As you stop once again to take all this in you hear a faint trickle of water. And as you move towards the sound you find the creek you traveled by in the meadow here in the forest. It is much smaller here, though still enough to make quite a melody as it rolls over the stones and fallen trees, the roots and the plants hanging down to the water’s surface.

You are filled with joy as once again more notes are added to your song, and once more the song is in harmony not only with the tress and the breeze, but now it joins with the stream in perfect harmony. You can feel this sound coming from the very depths of your being as you continue to merge with the sounds of the forest.

ß-how does this merging feel to you? Does it frighten you, or does it soothe you? -à

As you leave the stream to walk back to the trail you see movement up ahead and out of a grouping of tress of varying size you see an animal moving off away from you. You cannot tell what it is, but it feels good to know you are not alone here. Though being alone is not fearful. It’s just that sometimes a bit of company is nice.

Looking ahead like this also affords you a view of the trail ahead and you see that it is almost level now and still the forest is mostly giant trees with very few smaller tress to fill it. You gently increase your stride as your breath allows and you walk smoothly and confidently forward. It is an easy time and your muscles have a chance to rest a bit as you amble along through the woods.

ß-what thoughts fill your mind now?--à

As you look once more ahead you see that the trail begins to rise again and that there is a real mountain looming in the distance. Nothing like the gentle hillside you’ve already traveled but a giant of a mountain, one still capped with snow on this summers day.

You stop and gaze in awe at the incredible beauty of the different colors of the plants on the mountain. Most of it is evergreen forest. But there are large areas filled with deciduous trees whose leaves tremble and shake as the wind moves through them.

And even where you are you can feel that the wind has grown and is now cooling you down from your earlier exertions. As you reach the end of the level ground you step out of the forest and into an open area. Not a meadow but rather a large boggy place, where the water is everywhere except the various mounds of soil held there by the thousands of bog plants that grow upon them.

You stop, puzzled by this seeming obstacle. But as you gaze across the area the path seems to light up in your vision – like a slight glow along its borders, outlining it against the dark waters of the bog. You instinctively know that you must be extremely careful to stay on the path. Your intuition tells you that not everyone who traveled this path made it across.

ßdo you usually follow your intuition, and does this work?à

It is a dangerous place and one misstep and you could step into the bog, and sink, and no one would ever even know you had come this way, let alone find your body, preserved in the peat as it would be. It’s a beautiful place despite the dangers. Perhaps even because of the danger.

In order to even begin this journey you knew that your travel would not be without risk. Just how much is unclear even now but you know you have come to the first seriously formidable obstacle and you must take extreme care.

ß---how are you feeling about taking risks in your life now?-à

And so you step out onto the path and see the slight glow grow dimmer as you walk between its outlines on the path. But it is not a problem because it is almost like your feet know the way to travel. You become confident that this bog will be no problem to you and you add a bit of a lift to your step as you travel along.

And as soon as the thought that this would be easy enters your mind you take a step a bit too fast and your foot sinks into the bog up to your knee before you can react. You know about bogs and quicksand and other places where the blend of water and soil takes the lives of those who venture too far onto it, and now you see below you brownish bones, discolored by the peat, not more than 2 or 3 steps further out that you now are.

You begin to panic but a voice in your ear whispers to you to stop moving completely. As you obey this voice your foot stops sinking and you are held in stasis, no longer sinking but still in extreme danger. You cautiously look around you for a way to extricate yourself from this situation and you see a large branch that has fallen from the trees.

ß-do you tend to panic in extreme situations? what does that feel like?-à

You very carefully reach out towards the branch and immediately your leg sinks in another few inches. Once again you begin to panic, which only makes it worse. The voice is almost shouting in your ear now. Stop! It says. Do not move. And so you once again wait for your breath to settle, for your mind to relax. And as you do these things you hear your song.

And now not only is it all around you you can hear a distinct shading of it coming from the bog. It’s quite alluring in its sirens song but you realize it is calling to you to join with the bog, to merge with the peat and become one with it.

You are taken aback by this element to the song and realize that it’s not just some light playful ditty, but the song of Life itself, with the gently joyful parts you have thus far known as well as the voices of dissolution and destruction as well.

You compose yourself and as slowly as you can you once more reach out for the branch. And this time you are successful. You grab ahold of the end of the branch and gently begin to stabilize the bulk of your body in tune with this possible savior. Once you feel stable you very gently begin to pull your leg out of the peat and water. There is definite resistance.

Clearly a part of the bog does not want to let go of you. It wants you because it senses the beauty in you and wants you to merge with it and be one with it forevermore. But you focus on the part of your song that sings of joy and happiness and freedom, and you pull your leg out several more inches,. The bog responds violently to this and sucks you back down to where you were when you first reached the branch. Again the panic begins to grow.

But with it you feel an energy in your heart that says Survive! Do not let this swamp have your being. It is not meant to be your final resting place. There is much more for you to discover in this life of yours and you must get out. You must overcome your fear.

As you feel this energy you realize it is anger, anger that this bog, beautiful as it is, is trying to claim your soul. And the anger energizes you. You realize that just because a beautiful thing wants you it is not always appropriate to respond. It is a strong lesson you will need to remember many times as you go through your life.

ß---have you encountered this lesson before, and how have you responded to it?-à

And now with an effort born of righteous anger, the anger of survival,  you grab the branch and pull with all your might and you hear a pop as you foot breaks free of the bog and you roll over onto the path and just lie there, thanking all the spirits you can think of for your release. You realize you have been very lucky, and without the voices pushing you on, and the gift of the tree branch, you would have been a prime candidate for the bog to take as its own.

ß--how are you feeling about taking risks now--à

You allow yourself to just rest, gathering your strength and letting the full song – with both the happiness and the fear in it - and you find it is a much fuller song you now sing. Even the bog, who sang to you of eons beneath its tannin filled waters, has a voice that adds itself in pure harmony to your song and it becomes a part of it – one that will aid you as time goes by.