| Finding the Lion Heart |
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| Ceri Balston | |
| Wednesday, 29 March 2006 | |
I'm not used to waking up early and I'm certainly not used to experiencing the bush at this hour so, despite heavy eyes and a little reticence to set the alarm earlier than usual, I was delighted to get out into nature at this magical time. Ok, so you may not think that 7am is that early but the dew was still heavy on the ground and the rising sun's rays were gently warming our faces, fresh crisp air filled our lungs, it felt great to be out of the city. I was a little concerned that I would see fences and captive animals but upon entering the first enclosure quite a different feeling filled my senses. Lions definitely have a certain aura of majesty, assuredness and a sense of being at 'home'. It's hard to describe but the emotions and personality in each of the lions was as varied as it was deep. Being in such close proximity (from the safety of our game vehicle) and still being in the 'meditation moment' meant the boundaries between man and beast seemed to be less important, it was possible to feel a bridge forming and I had the feeling from many of the lions of being invited to join them in their space. Gail took us through each of the four enclosures and gave us further guidance on how to connect with the lions. They were very playful on this day (one of the benefits of getting up early) and were busy romping, climbing trees, courting (ok, it was a bit more than that...!) and roaring. Have you ever heard a lion roar? I've always had this almost cartoon sound in my head, you know the stereotypical roar that everyone imitates, and yet the reality is nothing like that. A lion's roar is loud and booming and has a resonance that stirs something quite deep inside of you when you hear them on the stillness of brisk autumn morning. I really can't remember how long we spent with the lions that morning, time didn't really seem to be of any importance but our game vehicle did have to return to collect the next group. When we returned to our picnic spot Gail took us through our experience and gave us a chance to reflect during another meditation. We were taken to that moment when we felt really connected to one of the lions and guided through how the lion felt, I certainly found it very moving as did many of the group. My own personal moment was with a young male called Gillespie. He was magnificent and filled with immense confidence and power, from my mind's eye I could feel that he had absolutely no worries and spent every moment living in the moment; it was very reassuring and a powerful lesson for me. After the meditation each of us wrote a few words to describe the feeling which then became an affirmation. One that I particularly liked came from one of the group's connection with Letatse, a huge male white lion. "Gentleness is strength, strength is gentleness". Being filled with wonder is so important in life and these majestic animals certainly did that for me. I hope to return to the lion park soon but until then I have my affirmation to take be back to that magical time. |
This is the powerful story of the author's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and how a healer's unusual prescription of mindful altruism - to 'give away 29 gifts in 29 days' - ignited her energy, her happiness, and invited more abundance into her life.
