The WISDOM FIGURE Meditation

FULL TRANSCRIPT

[The following is the full transcript of this episode of “The BE ULTIMATE Podcast.” ]

Hi. This is Travis Eliot, and welcome to the “Wisdom Figure” meditation.

This practice will help you reunite to your wisest self during times of challenge and difficulty.

So go ahead and find a comfortable seated position allowing yourself to settle. Sitting up tall but relaxed and resting your hands, in your lap or wherever it feels most comfortable for you. Gently close the eyes turning your attention and your awareness inward, inside and just allowing those events of the day to begin to dissolve away as you land into this moment right here, right now.

From here, take a nice big, deep inhale health through the nose. And then out the mouth exhale, let it go, releasing any tension or stress. And let’s do two more like that. Take another deep inhale through the nose and then out the mouth exhale emptying the lungs. Beautiful. One more time. Big inhale. And exhale. Let it all go.

And allow the breath to just find its own gentle rhythm. It’s own easy cadence.

Good. Now from here we’re going to go on a little retreat. So imagine right now you are being transported to a remote cabin somewhere in nature. A place where you feel safe. A place where you can be open, honest, vulnerable, and experience the strength of surrender. And as you sit inside of this cabin surrounded by the beauty of nature begin to reflect upon a difficulty or challenge that you’re moving through in your life.

This might be some event you have coming up, something recurring that you’re struggling with, this might be navigating a difficult relationship with another person or even a group of people and you’re not sure how to handle this.

For you, what is this situation?

As you continue to reflect upon this situation allow visions, allow images, mind-movies to take place — experiencing yourself moving through these difficult and challenging events.

As you continue to do this. Notice the impact that moving through this struggle has on your mind.

What impact does it have within your mind’s state?

Perhaps the mind feels stressed. Notice what kinds of thoughts arise inside of the mind.

Continuing to stay in those events of difficulty and adversity now begin to bring your awareness and your attention to your emotional state, to your heart. Begin to become aware of what emotions are there. Perhaps fear, anger, sadness, frustration.

What’s there for you?

Now gently bring your attention to your body. Notice where these mind and emotional qualities manifest within the physical body. You might feel a type of discomfort or pain, tension or heat — in a particular place in the body.

As you hold this connection to the mind’s state and the emotional state and the physical state, see if you can hold it all in loving awareness, with compassion. Compassion for yourself.

Beautiful. Now at this moment imagine there’s a knock on the door. And you stand up. You go and open the door — there stands a luminous figure that almost instantly makes you feel at ease, loved, supported. It’s almost like a best friend but even more magnificent. They are a powerful wisdom figure. Could even be the Buddha or Jesus, Mother Mary, a Native American shaman, an ancestor, grandparent, or it could be a being that’s more nondescript. Trust that whoever shows up at the door is the perfect guide for you.

As you look at their face, notice they have a warm smile of kindness, they have love beaming from their eyes and a glow radiating from both their face and their body.

They say to you, “I’ve come to help. Moments ago you acknowledged a struggle. Now I invite you to merge with me — I will show you the way through your greatest of struggles.”

In that moment, you and your guide, your wisdom figure are one. As you and your trusted wisdom figure become one, begin to envision replaying the scenes of your difficulty. But now imagine you’re being led, you’re being inspired by your gracious guide. Allow those images and allow those mind-movies and scenes to play themselves.

Notice how your guide, how your wisdom figure carries their body with a sense of grace and nobility — even in those moments of challenge, of stress, of adversity, notice how the body still remains relaxed.

An old Chinese proverb says, “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”

Notice how they stay relaxed.

Be aware of their mind’s state. How the mind remains calm, centered, equanimous. Notice the types of thoughts, the type of thinking that arises within the mind of your guide.

Pay attention to the emotions they carry within their heart — patience, love, courage.

What emotions are there?

Take some time to study how your wisdom figure acts and moves and thinks and behaves on all levels. Just moving through these moments of challenge and difficulty.

[silence]

Good. Now allow those events to fade away as you and your guide are transported back to the cabin and nature. Although you two remain connected on a deeper level, you begin to separate.

Your wisdom figure looks at you and explains, “Your body exists in the dimension of form and time. But who you really are is formless and timeless. By staying connected to this part of you, you will always have the capacity to move through life’s greatest struggles and challenges.”

As a reminder of your unlimited inner power, your wisdom figure now places a small object in your hand. Look down. Open your hand and begin to see the object.

What is it? What’s there?

If It’s hard to see it hold it up to the light so that you can see it more clearly.

Remember this object so that you can always recall any time you need to remember your inner wisdom and strength. This object is a symbol of your own inner power.

And now your wisdom figure gently places a hand on your shoulder and begins to whisper words of advice to you. Notice what they say.

[silence]

As they finish speaking, the wisdom figure now quietly exits out the cabin and disappears back into the surroundings.

Take some moments to rest in the beauty of what just unfolded.

[silence]

With a relaxed body and a clear, calm mind and an open, kind, compassionate heart, take a deep breath in through the nose and out the mouth exhale, let it go as you return back to your current environment.

Remember how your wisdom figure behaved, how they acted.

Remember the symbol that they showed you to remind you of your unbreakable spirit and remember those final words of advice they gave you as a gift.

Any time you need to make a visit with your wisdom figure they are always here for you.

As you’re ready, slowly open up the eyes.

Thank you for your practice.