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East Workings
Guided visualizations or Pathworkings are great tools for transformation, relaxation or for gaining insight. In the shamanic aspect of what we do, we can view the world through the eyes of others, be they plants, insects, animals, people or the Gods. Once we become good at the above breathing exercise we can start with other meditations. In the work I do we use two different meditations frequently.
1. Guided meditation= meant to invoke another way of thinking or another way of feeling. The journey generally takes you to several places within the meditation designed to accommodate and work with the time of year or holiday utilizing symbols that are important to us. You will be prompted though all that is encountered in the meditation. Ideally someone is reading the meditation to you, but you can read it and then imagine the journey you just read.
2. Pathworking meditation= meant to bring about realizations of unknown truths. This is a journey that guides one to different places within the meditation and then leaves you before certain symbols or Gods/ Goddesses...and pauses for a moment... for your own brain to fill in the blank. These also can correspond to the time of year or be specifically designed to uncover hidden potential or heal from old wounds.
Birds of course are considered one of the creatures of Air. Uniquely designed with compatible parts made for taking flight. Hollow bones, feathers, wings, and tail that can turn like a rudder, owls have special down on their feathers that gives them silent flight...stealthy Goddess she
We use Red Tail Hawk symbol as our air totem in the East. The Red Tail is very prominent in this area and can frequently be seen in the residential areas. Red Tail is the dawnbringer and we are reminded by her red tail that was singed by the Sun. She brings the fresh new potential of every day and sees beyond that which the light has yet to touch.
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MEDITATION WITH HAWK
Create sacred space, (it can be simple like burning incense or sage, casting a small ring around yourself and asking the powers that be to bless you with a safe journey), get settled either sitting or I find laying down is best.
Begin with the breathing exercise for a few minutes then continue to:
relax...breath...relax ...breath...
let you body get heavier as if it were sinking in to the ground, with each breath, heavier...heavier...
relax...breath...relax ...breath, become acutely aware of the earth (or floor) and the contact points on your body.
Feel your back on the ground, where your butt touches, legs...arms, feel the surface that holds up the weight of your head. Breath...relax...breath...
Close your eyes and imagine you can see the place you are laying, see your self laying there on the flat surface or the couch, are you are you indoors? outdoors? See the circle you have cast. Now sense a dense fog moving in, it begins to obscure everything in your vision, you stay with this for a moment as you are able to sense the moisture and coolness associated with this cloud that obscures, it even smells different...breath in the the rich damp air. Now sense that your body is rising up, you wish to get to the East edge of the fog, waving your hands does little to move the cloud away, yet you swat at the air back and forth in attempt to gain sight. Slowly, gently the air begins to clear, a path is becoming vaguely visible and you start out towards it. The path is gravel and crunches under your footsteps...listening to the sound as each foot hits the ground make a soothing sort of rhythm and you find it memorizing and fail to notice the fog has become nearly absent, at last you can get a look at your surroundings and see the path is along the edge of a mountain and is harshly cut out sheer rock that juts out of the side of this mountain. This path becomes more rocky and winds up the craggy outcropping to the top. Being the curious one, you find yourself fearlessly forging onward, carefully continuing up... and up... along the trail that is becoming more and more riddled with boulders, some that have to be climbed over, but the top is now just a few yards in the distance. Scrambling over one last large rock you arrive at the peak of the mountain, the air has cleared to a reveal a crystalline sky tinted in reds with puffy clouds drifting along the far side of a very large valley, the Sun has just rose up across this valley and rays of light are streaming through the air. Gasping at the beauty and giving the self kudos for trekking up this risky path, you sit to let it all soak in. You are feeling incredibly exhilarated at this point but nothing could compare to your surprise as a large Red Tail Hawk swoops up and perches on a rock just feet from you. The bird settles by ruffling it's feathers a few times, twitching her tail left and right she hunches down slightly and looks over at you. The bird cocks her head back and forth and rubs her beak on a dead twig sticking out of the rock, and looks back at you again. The bird suddenly speaks up, "you have come a long way, overcome fear and trusted in your desire to
seek, finding this Sacred peak was no mistake" This huge beautiful red tail hawk is speaking yet it is not with its beak, ...still she relays more of the message to you... " Your time to view the world from my eyes has come" You telepathically think back at the bird that you don't quite understand what she means..., and she says " watch me and do what I do".
She turns to the East and raises up her wings and flaps them furiously, she looks back at you to see if you are following her lead, feeling a bit foolish you flap your arms in the air a few times. She jumps on the rock a few times flapping her wings all along, you jump up and down flapping your arms. You look at the hawk and mouth the word, Really? She stops and suggests you are not ready for this lesson. Sensing you are letting the bird and yourself down, you apologize and promise to be serious. The bird shakes her tail feathers and settles to sit, you shake your booty and sit on the rock. She scans the horizon, looking left then right stretching her neck out at times then drawing it in as if she didn't like what was viewed. You look out at the view as well, then begin to notice a strange shift, suddenly you can see better! You look left and right, as the hawk did mimicking her moves. She continues to stare out into the open as if there is something very far away, you do the same and feel a warmth come over your whole body. The hawk turns her head down to fix a feather, and when you turn to do the same are astonished to discover feathers are covering your body! ahhh, this is why you are warmer, the bird ruffles up her feathers and demonstrates how to take full advantage of this warming technique, you follow suit, ummmm how cozy you think... "isn't it"? the bird answers. The hawk turns to the dead branch and scratches her beak a few times and when you go to do the same, find there is a fine golden beak running down from your furrowed brow. You have taken the shape of the hawk. The teacher turns to you and says, "perhaps now is a better time", and she begins to flap her wings. So you spread out newly formed wings and flap several times, the sensation of lift is immediately apparent. She begins to jump you do the same, now you can really tell the lift ...She flaps and hovers for a moment and as you jump up to do the same the hawk screams, "NOW!" and jumps off the rock, since you are already in the air you glide right behind her over the edge, Fear fills your stomach, until you see your teacher curve her wings in a manner that drew her up up into the air, following her movements the sensation is like a roller coaster as you catch a draft and begin to soar, you want to scream out of sheer joy, and she senses your desire and screams out Keeeeeeeeaarrr! you answer, Keeeeeeeeaarrr! The Sun is beaming light far across the land at this time and the teacher shows you how to hone your sight to focus for miles beyond. You take the opportunity of this enhanced vision to take in sights never before imagined from this perspective. She shows you how to focus and dive, and you realize how this can be used in your mundane world. The two of you fly about the sky over the large valley for some time, dipping and diving chasing each other in some sky tumbles, doing a few tricks...you at last scream out to the bird, "Thank you! I have had so much fun!" She lets me know I should come back and visit frequently, she will teach me how to get perspective. We glide to the bottom of the large hill where I met the Red Tail hawk, she demonstrates a perfect ground landing and I follow touching down with a slight thud, ..trip. "you'll be better at that next time" and she effortlessly lifts off and fly's away. Woah, you shake your tail feathers and watch her fade in the distance. You try to turn and walk upon your sharp talons and find this not possible, so you shake again and flap your wings several times, until your vision fades and you're flapping your arms, your feather have disappeared and the lovely beak had faded into a nose. You see the path that took you up the hill and make your way to it and back the way you came, listening to the gravel crunch under your feet, take a moment to reflect upon your journey and the pride you felt when working hard and taking a chance, remember the freedom felt and the potential to gain a better view and focus, the crunching trail is becoming obscured by the returning fog, yet you sense your circle is just ahead and with several more steps you see the perimeter of your circle and you enter in the East side getting comfortable once again in your own body. Squeeze your hands and wiggle your toes stretch and take a deep breath, sense the ground you are laying upon ( or couch) Again make fists and then open your hands, take several more deep breaths and open your eyes when you are ready. Thank the deity you asked for a safe journey, and undo your circle. So mote it be.
By Firebird
Please give me credit if you plan to use this for other than personal use.
This can be modified to become a Pathworking
many blessings, Redtailbird