Introduction: This exercise is meant to be read to someone who is taking the journey. It may be done either of two ways. One is to simply follow the script, taking short breaks at the end of each paragraph. Do not ask the questions in the brackets like this - ß--à. This is the passive method and encourages people to see that which is given to them. It can be very powerful for them to follow the journey as written.

The other method is to be interactive with the person doing the journey. Then you should not just stop at the end of the paragraphs but each time you see a question bracketed in arrows like this…. ß----à stop and ask the question and allow the person time to respond. This will allow them to take a part in creating their journey. Both ways are valid, but different people will want different choices.

Now we are ready to begin:

Sit down, relax and get comfortable. Close your eyes and let your breathing relax. In and out. In and out. Let it slow of its own accord. Oo not push it. You’ll get there when your body is ready.

Living in this world of high stress and no time for anything healing, we must learn how to take some time to just relax and heal. You can’t help but think about some of the things in your daily life. But, once thought about, you can let them slowly dissipate from your mind. You have given them an acknowledgement and so you can now let them leave you. Think of them as co-workers who are going off shift leaving you the run of the place.

Let the images of work and stress you may see before your eyes gradually change into a more natural sight. A place full of plants and beautiful flowers. Envision a path through a meadow full of wild flowers, with a small stream running thru it, and the grass somewhat sodden, so when you take a step off the path the bottom of your feet get wet. So you stay on the path. This will be a lesson repeated often.

ß-do you tend to stay on the path of your life, or do you stray?-à

The path has a gentle slope to it. It rises just a few inches with every step, not enough to even notice, but after several minutes of walking you see you have come quite a ways. You pause to take it in. To see what your effort has brought you. And beside you you see that there’s a rock, just the right size and height for a comfortable resting place.

You sit and quiet yourself from your exertions. Once again you allow your breathing to relax. This time you can go further. Your efforts to get this far have required you to exert yourself a bit and the depth of your breath has grown in accordance with that. So that now your breaths are deeper.

You pull them into your belly more than before and you relax some more in doing so. You sit here just breathing and relaxing until you once again have reached that spot where you can just float on the breath. You have nothing to do, nowhere to go. You can be Here, just being in this single moment.

ß-------àWhat are you feeling?

After a time you rise up to see that the path is entering a small copse of trees ahead and up on a small rise. You step onto the path once more and move at a comfortable relaxing rate. You breathe only through your nose and this regulates how fast you walk.

If you have to use your mouth to get enough breath you are exerting yourself too much. Slow down and the breath thru your nose will be enough to keep you going at a rate where you can take in the beauty that surrounds you. It lets you continue to relax into the rhythm of your breath.

As you enter the copse you see a doe with 2 fauns. They watch you with no fear, only curiosity. But they do not come closer. Their instincts have been honed to fear humans, even if these ones have never beheld your kind before. Their racial memory protects them from us. It is the way it is. It is just the same for you – your instincts will help guide you through this entire journey.

ß--do you tend to follow your instincts, and do you feel called to follow them now?-à

In the copse you notice that most of the plants that covered the ground so completely in the meadow are missing. There is not enough sunlight for them in here yet the moisture in the air is thicker, almost palpable to your senses. You stand here for awhile, drinking in this moisture laden air, and as you look around you you see a small pool that the creek has formed on it’s journey downhill to the sea.

You walk to the pool and look into its glassy surface. You see your own face, but as you continue to gaze the image begins to slightly change. Gradually, by fine degrees, your face ages before you. You see what you may look like as you move into a place of eldership in your community.

ß----who do you see?---à

At first you rebel against this image, certain you will never look like this. But as you continue to look you gaze into the eyes in the pond. And you Know. Those eyes belong to none other than yourself. And in this way you see deeply into those eyes.

(note – read this to both groups, but only allow the second method people to answer) ß-What do you see as you look into this reflection of yourself? Is there peace in those eyes, or are they filled with turmoil? Or, are they simply blank and devoid of expression, dulled by a life lived too hard with little time to simply enjoy each moment for what it was for you. -à

Ahead you see two paths. And you understand in this moment that this is a crossroads for you. Taking one path is narrow and rocky and you cannot see far ahead to where it goes. But you know that it will keep those eyes alight and shining as you grow into wisdom. This is the path of personal authority and individuality.

The other path is cleared and much wider than the first path. As though many more people have traveled down this path. It is the path of the herd, those who follow blindly along through life, never really choosing but only going along with things and taking the easy way. You’re forced into a decision. You must choose by means of these two paths how you will live your life from now on.

ß---Which path do you choose, and why?--à

You gradually move out of the copse to where the paths diverge. You feel a strong call to follow the herd. It would be so much easier wouldn’t it? The herd of your fellow humans who are just walking  through their days only half conscious. You wonder if the more traveled path must be the correct one simply because more people have traveled it. But your intuition knows differently.

Your spirit cries out to you, and you feel the tug of the first path in a visceral manner, deep in the marrow of your bones. You Know this. You Know that you are being Called to travel the more difficult way. The one that wanders back and forth across the meadow and then up the hillside that encircles this side of the meadow.

You will be stepping out into an unknown future, your trust in yourself your primary guide. As the path rises you soon lose sight of it. In order to see where it goes you must walk it, whereas to take the other way you can see it traveling back out of the meadow and into the valleys below for miles and miles. Always downhill, getting wider as it goes. You Know that this is not for you.

ß----How are you feeling about this? Do you tend to follow your own way or do you follow the herd?--à

You step out of the copse and take a step towards the first path. Immediately you stumble on the rocky ground. You must pull yourself back together to continue. You see directly in front of you a small pile of stones. They are markers. Others, like you, have taken this way, but it is not a large pile.

You look around and find the perfect rock. The one that fits in your hand like it had grown there. You hold it, feeling its coolness in your palm. Its energy travels gently into your arm, and thru your arm to your heart. You know this rock knows all about you. It is ancient beyond your imagination and you have held this rock for generation after generation.

ß---what does this ancient representitive of the Rock People have to tell you?--à

You know that you cannot take this rock with you. It is meant to join with the others. The ones that were also held as you hold yours by those who have walked this path before you and have created this energetic yet so solidly real image for you to add to your store of similar experiences. You look at the pile and find just the right place to put your stone. Once there it blends in so well with the others you can no longer tell which one it is. It is a part of the Whole now, no longer separate.

ß----Will this be true for you as well?---à