Turn your focus and attention to your breath. Allow your consciousness to move with the rise and fall of your chest and the filling and release of the lungs. Continue in this manner for several breaths;  allowing each to become softer, smoother and slower.

As you continue to breath in a relaxed manner, you become aware of yourself standing in the center of an elegantly lit jewelry store.  All around you are cabinets of the finest most aromatic woods and display cases transparent with clear clean glass holding the most opulent and beautiful jewelry, trinkets and gifts you could imagine.  The scene is one of utter luxury. Crystal and gold chandeliers hang from finely mural painted ceilings and the air is fragrant and wonderfully scented with sandalwood. Gemstones sparkle from velvet lined cases and their is a dignified calm and serene quiet that fills the vast room.

As you move past each case you feel an intense desire to own one of these cherished and rare gems.  You imagine  the sensuality of a string of diamonds encircling your neck or the cool caress of a liquid platinum bracelet entwined around your wrist.  As these thoughts stir within you, your attention is drawn to a rather large emerald resting on a pewter colored velvet swatch.  There is no setting- just a beautifully and multi-faceted stone.  on closer inspection , the stone appears oddly shaped and slightly imbalanced despite the appearance initially of regular rectangular edges.

You ask to have the stone removed so that you may have a closer look.  As soon as it is taking from the case and set on the display cloth you feel drawn to it. As you start more deeply into the facets of its center you find that a myriad of sensations comes over you. You slowly feel yourself drawn into the very heart of the stone and find yourself in the midst of seven clearly etched paths. These are the facets within the stone itself.

The emerald green floods your senses and the creative urge within you opens in response to the breathtaking beauty that surrounds you. As you move towards one of the paths you become aware of the smell of briny sea. You move along this faceted corridor and soon find yourself standing at the edge of the sea.  There are trees near the water's edge and

the surface begins to bubble with motion. As you stand in anticipation of what may lay beneath the ocean's surface, the top of a beautiful young woman's head emerges. Her hair is the color of spun gold and before you can comprehend what is taking place she emerges - unclothed, beautiful of form and face standing atop a giant clam shell. You know, from pictures you have seen that this is Venus. Young and the embodiment of love and beauty. You stand for a moment longer, mesmerized by her beauty, but also curious as to what other mysteries the other corridors may hold.

As these thoughts echo within your mind, you become aware of tones and sounds coming from one of the other corridors. As you move towards its entrance and begin walking down the path, the sounds become louder, more potent and fuller in sound. When you reach the inner chamber of this corridor you see that there are seven figures, cloaked in shadowy silhouette that stand at each of the edges of this seven sided room. Each in turn tones a specific sound and the dynamics of vibration and resonance seem to reach your very core. You are moved deeply within at the beauty of the harmonics of these sounds and you feel as though time has ceased, each tone capturing and reweaving its own time signature on your experience. As you stand centrally, bathing in the luxurious sounds, you can begin to make out the what the tones represent. Each is a bija, a sacred sound that holds the energy of what it represents.  As the sound becomes more identifiable you realize that  each is a bija related to one of the seven chakras.. lam-vam-ram-yam-ham-om and then silence. You feel your body relaxing and the energy within you awakens. You feel revitalized, renewed and each repetition connects you more deeply to your thinking self and your feeling self. You stand for several minutes in the echo of this resonance and then slowly turn to leave feeling refreshed.

As the sounds begin to fade you start down the third corridor. The smell of paint and turpentine, linseed oil and freshly stretched canvas  fills your nostrils and you soon emerge into a brightly sunlit room where an artists is standing engrossed in her work.  The painting that stands on the easel is abstract in design. Colors flow one to the other- emerald green- amber- yellowish green and olive with sparkling gold flecks.  She is so totally absorbed by her painting that she does not notice you have entered the room. You stand quietly in a corner taking in each stroke of the brush as if it were your own creation. You can feel the energy of passion about her work and the yearning to create something of permanence that may be enjoyed by all. You stand as silent observer and feel the reverence this artist feels for her craft. You can imagine what images were created in the mind as a result of the deep yearning for expression of her emotional self and this is the product of that merging and collaboration. This is a place of inspiration and although you would find much pleasure in remaining in this place of creativity, more awaits your exploration.

You move along the corridor out of the artist's hall and walk towards another unexplored corridor.  This hall seems to be darkening as you move along and for a moment you hesitate to continue, fearful of what may lay ahead.  Fear soon gives way to curiosity and you realize that you have steeped into the chamber of another facet. The space is cold and dark and weightlessness carries you upwards. You are in the deepest and darkest of space. As you look around you see that there are several sparkling stars in the velvet of this skyscape. From your studies as a young student you recognize a cluster of 100's of stars just ahead that form the Pleiades. This formation is known as the Seven Sisters and myths abound around the formation these stars make. As you muse on these myths you realize that you are moving forward towards the center of these stars. You feel the energy around you and are awestruck by the number, radiance and beauty of this stellar landscape. You are reminded of Lord Tennyson's quote about the Pleiades...Many a night I saw the Pleiades, rising thro' the mellow shade, Glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid. As you allow these words to move through your being a heaviness begins to settle in and you realize that you have returned to the crystalline floor and chamber once again. The Night sky has very quickly moved from your surrounding and you begin to move out of the room towards the other remaining corridors.

As you reach the point of pathways, you decide to follow one in which you can see very dimly the glowing of a light. There are muffled voices that you hear as you move forward and you find yourself in the lamp lit kitchen of a small and cozy kitchen. A father and his daughter are sitting at a small wooden kitchen table in the center of the room. You hear the father say to her that she is only 10, and although she is considered gifted mathematically, she should not be so hard on herself as these problems are very difficult. You see the frustration on the young girl's face as she puzzles though the college level homework assignment.  You see the expression and sense the great love and pride this father has for her, this being the only gift of support he may offer as the multi-stepped problem is well beyond the skills of his analytical mind.  This sense of great and unconditional love overwhelms you and your heart pours out to their combined efforts. "Eureka", the girl exclaims as the answer is committed to paper and father and daughter hug each other. The one providing the love and the other providing the intellect. Problem solved.  Feeling as though you are intruding on this intimate moment you make your way down the corridor and

stand for a moment in the central chamber. Each of your experiences thus far has given you a different perspective on how the emotions and the mind work in harmony with one another. Two more corridors lay ahead and you move towards the one at the right.

As soon as you step into the entry way the fragrance of a rose garden fills your senses. In anticipation of what beautiful flora may await you you run down the corridor only to find that there is only one rose standing in a small finely etched crystal vase on a green dais. You look around convinced that there must be several vases that have been carefully hidden within the room, for no single rose could have emitted such a powerful aroma. Each corner of the room is well lit and it is soon clear that there are no other flowers.  As you approach this rose, you are entranced by the vibrancy of the red petals. Each petal is perfectly shaped and each is placed in perfect accord and symmetry to the other. The rose is open just enough to see the delicate center and the edges of each petal are of the faintest pink. The fragrance is heady and rich, finer and more pure than any flower  you have ever smelled. Everything about this rose speaks of beauty, of refinement of form, grace of shape and perfection in symmetry. You stand mesmerized by its perfection and you are almost brought to tears in being able to see something of such rare form. You admire for several more seconds and then begin to move away, realizing that you could easily become lost in gazing at this flower.

You slowly and reluctantly move back towards the center chamber and once arriving begin your journey down the final corridor.

As you move more deeply into this facet, you see that the corridor is becoming more lit as you travel forward. Just as you step into the center of this final room, a flash of brilliant light fills the room. It disperses and you see that the source is a golden lamp that has been placed centrally on the floor. As you move slightly closer, the glow within the lamp begins to brighten and after a slow crescendo of increase, another burst of brilliant light fills the room. You move back a bit and take notice that this pattern seems to be repeating in a rhythmic and regular fashion. The slow increase, the brilliant light and the slow fade back to a gentle glow. Instinctively you know that this is also the pattern of the light within you. The energy that builds slowly through the accumulated experiences of heart. The culmination of that building to a place of illumination and great light as the realization or mind grasps the mysteries that have been given. And, the gentle fade back to the place of a warm glow within as each experience is assimilation, integrated and processed anew. You begin your walk back to the central room and feel the glow of this lamp emanating from you.

You stand in the center of the main chamber. Each of the seven facets and their corridors flooding through you as experiences you will take with you and carry always close to your heart. You breathe deeply and recall the smell of paint and canvas, sea foam and a rose so intoxicating that you feared you would not leave. You close your eyes and visions of a star lit night, and challenging analytical problems solved form a slide show on your inner screen. Sounds echo back of tones so refined that the essence of your being was shaken. All of these senses respond and the inner chamber begins to fade returning you to the place of looking down at this rare gem. The facets are more clearly indicated now and the emerald green is rich and luxurious, almost bursting with life. There is no longer any desire to possess this jewel for you know that the facets and layers of your experiences are now part of your

inner self. You will carry this jewel of great price wherever you go and the inner lamp of the mysteries will glow for all who have the sight of wisdom to see.

Return your awareness to your breath. Allow the image of this emerald to fade slowly and with each breath bring your awareness back to the rhythm of your breath and the rise and fall of your chest.  Become aware of the physicality of where you are sitting or laying… your body pressed against cushion, chair or floor.

~ And when you are ready, gently flutter your eyes open ~