observance to continue and add a layer. This is where you get to use imagination.
In your mind’s eye, see a flower in your heart center. Imagine its color(s) and the petals. Now imagine this flower expanding and growing until it fills the entire inside of your body, so you are essentially one large blossom. The center of the flower is your heart center. Stay with this image for a time.
How does it feel? Allow yourself to feel. Explore this sensation. It is real. Can you perhaps feel the petals softening you? What else do you notice?
When you feel ready, add another layer. See the fragrance of the flower emanating. Allow the scent to become a visual for you. What color is this aroma? Can you see it swirling around inside of you? Does it create patterns? Does it move in waves or in a steady rhythm?
Now let the flower and its fragrance begin to soften the boundary of your physical body from the inside, permitting your edges to soften and the essence and aroma of the flower to swirl out of your body to fill your aura. If you are unsure of your aura, imagine your physical body is in a sort of bubble and fill this with scent.
Feel into the energetic essence of this flower. If this seems strange to you. Don’t worry about it, just go with it. Try not to judge and again, just feel. Perhaps folding your hands gently over your heart chakra will help you to feel or deepen the sensation.
There is such sweetness there – in your heart.
Here you may even say to yourself, out loud or internally, “I love you (your name here).” Go ahead, repeat this several times until it is comfortable & natural.
Linger with this sensation as long as you please. When you are satiated, feel the energy, aroma, and the very flower get smaller until it is enshrined in your heart. There you may carry it everywhere and call it forward anytime you need a touch up of self loving.
It’s nice to ground yourself with a little food and drink after a journey like this.
Kauai Favs
Other than meditating, here are some of my favorite recommendations if you are in Kauai…
Secret Beach
It’s a bit of a hike, and not really that secret (just ask a local). Not really a swimmers beach, but it’s so beautiful and a little more secluded. Clothing is optional.
Mermaids Cafe in Kapaa
Get the mermaid wrap with tuna just seared. Just do it! They seem to be hiring.
Kauai Juice Company (Kapaa and Kilauea)
Best juice ever. Smoothies too. I’m drooling… Thursdays are free shot days.
Hanalei Farmers Market (Hanalei, Saturdays 9:30-12:00)
Fresh produce and so much more.
Cocktails at Sunset at Happy Talk Lounge
Call ahead and find out when the live Hula dancer and music is happening. Get reservations. Get up and dance – I did! (The drinks were not as wonderful as my hostess’ creations, as pictured above, but the view and music is great.) Hey – and I noticed that most Hawaiian songs seem to be love songs for the people, land, and customs of Hawaii!
A mini Grand Canyon. Here the land goes from arid dessert to pine forest to lush rainforest. The hike at the very end of the road is amazing, but incredibly muddy and rather challenging. Bring hiking boots! There will be mud!
Metamorphose Yoga Kilauea
An charming and intimate yoga studio in a picturesque stone building. Open windows. Ocean in view. I took Amy Lin’s advanced flow on Friday. A delicious, sweaty 1 hour and 45 minutes of play and spirit and good challenge. Yum.
This is so worth the visit. The grounds are amazing as are tours. Call ahead to the monastery and find out when the tours run for they are not all that frequent. Nearby there is a Rudraksha Grove for picnicking and collecting brilliant blue Rudraksha seeds, or dried Rudraksha beads for malas.
Also, “drive to the end of the road.”
There are some cool caves, fresh coconut water stands, another hiking trail, and a beautiful beach. Then you can buy a tee-shirt in Hanalei saying “I drove to the end of the road.” That is, if you ever come back…
Thanks for reading! If you try the meditation, I’d love to hear about it. Love to you…
This post dedicated with love to my dear friends/family, Deborah, David, and Lulu. Mahalo forever.