Welcome to The Cauldron Chronicles, a written-based podcast where we evoke Cerridwen’s magickal cauldron of inspiration and transformation. Here, we blend wisdom, stories, and sacred practices to guide you on your journey of self-discovery and growth. Together, let’s stir the cauldron and see what truths rise to the surface.
I step into a small, concrete utility building and close the heavy door behind me. There are no windows, only two doors on opposite walls. All around me I can see and hear various songs, conversations, thoughts, worries, and everything else that plays endlessly in my mind as I attempt to relax and go to sleep. It’s loud in here and quite chaotic. Ready to leave the mental chatter behind, I step forward through the other door and close it securely behind me. It’s now silent. I take a deep breath in and notice how the crisp, clean, outdoor air feels going into my lungs, and exhale, releasing any remaining tension and stress from my body. Before me is a gravel path leading directly into a forest. The sun has just gone down so the sky is dark but still with a mild glow. I can see the stars revealing themselves as it darkens, and the full moon rising high in the sky to light the way. The forest calls to me. I follow the path, hearing the small stones crunch beneath my shoes, and within a minute am entering the forest. No sooner do I find myself surrounded by trees do I see a small clearing. Within it, is a huge circular bed that glows with a soft, golden white light. My kids, grandkids, pets, and my partner are all sleeping soundly in their own sections of the bed, and my angels and guides can be felt throughout the space. Without disturbing anyone, I lay next to my partner beneath the magickal glow of the white blanket, the bed feeling like a cloud beneath me. I close my eyes, and drift off to sleep knowing I am divinely protected and watched over as I rest alongside all of the people I love the most.
After battling insomnia for my entire life and having gone through various prescription medications, over the counter medications, and trying things before bed like limiting screen time, reading, and even yoga - nothing seeming to help whatsoever - I finally decided to try a mental visualization practice. If my mind was what was keeping me from falling asleep, then it made sense to me to give it something else to do besides replay old, unwanted memories, worry about literally everything, and just plain keep me from resting, relaxing, and sleeping. The above scene is my nightly mental visualization that gives my mind something to focus on, while inducing relaxation, mental clarity, peace - all things that aid in falling asleep. I tried it out a few years ago and, for the first time in my life, learned how to fall asleep and without so much strife while doing so. I still visualize this before bed just about every night.
Unfortunately for me - and maybe for you too - my overactive mind doesn’t just affect my sleep. When not monitored, my overactive mind can cause me to be extremely anxious, ungrounded, unfocused, tense, dissociated, and more, and it shows up all hours of the day and night without discrimination. What I realized after consistently and successfully practicing this visualization to help me fall asleep, were the effects themselves of such a practice. Have you ever heard the phrase “what you think is what you feel”? It’s true. Our minds and imaginations are powerful and this power can either work with you or against you, the difference being whether you use it intentionally or allow it to run on its own. When left to its own devices, the mind will typically run by the ego’s direction often leading to an imagination that conjures up thoughts based on the many fears the ego has. How often do you rehearse conversations in your mind before you have them because you fear confrontation, being misunderstood, or messing up somehow? You might do this with non-threatening situations like ordering at the drive-thru, or with something more important like a job interview or public speaking. Or how about when you catch yourself replaying memories from the past of times you were hurt, abandoned, or mistreated? What are the emotional and physical results of those thoughts? Likely they leave you experiencing things like anxiety, fear, worry, sadness, believing you’re unloved or somehow unworthy or not good enough, or even bodily sensations like knots in your stomach, cold sweats, shakiness, or general fatigue.
So how do you disengage the ego and take charge of your overactive mind? By infusing intention into the equation. In other words, by assigning a purpose to your imagination and then guiding it to bring about a mental experience that elicits the emotional and physical experience you desire thereby fulfilling the purpose you assigned to it. Not only is the practice of visualization useful for things like sleep such as in my shared case, but it’s also useful for boosting confidence before that job interview, decreasing everyday anxiety, and even for better hearing your intuition and developing your psychic abilities so you can live a spirit-guided life. According to Sonia Choquette - one of my favorite psychics - “psychic energy comes through the imagination”. Your intuition and psychic awareness are experienced through the clair senses. Practicing visualization and intentionally using your imagination to achieve desired results is a way to strengthen your clair muscles. When you visualize, get as detailed as possible. What do your clair senses experience in the visualization? What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel? The more you practice, the better able you’ll be to notice incoming messages from your higher self, guides, and the energies around you.
If you are new to mental visualization and also don’t believe yourself to have a very active imagination, my suggestion would be to first reread the beginning of this podcast where I describe my vision and use it as a guide. Can you imagine what it looks like? What else can you “see”, “hear”, or otherwise imaginatively experience in this place I’ve described? Your vision won’t look the same as mine and it isn’t meant to. Therefore, there are no right or wrong answers. Allow yourself to freely and creatively imagine. Practicing using your imagination if you haven’t for quite some time may feel challenging. It may even feel childish, irresponsible, or like a waste of time. But those things just aren’t true. Practice it anyway and let the results speak for themselves.
If you aren’t new to visualization or if you’re just ready to have some fun with it, let’s create one now! There is a druidic practice of cultivating your inner grove. A grove is known as a clearing in a forest where a group of Druids - also called a grove - would gather to conduct their spiritual rites. The grove was a spiritual sanctuary found in nature that was filled with peace and love. Cultivating your inner grove, therefore, is a way to create an inner sanctuary that you can tune into anytime you want to connect with your higher self, your guides, or just to tap into your inner source of peace and love in a moment’s notice. Your inner grove does not need to be a clearing in a forest though it can be if that resonates with your spirit. Let’s give it a shot.
First, get grounded and centered. If you can, sit down, plant your feet on the floor, and rest your hands on your legs. Take a deep breath in, release it slowly, and close your eyes. Place your hands over your heartspace and ask yourself, “What does my inner source of peace and love look like? Then pause. Allow your spirit to answer and trust what you see. It may show you happy memories from the past, or a snapshot of a place you’ve longed to visit but haven’t yet. Whatever it shows you, observe it. What do you see? Who are you with, if anyone? What are you doing? If you just see a stillshot, what happens if you use your imagination to interact with what you see? In other words, what if you turn around? What’s around or behind you? Create as full a vision as you can and stay with it for at least a few minutes. Notice how it makes you feel on the physical plane. Do you feel peaceful and loving? Do you feel connected? Do you feel empowered? In what day to day instances could you return to this place to reconnect with your inner source of peace and love?
The practice and power of visualization can be used in a wide variety of instances and using it consistently can help to achieve emotional wellbeing, reduce an overactive mind, strengthen your psychic abilities, and heighten your ability to hear your intuition clearly - and more! What other purposes can visualization serve in your life? Think about it then incorporate it into your daily life as often as needed for desired results. For an added challenge, I invite you to attempt a visualization meditation to meet and talk with your guides. Be sure to keep a pen and paper handy to write down any messages you receive even if you aren’t sure where they came from. Try doing this every day for a week and see what happens!
That about wraps us up for this episode of The Cauldron Chronicles. Remember, every step into self-awareness is a step toward wholeness into your highest, most magickal self. Leave a comment and share your questions or thoughts!
Until next week! Blessed be!
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