Close your eyes now
Take a deep breath in
Now slowly out
Take a deep breath in
Now slowly out
Your eyes are closed
Take a deep breath in
Now slowly out
Take a deep breath in
Now slowly out
Your eyes are closed
In
Out
Your eyes are closed
Your eyes are closed
Notice how comfortable it feels to let them rest
Three
Two
One
Silence
Listen to the sound of my voice
You are not here
Listen to the sound of my voice
You are not here
Notice the color of the darkness behind your eyes
Loop loop loop
Notice the other sounds around you
Loop loop loop
Notice the movement of air across your face
Loop loop loop
In Out 3 2 2 2
Notice that all these things are music
Music
Notice that they are music
Silence
That's fine
That's fine
Can you hear me?
I can hear you
Can you hear music?
Yes
How does that feel?
It feels good
Now
Think of a beautiful place
A place from when you were a child
A place with ice and snow
And secret caves
And a great expanse of sky
It's not cold though
You are perfectly comfortable
You are lying down
On a bed of moss
Notice the taste of the snow
Notice the smell of cinnamon
And the sun is shining
In the great expanse of sky
And you can feel its warmth on your face
Do you feel it?
Yes
How does it feel?
It feels good
You are there
Where you always have been
You can see yourself
On the mountaintop
And the man on the mountaintop
Can see you
You see each other
Because you are both you
Do you know where you are?
I think so
Think of your goal
Think of Kilimanjaro
This mountain
This high place
Standing at the top
Proud, majestic
The cold mountain air
And all the world beneath you
Now, think of how you got there
Think of all the small, individual steps
You know how it happened
It was not an accident
It was not magic
It was not a coincidence of inspiration
You did it
You controlled it
Think of yourself at the bottom of the mountain
Maybe there is small store
Selling knickknacks
Tiny ceramic mountains with llamas on them
Maybe you pick one up
For Natalya
You buy one and put it in your pocket
Can you feel its weight in your pocket?
Yes
Good
Now
With that mountain in your pocket
You take the first step
Notice how it's just the smallest step
Onto a little patch of dirt
The trees overhead
And that step is so simple
So manageable
That to take that first step is the easiest thing imaginable
A child could do it
A child can take the first step
You remember this
From the top of Kilimanjaro
You remember every step
You could never have imagined
At the bottom of the mountain
How simple each step would be
But how do I know where to go?
There is a path
There is a path
There is a path
There is a path made up of memory
And calmness
And passion
And instinct
And synthesis
And happenstance
And practice
And teachers
And grandmothers
And your pencil
And lots of paper
And coffee
And toast
And bacon
And theater
And movies
And operas
And churches
And chessboards
And subways
And café tables
And chopsticks
And incense
And dolphins
And a cactus
And dreams
And a kiss
And habit
And a piano
And you
How long have you been blocked?
Three years
That is a long time
I know
What happened three years ago?
I failed
And what happens next?