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Welcome to Celestial Astrology, Absonia, and this is an astro-mindfulness practice for the
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second decon of Virgo. This is a place of cultivation, refinement, skill, and quiet self-sufficiency.
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You can return to this meditation whenever you're working towards improvements, tending
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something slowly over time, or feeling the pressure of perfectionism, overthinking, hyper-vigilance.
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It is especially supportive when you need to reconnect with steady effort, rather than urgency.
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It is useful for those with placements in the decon of Virgo too, which is the middle
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of degrees, anything from 10 degrees to 1959, and the structure or astro-coach can help you
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if you're not sure. And it's most important if this is your sun, moon, or rising sign,
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and also if you have a significant transit in this decon. For example, your solar return
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ascendant or your lord of the year is mercury, so you might want to make yourself comfortable.
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You might sit upright on a chair, or sit on the floor, or lie down if you prefer, keeping
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the spine comfortable aligned. Allow your hands to rest somewhere natural. If at any
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point you're mind wanders, simply return your attention to your breath and the sensations
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in your body, and bring your awareness back to my voice, and know that this is perfect
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in normal. There's no marks out of ten for practising mindfulness, and it is always a practice,
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so the more times that you notice your attention as wanders and bring it back to the breath,
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that is what the practice is all about. There's nothing to achieve here, this is about remembering
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your own personal rhythm. And so I invite you to settle yourself into the stillness of
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the present moment. Make yourself comfortable whether you're deciding to sit, lie down
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where you may prefer to walk while you do this practice. Begin by noticing where your
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body meets the surface beneath you. You might feel the weight of your feet pressing
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into the ground, making that connection. Feel the support beneath your hips, the length
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of your spine rising gently upwards. Allow your jaw to soften, your neck to soften,
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your shoulders. As you exhale, release any tension that you're holding from your day,
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your week, your month, you don't need to carry it with you anymore. Now bring your attention
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to your breathing, and you trace the pulse of your breath through your body, where does
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it end to your body, maybe it's through the tip of your nose, and then does it reach
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the back of your mouth and travel down your neck and throat, into your chest, into your
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heart center, your lungs, does it go deeper down to your diaphragm and your abdomen. Is
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the reports before you breathe out? Notice everything you can about your breathing. Allow
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the breath to deepen naturally without forcing it. Notice the simple reliability of it, in
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and out, steady, patient rhythm. As you do, notice if there's one place where you feel
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the intensity of the breath more than any other place. Maybe it is at the tip of your nose,
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the back of your mouth, your neck and throat, your chest, your heart center, your lungs,
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your diaphragm, your abdomen. Maybe it's somewhere else. It doesn't matter where it is, but
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now just bring your attention to that place that's unique to you, and notice the breath
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entering and leaving just that place. In mindfulness, we call this place the Mindful
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Anchor. Mindful Anchor is always with you. You don't have to remember it to take it
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with you, and at any point in your day, if you need to take a time out, take a moment
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to yourself, you can just breathe into your Mindful Anchor consciously. For one breath
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or three breaths, ten, however many you've got time for, and your body will know what
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to do. The more you practice breathing into your Mindful Anchor, the more your body understands
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the mission. So throughout the practice, keep returning to your Mindful Anchor, especially
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if you notice your thoughts wandering, just return to your Mindful Anchor, and then return
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to the visualization. And as we prepare, acknowledge to yourself that there's nothing to do
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right now. You have time. You can move carefully, there's nowhere for you to be, nothing
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for you to do, than to stay with your breath. Now join me in a visualization. Imagine that
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you're walking down a narrow country path in the early afternoon. You feel the sun on
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your skin. It's bright, but it's gentle. You're not too hot, not too warm, not cold.
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Yaid your senses and notice what you see. What do you smell? Maybe the air carries the
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scent of dry grass, a warm soil. How does it feel underfoot? Maybe you feel your feet
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pressing into the earth with a firm grounded resistance. As you walk, maybe you can imagine
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each step being mindful and deliberate. To your left there's a low stone wall stretching
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ahead. You can see how time has aged it. Reach out your hands and let your fingers trace
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along the wall. How does it feel? A head you see a gate resting slightly open. You know
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that you're invited in. You don't have any hesitation when you reach it. You push it
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further open and step inside. You know that you are welcome here. And as you step over
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this threshold, it feels like the world shifts. You see a walled garden unfolding before
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you. There's rows of vegetables growing in thoughtful alignment. Take everything
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in. It's a feast for the senses, your eyes, your ears, your nose. You see fruit trees holding
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their branches steady beneath the weight of ripening harvest. You see grapes growing on the
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vine. You can hear bees humming between blossoms. Reach down and touch the soil. It feels
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fertile, dark and crumbly, rich with seasons of care. Walk slowly along the narrow path
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and you're greeted by many different plants. You meet with rosemary in time, releasing
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sharp fragrance into the air as you trace your fingers across them. Notice the subtle differences
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between each plant. Some leaves might be darker, some edges might be slightly uneven, some fruit
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on the trees larger than others. You notice all of this and yet you see that everything
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is thriving, doing well, happy with its neighbour. This garden has been carefully planned
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and cultivated. As you reflect on how well everything is matched and paired, you feel the
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hand of mercury in this place, in the careful spacing of seeds, how you notice the small
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imbalances, the quiet adjustments that may have been made before problems have grown. And
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just as you notice how me curial it all feels, some questions arise in your mind that are
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a gift from mercury. Mercury wants to know where in your life would
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a terrible observation help you more than immediate action. What small refinement could
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you make that would bring you greater harmony? Allow these questions to sit and answer might
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not come straight away. You might receive an answer in symbols or images, in music from
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a song. It may come to you later in your day or in your dreams and that's all okay. When
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you're ready you continue walking deeper into the garden. As you do a sound reaches
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you, there's a steady rhythm and it sounds metallic. You start to follow this sound until
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you find a small workshop built into the garden wall. The door is a jar and again you know
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that you're welcome to step inside. As you do you realise that both the garden and this workshop
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is all yours. This is all your inner mind. It's your space to learn and grow.
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And this is why it feels familiar. As your eyes are just to the light
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you smell the faint scent of iron and smoke. And you start to see from the light that's
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filtering in through the high windows that the centre stands an old anvil aged through the years.
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You walk over to this work desk, you see a piece of metal glowing faintly in the forge.
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You pick up the hammer, feeling its weight in your hand and how naturally the shape of it fits your
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hand. It's balanced and it's purposeful. There are tools to pick up the warmed metal and place it
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on the anvil. You pause at first, you're not sure but then you strike it with the hammer.
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And the sound rings clearly through the workshop and reverberates through your body.
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And again you want to strike it. Each strike alters the shape slightly. You learn that you can
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adjust your angle, your pressure and your timing as you begin to refine your skill.
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And as you continue with this action, with this creating and transferring of form from the
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wall metal into something else that only you know what you intend it to be, you feel Saturn's presence.
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Steady, teaching and guiding, nodding at your willingness to repeat,
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respecting your patience to shape gradually through your effort.
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Saturn offers you some questions.
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Where in your life are you also committing to steady effort rather than chasing quick results?
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Where is your self-criticism be louder than your discipline?
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What are you building that requires endurance?
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You continue striking and shaping until your desired form begins to emerge.
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Do you are happy with what you are created from that warm metal?
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You notice that it is not flawless, but it is strong and it will fulfill its purpose.
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When you feel happy with it, you set the hammer down and know that that work for today is complete.
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You take a breath as you turn and step back into the sunlight.
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The garden feels even warmer now, the sun on your skin.
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The colors feel sharper, there's more life in this garden.
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Almost like your work has been feeding it.
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Yet again, your attention is drawn to the small imperfections.
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Maybe you see a leaf torn slightly by the wind, fruit all at varying stages of ripeness.
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Soil might be uneven in places that might even be a weed growing, but needs attention.
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And yet the garden is abundant and thriving.
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So joyful and offering so much pleasure.
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You sense the presence of Venus moving quietly here,
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offering the pleasure of the right fruit.
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The joy of the warmth of the sun on the skin, the satisfaction of the work well done
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and the rest that you can now take after it.
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You find yourself a wooden bench underneath a pear tree.
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You look at your hands and see the dappled light falling across them.
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Then you notice a small tape will be side the bench that you didn't see before.
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There's some refreshments there.
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Some cool water has some grapes from the vines.
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You taste the grapes feel their warmth and the intensity of their flavour.
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You drink the refreshing water and notice the quiet contentment in your body.
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As you relax on this bench in the dappled sun,
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having refreshed yourself after your work,
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questions arise that you understand have come from Venus.
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Questions from Venus arise in your mind.
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How do you allow yourself to enjoy what you've cultivated?
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Where have you withheld appreciation from yourself?
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What does enough feel like in your body?
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Keep breathing into your mind for Lanka and feel the steadiness in your chest
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as you allow these questions to linger in your mind.
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When you feel fully rested, you stand and walk again along the inner wall of the garden,
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running your fingers across the sun, warm stone.
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Maybe your attention is drawn to small cracks that will need tending one day,
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but you also notice areas that are solid and strong.
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And you reflect on how maintenance is so necessary as ongoing care.
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Maybe you see a vine that needs a small adjustment, allowing it to climb further.
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Maybe there's some soil that needs to be brushed gently back that has been disturbed by an animal.
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Just making small corrections and thoughtful gestures as you move along.
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You're beginning to understand that you're not aiming for perfection,
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but maintenance, health, integrity, sustainability.
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And as that insight settles with you, you ask yourself,
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if the refinements that you make in your life could be more gentle.
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You can sometimes judge yourself partially when steady care could be more appropriate.
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And you feel something soften inside you.
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You've found yourself back at the gate now, and so you return back to the country lane,
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leaving the garden behind, but knowing that this is your all-unique place and you can return
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anytime you need to.
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The sun is starting to set, and as you walk down the lane,
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it begins to slowly fade as the noises of the room that you're in begin to return to your
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awareness and your attention. You're aware again at the sensations of your body in the room,
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the surfaces that your body is making connections with.
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You feel your feet on the ground, you feel your spine upright.
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Notice how you feel now, as I've been a shift, do you feel more grounded,
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tapable, and less urgent?
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Continue to breathe into your life-lencher, and as you inhale, know that you can grow gradually,
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you can refine patiently, and you can appreciate what you have built.
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And as you exhale, release any resistance to this.
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As you inhale, know that you can grow gradually,
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you can refine patiently, and you can appreciate what you have built.
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And as you exhale, release any resistance to this.
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Take one last inhale, knowing that you can grow gradually,
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you can refine patiently, and you can appreciate what you have built.
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And one last exhale, releasing any resistance to this.
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And when you're ready, gently open your eyes if you close them,
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reach out your arms, wiggle your fingers.
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Stretch your legs, wiggle your toes, carry me the steadiness of the garden and the quiet skill
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of the forge, and the things you've learnt here, into the rest of the day, and your time going forwards.
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Thank you for joining me, I hope you found this useful, travel world friends.
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Thank you for joining me, I hope you found this useful, travel world friends.