Let's go deep into the mystery of life, where living in the depth of Spirit is only answered by subtle experience rather than words.Yet some words, metaphors, images, and allusions can open up possibilities of vicarious experience.
Let's go where mountain peaks and canyons and rivers and seas are metaphors for the journey of our soul. Where the eternal Divine Spirit dwells, even in a dark cave where there is no visible light. Where the desert can be a metaphor for a profound and deep experience. Where an oasis calls to us.
One metaphor that has been a recurring memory in my life is an oasis. Years ago, a part of my spiritual journey included being focused on one particular teaching as if it was the only path. When I was ready to leave that teaching it was like I was in a desert, and the teaching became like dry bones behind me. Then I entered into a spiritual oasis, and had a spiritual rebirth experience as if I was drinking living waters within the oasis, and my soul was filled with the Divine Spirit. It was more than a metaphor. It was an actual experience. The experience was profound and like an initiation, where I crossed a threshold into a new level of being, of consciousness, and of my relationship with the Divine Spirit in my life.
A Visualization and Guided Meditation
The following is a guided meditation that I wrote based on this experience. Join me on this healing adventure in a loving oasis meditation. You are invited to also close your eyes when and if it feels right during this journey, and visualize the metaphors and scenery and experiences described.
First we visualize a vast desert behind us which has been our life
up until now. It is a panoramic view from above.
There are dry bones, piles of bones at certain spots behind us and we know that these
represent the challenging times, the hurts, the pain, the limited beliefs, and
the frustrations, anxieties, fears and relationships that ended and in which we
learned lessons from.
Then there are verdant green areas and a number of oases which represents the joys, the spiritual awakenings, the cherished memories, the experiences of Divine Spirit, the teachings and various teachers that have inspired us and helped us on our journey. We let go of the piles of dry bones. We forgive anyone that we are still carrying a memory of that we have not forgiven in love. We forgive ourselves in love for things we said or did that did not serve our higher purpose. Even though we have been on a spiritual journey for some years, there have been times when we may have had a dark night of the soul, times where we lost our way, and times where we fell into a deep dark cave that seemed to have no bottom.
Then we cherish the memories of each oasis in our past that produced joy and inspired feelings of love, peace, happiness, and transformation. Then we turn and look ahead on this journey across the desert of our life. In the distance we see a large oasis that seems have a subtle glow under the stars. To our right in the distance there is a coastline, with waves breaking on the shore. We see the ocean as the infinite Divine Spirit and our individual and collective soul as waves breaking onto the shore of life yet still a part of the ocean. To our left in the distance we see tall mountains rising, like the snow-capped Himalayas.
There is a bright shining star at the top of one of the peaks. It seems to be shining light right into our hearts. Then we look up and see the vast display of stars across an immense sky and think of the billions of years and light years of the universe, and how amazing creation is out here and within us including the micro-universe of DNA, cells, atoms, electrons and subatomic elements. It is all connected and all part of the eternal Divine Spirit-Creator. We experience a oneness with all of creation.
We look ahead to the oasis as we sense that there is something very powerful and special there. We open our eyes in the visualization as we are still in meditation, breathing slowly and letting the visualization take on a life of its own. It is night and yet under the starlight we approach this oasis ahead. Palm trees and date palms surround it. A cool breeze is blowing and it is early morning, bringing light to the silence of the night.
The oasis is surrounded by rocks and boulders, palm trees, and plants of all varieties that thrive in the desert. It is on an elevated plateau, and as we approach and climb up the plateau, we began to see how it is sunken inside of this ring of boulders, allowing for spring waters to feed into it with waterfalls created by the heights of the boulders.
Then there are verdant green areas and a number of oases which represents the joys, the spiritual awakenings, the cherished memories, the experiences of Divine Spirit, the teachings and various teachers that have inspired us and helped us on our journey. We let go of the piles of dry bones. We forgive anyone that we are still carrying a memory of that we have not forgiven in love. We forgive ourselves in love for things we said or did that did not serve our higher purpose. Even though we have been on a spiritual journey for some years, there have been times when we may have had a dark night of the soul, times where we lost our way, and times where we fell into a deep dark cave that seemed to have no bottom.
Then we cherish the memories of each oasis in our past that produced joy and inspired feelings of love, peace, happiness, and transformation. Then we turn and look ahead on this journey across the desert of our life. In the distance we see a large oasis that seems have a subtle glow under the stars. To our right in the distance there is a coastline, with waves breaking on the shore. We see the ocean as the infinite Divine Spirit and our individual and collective soul as waves breaking onto the shore of life yet still a part of the ocean. To our left in the distance we see tall mountains rising, like the snow-capped Himalayas.
There is a bright shining star at the top of one of the peaks. It seems to be shining light right into our hearts. Then we look up and see the vast display of stars across an immense sky and think of the billions of years and light years of the universe, and how amazing creation is out here and within us including the micro-universe of DNA, cells, atoms, electrons and subatomic elements. It is all connected and all part of the eternal Divine Spirit-Creator. We experience a oneness with all of creation.
We look ahead to the oasis as we sense that there is something very powerful and special there. We open our eyes in the visualization as we are still in meditation, breathing slowly and letting the visualization take on a life of its own. It is night and yet under the starlight we approach this oasis ahead. Palm trees and date palms surround it. A cool breeze is blowing and it is early morning, bringing light to the silence of the night.
The oasis is surrounded by rocks and boulders, palm trees, and plants of all varieties that thrive in the desert. It is on an elevated plateau, and as we approach and climb up the plateau, we began to see how it is sunken inside of this ring of boulders, allowing for spring waters to feed into it with waterfalls created by the heights of the boulders.
As we step inside the edges of the oasis we see a wide variety of vibrant plants
and flowers. There are colorful bees and hummingbirds flying around them. Trees of
lemons, and flowers of all colors and sizes. We feel a bliss opening up inside our chest that is greater than we
had ever experienced before.In the middle of the oasis there are bubbling springs and a
beautiful blue-green colored pool. A subtle sound of bubbling water beckons us to come and drink. As we drink
this water we are overwhelmed with more bliss and even ecstasy as this is the
living water of life that is described in the ancient scrolls of wisdom.
As we sit next to this pool we close our eyes and go into a
deep meditation. We feel a powerful presence in front of us and hesitate to open our eyes. Then we
get a subtle nudge from deep within to open our eyes and we see masters from different traditions including Buddha, Jesus, Yogananda, and
the Dalai Lama sitting next to each other in bodies of light on the other side
of the pool.
They are smiling at us and we are filled with joy, bliss, and love beyond description. No words were spoken, as Spirit just guides us to step into the center of the pool and sit there as it is shallow enough and we are closer to them. They raise their hands in a namaskar or prayer in front of their hearts and we do also. They smile and we feel immense love pouring out from them into our hearts and soul and we are smiling back. We close our eyes in gratitude and awe. Then they walk into the the pool, reach out and place their hands over our head.
They are smiling at us and we are filled with joy, bliss, and love beyond description. No words were spoken, as Spirit just guides us to step into the center of the pool and sit there as it is shallow enough and we are closer to them. They raise their hands in a namaskar or prayer in front of their hearts and we do also. They smile and we feel immense love pouring out from them into our hearts and soul and we are smiling back. We close our eyes in gratitude and awe. Then they walk into the the pool, reach out and place their hands over our head.
In that moment time ceases to exist. We are immersed in a
brilliant, bluish-white light – a living light – so powerful and effulgent in love and
peace. We are one with this light as it is the living light of our soul. There is no
awareness or separation of thoughts – just pure Being. We know that this is the
living light of God and that this is the light of life described in many traditions. We have no awareness of how long this
lasts as time does not exist in this experience.
There is only eternity, beyond time, or a time so different that it could not be noticed in our normal consciousness. It is endless, deep, and powerful. Then we also experience the peace that passes all understanding along with this love, and know why it is referred to as “passes all understanding” as it is experienced rather than described in words. Only afterword are we able to remember what happened with our thoughts and feelings. We know that we felt love so divine and so powerful that it was like we were in the heart of God and realized that this love is there all the time.Then we realize that it is still here now even though the conscious experience of it had ended in the pool.
The next thing that we remember is sitting near the pool, breathing deeply but slowly, and reflecting on the experience that we had there. The holy ones are no longer there, yet they have left their blessings with us.
Then we feel that this was a sort of anointing or baptism into the living light yet it really didn’t matter how we try to describe it. It was complete in itself, and the type of experience that cannot be described fully in words. The visualization and experience ends when we feel our breath, and our awareness shifts to come out of the deep meditation, slowly, and we are filled with joy and gratitude.
We went deep into an oasis, drank the living waters, and were anointed with the living light of the Divine Spirit. It was a sublime healing adventure in a loving oasis meditation.
Om. Shalom. Shanti. Amen. Namaste
There is only eternity, beyond time, or a time so different that it could not be noticed in our normal consciousness. It is endless, deep, and powerful. Then we also experience the peace that passes all understanding along with this love, and know why it is referred to as “passes all understanding” as it is experienced rather than described in words. Only afterword are we able to remember what happened with our thoughts and feelings. We know that we felt love so divine and so powerful that it was like we were in the heart of God and realized that this love is there all the time.Then we realize that it is still here now even though the conscious experience of it had ended in the pool.
The next thing that we remember is sitting near the pool, breathing deeply but slowly, and reflecting on the experience that we had there. The holy ones are no longer there, yet they have left their blessings with us.
Then we feel that this was a sort of anointing or baptism into the living light yet it really didn’t matter how we try to describe it. It was complete in itself, and the type of experience that cannot be described fully in words. The visualization and experience ends when we feel our breath, and our awareness shifts to come out of the deep meditation, slowly, and we are filled with joy and gratitude.
We went deep into an oasis, drank the living waters, and were anointed with the living light of the Divine Spirit. It was a sublime healing adventure in a loving oasis meditation.
Om. Shalom. Shanti. Amen. Namaste
Very educational and informative. Also, not as much filler content as in other Posts I have read about this topic so very nice to see that. Keep it up!
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