A walk or two on the other side

Back when L and I went to reiki classes, we would usually meditate as part of the sessions, and always before the attunements. Our instructor liked to do guided meditations and would try different things, to expose us to different possibilities and such.

Elements of my attunement meditations/visualizations definitely stayed with me, and I'm going to try to write down one of them down here. One of the advanced participants said we shouldn't describe our "spirit guides" in too much detail. I have no fear that I'll leave some things out anyway, if that is a true concern. As far as my occasional spiritual partner in healing is concerned though, it isn't.

Guided meditations make suggestions about how you're getting to a place and what you might see there, but they are only suggestions, and much is left to the individual's discretion and personal experience.

I started by walking a path through a narrow way. I had come out of a forest and walked upon a roughly-formed path of stone, through a narrow fissure in the high stone walls that enclosed a secret valley. The stone is a mix of red, pink, and light golden beige tones. The path goes up a little, curves slightly here and there, then gently descends. Stepping off the path, there is a small valley, verdant and vibrant with life. Off to the left there is a clear, bright waterfall, cascading straight down from the top of the valley's wall. It falls into a deep, clean pool of water. The sun is shining brightly, the sky a clear, intense blue -- the color of sky turquoise.

Walking over to the pool, I meet a man. Tall, lean and fit, long dark hair, dark-eyed, tanned skin. He has an antlered deer head on his head, with the skin falling down over his shoulders and back. He's wearing some sort of decorative items across the chest, a loin cloth, and knee-high moccasins. On top of the deer's head is a lotus flower, and although it never has any fewer petals, there are lotus petals falling and settling around his feet.

We dive into the pool and swim in the lovely darkness. Dark, and yet we can see. I can see that sometimes his hands are deer hooves, his limbs and body those of a stag. He is both a man and a stag, and if you are paying attention, you can see both at once. Yet he swims just as fluidly as a fish for all that. Eventually we come up in another pool.

Here it is deepest, darkest night. The stars are brilliant in the sky, and the moon shines down on the circular space, stars and moon reflecting in the pool. There is a shadow over part of the pool if you look closely -- perhaps a distant mountain? It gives a slight aspect of yin yang to the water. Surrounding the pool is a strip of meadow-like grass. Mixed plants, not just grasses, but soft and gentle to the foot. The kind of lawn meant for dancing! Or as easily for thoughtful meditation or quiet conversation and/or work. And surrounding that is a grove of mixed trees. Oak, beech, alder, rowan, hazelnut, some sugar maple further out perhaps. Here we are far away from all city lights, and all country lights too. Only the light of the heavens shine in this place, for we are high above the rest of the world, if not the rooftop, then in the rafters.

***
There is also a place beyond and through the trees; a high plain. I've been there with the deer/man, learning to shape myself, running with the deer as the wind blows through the high blond grasses trying to catch us, and the sun and blue sky look down on us. The first time was when I was working doing some reiki/energy work, and wondered if he wouldn't mind helping me out a little. His hooves resting on my hands and his hands on my shoulders, we were able to work together to flush out the person's system, clearing out the stagnant energies, and bring in fresh clean energy. Reiki practitioners are but conduits for energy anyway, but even that can be a large task at times, as there is much to observe, balance, and sometimes ground, and I definitely welcome the assistance. I can picture in my mind also the lotus petals falling on the person's body, helping to keep the healing energies gentle.

***
In one of the other visualizations we were supposed to receive a feather and fly. She didn't mention the terrain at all, but I was definitely in the same world, although over the more canyony-part at first, with the high plains in the distance. I've had people (like Cyfnos Gwynt) tell me about changing into different birds, but I didn't do that. I held the feather I received, a hawk feather, in one hand, and there were some women with me who flew with me, but we were all in human form. Mind you, we were gliding, supported by the wind and all, but perhaps because I never flew as anything but myself as a child, it never occurred to me to try it before. I did give it a thought, looking at to my left and giving the arm the form of a wing, but as far as the physical flying sensation went, it made little difference whether or not my arms looked like human arms or bird wings. I'm more empathic than visual anyway, feeling what is rather than seeing it. Although they were very pretty feathers :)

I have a real feather now, btw, that matches the one from the visualization. A gift from someone dear, who moved further away last year.