Bonus Episode - Safe Haven Guided Visualisation Meditation

Hey everyone! Welcome to this extra special episode of The British English Language Podcast! I felt inspired to do something completely different for this bonus episode. Coming up I’m going to take you through a guided visualisation.

During this visualisation you will be creating your very own sanctuary, a safe space that you can visit in your mind whenever you feel stressed or over-whelmed by life’s difficulties and pressures. Aside from the challenges we face in our day-to-day lives, learning a new language also brings with it feelings of stress and anxiety. Speaking in a new language can be intimidating and cause us to feel nervous and frustrated. It’s a long journey and it’s good to have tools that can help us along the way to calm us down in scary situations.

The mediation I’m going to read to you was written by Teal Swan and I hope very much that, as well as helping you to relax and be able to cope with what life throws at you, you will also hear some beautiful new words which inspire your learning as well as your imagination.

Listen to this episode in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Take twenty minutes out of your day for you. And let your imagination run wild! Your safe space is all yours so be as creative as you can and enjoy!

Begin by making yourself as comfortable as possible, either sitting in a chair or lying flat on the bed or on the floor. Gently close your eyes. Allow the weight of your body to settle down towards the earth. Take a few deep breaths, and let go a little bit more on each exhale. Now allow your breath to settle and find its own natural rhythm. If you notice the body or the mind tensing around your experience, gently let go again without judgment.

And now imagine that you're walking along a path. You're inexplicably drawn along this path. It's leading you to your own sanctuary where you can always come to experience peace and safety. Look down at your feet. What kind of path are you walking on? What's it made of? Is it made of stone or wood? Is it a pathway that leads to another galaxy or dimension? Perhaps it has been specially made out of some other material that is not yet known to this world. Is it strewn with something, such as flower petals or shells? Is the path narrow or wide? See and feel this path in your mind.

As you continue to walk along the path, breathe freely and easily. Sense your anxieties and stresses and pressures fade away. They are unable to follow you here. Up ahead you notice a secret entryway that only you can see. This entryway is the door leading to your very own Safe Haven. How is this entryway concealed? Perhaps it is a wooden door, covered in ivy. Perhaps it is a portal that opens and closes when you say a magic word. Maybe it’s a cave entrance that appears in the snow. Imagine or sense this unique secret entryway, revealing itself only to you as you approach it. Then walk through the entryway.

As your eyes adjust to the light, you realise that you are now walking or being pulled through a secret tunnel or portal. What does this tunnel look like? Is it a wormhole in space? Is it a cave in the ocean? Is it a tunnel made of dirt and stones? What do the tunnel walls look like? Are they covered with beautiful, exotic flowers? Is the tunnel made of metal or some other man-made material? Is the tunnel made of swirling energy? Just experience this secret, sacred tunnel that leads you to your very own safe and sacred place.

You continue to walk through the tunnel, and suddenly you see your perfect sanctuary for the very first time. You step into it, and you can hear or feel or see the tunnel close behind you so that no one may follow. In a space that is created by the mind, there are no limits whatsoever. This place can be as real or as imagined as your soul wants it to be. This place could be like a place that is found on Earth or like a place from a science fiction or fantasy novel.

As your Safe Haven is revealed to you, you may see that you are outside in the mountains or on a beach. Or perhaps you’re inside a soap bubble, a flower, or a geode floating through space, looking back at the Earth. You may be in a forest or in a coral reef under the ocean waves or in the billowy clouds. Your Safe Haven might even be in another dimension, or on another galaxy or planet. This is the place that makes you feel the most at ease, the safest and the freest.

Now look around you. What can you see? Are there birds or trees here? Are there fish or other animals? If you are outside, what is the weather like here? Spend some time noticing all the things that you can see in your Safe Haven.

What can you hear in your Safe Haven? The wind rustling the leaves in the tress? A beautiful song? The sound of waves crashing? Or maybe the sound of absolute silence? Spend a moment noticing the sounds that fill your Safe Haven.

What can you smell here? Can you smell ocean foam? Or the dampness of soil? Can you smell the scent of bread or cookies baking in the oven? Can you smell the scent of summer rain? Or is it an out-of-this-world smell that you have never smelt before? Spend a moment noticing the smells that linger in the air in your Safe Haven.

Now you are going to create a house or dwelling in this Safe Haven. Since you are the designer and builder of your Safe Haven, you get to decide exactly how you want it to be. You may design a palace or tree house or monastery, or even a simple rustic cabin. Inside this place are beds where your inner child self can choose to lie down and rest or sleep. The beds can be ordinary beds, or they can be nests or forts. Design whatever beds feel the most inviting to you. You can make this house and the beds in it out of anything you wish, real or imagined.

If you have built rooms, are there windows in the rooms? What can you see out of them? If you wish, you can decorate your Safe Haven, both inside and out. Perhaps you would like to leave it simple and natural. Perhaps you would like to adorn your Safe Haven with rays of light or flowers or special rocks or crystals or shells. Perhaps there are hand-woven rugs, should you wish to lie down. What materials have you chose? Who made them? Choose the decorations you love.

Now somewhere in this Safe Haven see a water feature. This might be an ocean or a fountain, a stream or a lake. It may be a bathtub, hot tub or shower. And imagine that this water is special water. It’s magic water. Anything that touches it is instantly healed. See the water shimmering and sparkling in the light. What colour is the water? Is it clear or opaque or iridescent? Maybe it’s turquoise or purple or gold. This is going to be where you bathe and heal your inner child self as he or she comes to the Safe Haven with you.

Now imagine that in your Safe Haven there is a kind and loving being or person who is strong enough to assist you and tend to this Safe Haven. Your Safe Haven is where this being or person lives. This Safe Support Figure is a being or person who is so transcendent that he or she is able to calmly and lovingly assist with anything he or she may come across. This is your own personal helper. Who is this being or person? Is it a character from a novel you read once? Is it an imagined person? Is it a person you admire such as Jesus or the Buddha? Is it someone you know and trust such as a grandmother who has passed? Is it an angel or a benevolent extra terrestrial being? Or maybe a favourite superhero? What is his or her name? Spend some time acquainting yourself with this special being. Know that this being that lives in your Safe Haven will be there for you anytime you want or need.

Breathing freely and easily, look around your peaceful Safe Haven and see if there is anything else that you wish to add. For example, maybe you would like to add animals (real ones or fantasy animals). Just take a moment to decide what would make this Safe Haven feel even more perfect to you and add it to the scene.

Now imagine that in this peaceful space there is somewhere for you to sit or lie down, a place that you can come to sink deeply into relaxation and security. Is it a chair, bed or hammock? Is it a smooth rock or a throne or the edge of a cliff? What does it look like? What colour is it? What material is it made of?

Take a seat now in whatever resting place you have designed. No matter where you find yourself resting, feel the tension and stress drain away with the peaceful safety of this sacred place. This is the place you can come to sit and feel at peace anytime you wish.

Spend some time here, observing and listening to and smelling and feeling this perfect place. Let your mind make this imagined place as magical and unbelievably perfect as possible.

Whenever you feel ready to rejoin your day-to-day life, imagine yourself slowly standing up and leaving your Safe Haven. You leave through a doorway that opens only for you, in response to your presence, a signal, a code, or a special phrase you recite. Whenever you come here, use your signal or code to gain entry. Take a moment to memorise the special way that you and only you can gain access to your Safe Haven.

Take a look back at this Safe Haven, knowing that you can come here anytime you wish. Know that you always feel completely content here and completely safe and stress free. Know that you can change or add to your peaceful sanctuary at any time.

Once your visit to your Safe Haven is complete, turn back around and walk through the secret doorway, back through the tunnel that opens up once more, and follow the pathway that brought you to this place.

Taking a few deep breaths, decide for yourself if you are ready to return. If you are, bring your attention back to the full awareness of your body lying on the bed or sitting on the chair. Feel yourself being in firm contact with the earth. Tune into the moments of the breath in your body, and gradually externalise your awareness, listening to the sounds in the room and feeling the air against your skin. When you’re ready, gently open your eyes and reacclimatise to your real-life surroundings.

Thank you so much for taking part in this Safe Haven visualisation meditation! Head over to the website at www.britishenglishlanguage.com to find the transcription for the episode and also to send me a message to let me know what you thought! Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, sending you all a big hug, and see you next time!

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