Sisters on a Hot Air Balloon Ride
In February 2014, I sat my 2nd 10-day silent meditation retreat. One that I will never forget. Like most things in my life, this 10-day was a journey. It felt like my soul was taking me on a hot air balloon ride. As each sankara came and went, the balloon floated higher and higher. On day 7, a burning sensation deep in the center of my chest ignited (think Iron Man). A Bermuda Triangle size crater filled with lava was growing inside of me, sucking up everything around it. I felt like my body was going to implode. By the end of the day, I was drenched in extreme sweat, my entire body felt achy, like I had the flu. Late into day 8, the burning lifted. Poof. Gone. The clouds passed, the sun came back out, birds started chirping — the hot air balloon and I survived.
The hot air balloon took me to one last stop, to my inner child. She was hiding behind the Iron Man my whole life until now. My inner child had a secret to tell me that she’s been keeping with her, hidden. I hid her and the secret away my entire life because I didn’t want it taken away. This secret is my truth. The secret is: I know, with all my heart, that the world is beautiful.
A few days after the retreat, I shared this story story with Stef (my dear sister) over Skype. She listened actively and quietly. When I was done, she stayed silent for a moment. She inhaled deeply, and said “Well I’ve been having really crazy meditations while you were away. Mine were very visual, to the point where I can sketch or paint them. One of them, my Older Wiser Self (OWS) was conducting a course on Love. My inner child, your inner child, and dad’s inner child were in the course. After it was done, my OWS took my inner child on a hot air balloon ride. Your inner child wanted to come! So the 3 of us went on the ride! For 2 days, my OWS took both of our little selves on a ride around the world to show us how beautiful it is and how much love and support there is for us. I could see all of these lights of love light up for us down below. At the end of the ride, my OWS took your inner child back to You, and told your inner child to tell You all that you saw and that the world is beautiful”
