With a cozy feeling in her heart, she drifted off to sleep, eagerly awaiting the new adventures that tomorrow might bring.
Little did she know, those adventures would take her far from the enchanted glade and into the complexities of teenage life.
As she grew into her teens, her meditation time dwindled, or even disappeared entirely. She sought solace in a few fleeting friendships, but her friends usually moved away or talked behind her back. So, she tried to balance school and social life while carving out time for the library.
Some school lessons, like math and physics, proved difficult for her, no matter how many hours she spent studying or repeating calculations.
During her commutes to and from school, she used the time in the forest to relax, observing trees, spotting yellow-black lizards, and occasionally deer, or even once, a bear. She loved the quiet solitude of the forest, even though she was considered a talkative person when around others.
Boys flirted with her, and she fell into her first love.
He was tall and well-built, with curly hair that gave him a soft appearance. His smile was sweet, and she didn't see the mask behind it. He drove her to the lake and jokingly threatened to toss her into the water. They ate cake and had fun for a week. One day, while sitting in the car, he kissed her, and then kissed her neck, but suddenly stopped.
He angrily asked what the tart taste was, and what she had put on her skin. It was herb oils for a flowery scent, but she had never tasted them. He turned away, upset. After a silent drive, she got out of the car and said goodbye. Their short romance ended a few days later when he demanded sex. She refused and hid in the girls' bathroom to cry.
Many boys tried to flirt with her, but none won her affection. Her brief teenage romances and her parents' warnings about boys felt like the final straw.
Perhaps her books and her longing for a dream cat were the only things she truly wanted.
Soon, her schoolmates began to mock and bully her. She asked the school administration for a transfer or some other solution, but they refused. She started skipping classes, finding even more comfort in her time at the library.
She stumbled upon a book about energy centers, or chakras. She borrowed it and studied it closely, trying the techniques described within.
She closed her eyes and followed the instructions, feeling a warmth spread through her. From bottom to top, she practiced the exercises, almost weekly testing this technique. The book even included vocalizations to use during the exercises. She breathed deeply and tried them, noticing the vibrations from her voice in her lungs. This was an amazing discovery, and she found another exercise for cleansing the inner energy center.
She imagined a cauldron inside her body, near her belly button, where people often place their hands when their stomach is upset. She breathed in, visualizing light entering her body and filling the cauldron. As the cauldron was cleansed with her breath, she imagined a pearl forming. This pearl rested in the cauldron, and as her breath continued to purify it, she exhaled what was unclean. As relaxation washed over her, she slowly opened her eyes, knowing this was something to hold onto, to repeat and repeat."
Meditation Inner Cauldron
Begin your meditation in a comfortable sitting position, either in a chair or on the floor, resting atop a soft pillow or mat. Gently close your eyes and bring your focus to your breath.
As you inhale, visualize breathing in light-a warm, golden glow, like sunlight streaming through the clouds. Feel it filling you with warmth and vitality. As you exhale, imagine releasing all that is heavy-stress, darkness, tension, or pain. Let it drift away like mist dissolving in the morning sun.
Breathe in light. Breathe out heaviness.
Continue this gentle rhythm, allowing your breath to cleanse and restore you for a few moments.
Now, visualize a cauldron within you-a deep, sacred vessel resting just above your belly button. Place your hands lightly over this area, sensing the warmth of your inner energy. This cauldron holds your life force, your essence, like a pot simmering with potential.
With every breath, imagine cleansing this inner vessel, clearing away anything stagnant or heavy. See it growing purer, filling with a golden, sunlit glow.
When your cauldron feels clean, warm, and full of light, visualize a small pearl or bead forming at its center. This pearl represents your core energy-your strength, balance, and inner peace.
Breathe in again, allowing warmth and light to gather within this pearl, making it radiant. Feel the energy spreading through your entire being, wrapping you in a sense of peace, healing, and renewal.
When you feel fully refreshed, slowly bring your awareness back to your body. Feel the ground beneath you, the weight of your form, the steadiness of your breath.
Gently open your eyes, carrying with you the knowledge that this energy center is always within you, ready to restore your strength whenever you need it.
Make this practice a part of your daily life. Return to it whenever you feel tired, stressed, unwell, or simply in need of renewed clarity and balance.
After-Meditation Reflection: The Light Within
As the meditation comes to a close and you return to the everyday sensation of your body, take a moment for quiet reflection. Your body was a temple, your breath a medicine, and your awareness a gift to your inner wisdom.
Perhaps you felt warmth in your hands, stillness in your chest, or a deeper sense of home within. Allow these feelings to stay with you. There's no need to understand them—just feel them.
If you like, write down:
What did you let go of?
What did you receive?
What image or feeling stayed with you most clearly?
Remember, the light you breathed in is not something external—it is your own light. The inner pearl of your soul that shines despite all shadows.
Carry it with you today. Speak, walk, and rest from this place of light.
And whenever you feel the fog of stress, doubt, or exhaustion… return to your breath. Return to the pearl. Return home.