Lie comfortably on your back and yawn once or twice. When you yawn, you automatically breathe deeply, from your abdomen. The object of this exercise is to help you release muscular tension in your body by reminding you of conditions in which you have felt very peaceful and relaxed.
It is a warm morning in the desert. The fragrance of sage and wildflowers is carried in the warm air. You stand at the mouth of a canyon. A stream of crystal-clear water runs past your feet. You are hot and tired, and you kneel down and refresh yourself with a drink of this clean, clear water. You follow the stream up the canyon to its source, an abundant spring surrounded by palm trees. You remove your clothes and bathe in the comfortably cool water, sitting in a niche in a boulder that fits your body.
You feel totally secure and at peace. Everything seems to be in its place. Everything seems to fit together. When you gently paddle the water with your hand, you think, “Is my hand pushing the water or is the water pushing my hand?” You smile at this playful question.
You notice that a large, soft, white towel has been laid out on the sandy bank where you left your hiking boots and worn and dusty clothes, which have been replaced by a soft and beautiful tunic and sandals. Bowls of inviting fruit lie within your reach. You smile in gratitude and eat some de¬licious berries.
A small bird lands on a rock near you and turns its head quizzically. It seems to ask, “Is everything all right?” You nod and say, “Umm-hmmm, thank you, everything is fine.” The bird makes a cheery sound and flies away.
In the clean water of the spring, you can see bubbles rising up from deep within the earth. They rise to the surface and disappear.
A blind man with a full white beard, dressed in a dark robe, comes up the path to the spring. He deftly uses a staff to find his way among the boulders and sits down on one not far from you.
“Do you know what thoughts are like?” he asks.
“Umm-hmmm,” you reply. “They are like these bubbles.”
“Ah yes, the bubbles,” he says with a smile. “Do you know what emotional reactions are like?”
“Umm-hmmm. They are the ways we have learned to physically and psychologically respond to thoughts and other events. For example, if the thought ‘I am helpless’ arises, the muscles in my neck and shoulders may contract, I may clench my teeth and hold my breath. The thought ‘I need help’ or ‘I want to reach safety’ may arise.”
“Does all of our behavior consist of these emotional reactions?”
“Unfortunately, this seems to be true for most of us most of the time,” you reply.
“Is there any escape from emotional reactions?” the man asks.
“No escape is needed if we are able to recognize such thoughts as ‘I am helpless,’ ‘I need help,’ or ‘I want to reach safety’ not as things with the power to govern us or trap us, but as reflections of the past conditions of our lives.
“Every time any thought arises or any event occurs, we are at a point of choice. This choosing point is our freedom. We are always free to choose between reacting emotionally or simply allowing the bubbles—whether they are thoughts or traffic sounds or the sounds of birds singing or dogs barking—to move through our awareness.”
“You have much understanding,” he tells you.
“My wish is to put this understanding to use in my everyday life. In this, I am just a beginner. I often carry anger, resentment, and worries on my back.”
“Even so, your answers are honest and pleasing. As you may have guessed—since this is an imaginary visualization exercise—I have the power to grant you three wishes. What three things would you wish for yourself and for all people?”
Go ahead and make these three wishes. Speak out loud if you wish.
After a moment, the blind man says, “Remember your freedom to choose. You can do small things every day to help make these wishes come true in your life and in the lives of others. Stay with us as long you like and return here whenever you like. Your clothes are being washed and mended. They will be returned to you shortly. For now, I bid you adieu.”
When you wish to conclude this visualization, yawn once or twice and clap your hands together three times. You will feel invigorated and refreshed, and your heart will be full of compassion for yourself and others.
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