Sit comfortably and quietly and ensure that your spine is erect. Breathe in quietly and relax. As you breathe out, smile to your whole body with gladness. Breathe in and out in this manner for a few minutes. Now focus your in-breath through your heart center - behind the sternum in the middle of your chest. Breathe in through the heart center, taking the breath up inside yourself to the crown of your head. You are bringing the light of the Universe into your being. Visualize it as brilliant white crystalline light. If you do not visualize very well, then just think each step to yourself. This will work just as well. After the in-breath through the heart center up to the crown, pause for a moment. Add this thought to the process: “ Send this light from the Universe and from my heart to every cell in my body, through my feet into the earth.” Do this on the out-breath.
You can visualize this step as a crystal clear waterfall, or shimmer of light from your head down through your body to your toes, and through your feet into the earth. Or just think it. Continue this cycle for approximately 5 minutes, or if you prefer to count breaths, make 10 breaths.
IN-BREATH: breathe light into the heart center up to the crown
PAUSE: add the thought of sending universal light from your crown to your toes
OUT-BREATH: breathe light from crown to toes, embracing every cell.
On the next in-breath fill your body with radiant white light, on the out-breath feel it as a vast expansiveness within you. Do this for 3 breaths.
Breathe in feeling the expansiveness, and on the next out-breath extend the light from your being to encompass everyone with you in this meditation. Do this for 3 breaths.
Breathe in feeling the expansiveness, and on the next out-breath extend the light from your being to include your town, country and continent. Do this for 3 breaths.
Breathe in feeling the expansiveness, and on the next out-breath extend the light from your being to skip across oceans and space to encompass the planet earth and its biosphere. Take 3 breaths.
As you now breathe in, be aware that you are cradling the planet in your arms. As you breathe out smile from the light of your being to the planet earth. Do this as you breathe in and out for 10 breaths.
Now as you breath in and out think of your very favorite place on the planet - by a river in springtime, walking in autumn leaves, at the top of a mountain with clear views of surrounding peaks and valleys, or at the edge of a desert oasis. Whatever your favorite place on the earth is - just feel that you are there and feel such happiness, peace and joy. Breathe in the memory, and smile as you breathe out. Do this for 10 breaths.
Now with your mind and the light in your being send your feelings of happiness, peace and joy to the central core of the earth and feel that energy filling the entire planet and surrounding it with love. Know that you are one with Gaia. After 10 breaths slowly open your eyes and look around you and share your smile with your friends who are also smiling. This meditation can be done with nature based music playing softly in the background and takes about 25 minutes.
a Ian Prattis version