A MINDFUL MOMENT - FIRE MEDITATION
Fire. We humans have a little bit of a thing for it don’t we. When I say Fire Meditation, what springs to mind? For me, it’s staring at ancient fires, mesmerised by the flickering light on ancient walls. It calls to something inside us.
We have been using smoke, ceremonially since we learned how to harness the power of the flame and it’s still one of my favourite rituals to use in moments of mindfulness. I love candles can be used to set intentions and to ignite the senses.
You may have seen that I’m going to be running a wonderful event with Claire Robbie at the SOMM studio this Sunday and I wanted to share what this wonderful event is all about. You can do this from the comfort of your own home too!
The Candle Meditation
Find your position. Make sure that you are seated comfortably and that you have your candle with you, placed on a safe surface, out of reach from children and pets. Make sure that it’s on a stable surface and away from draughts. Lastly, try and have your candle at eye level.
Light your candle and take a seat in front of it. Taking some nice, lovely deep, slow breaths. Let your gaze soften and rest on the flame in front of you.
Look at the candle. Look at the shape of it, the colours, the textures. Take it all in. Look at the flame. Study how the flame plays upon the wick of the candle, how it almost dances. Pay attention to the colours, to the movement of the flame.
Listen to the sound of the burning wick. What can you hear?
Feel the warmth of that flickering flame. Feel it on your face, on your cheeks. Notice where you can feel the warmth and where you can’t.
Pay attention to the scent of the candle and the flame. Does your candle have a scent? What is that scent. What does it make you think of? Where does that scent take you. Can you smell the flame? Just bask in the scent, just for a moment. Breathing in the scent of the candle, the scent of the small flame.
After one minute blow out the flame of the candle. Close your eyes. Can you still sense the flame? What can you smell, sense, see? Pay attention to where your senses and mind take you. If you find that you get carried away by thoughts, just come back to the smell of the blown out candle.
When you’re ready, open up your eyes.