A safe place

A safe place. In this practice you build a place in your mind where you feel calm and safe. It can be real or made up. A room, a beach, a terrace at night, a corner of a garden, a place from childhood, or somewhere that exists only in your imagination. You decide. Once you have built it, you can go back to it whenever you need to.

Before we start, one thing. If anything unpleasant comes up during this practice, an image you did not want, a memory, a feeling that is too strong, then open your eyes, look around the room you are actually in, and come back to your breath. You can stop the track. Nothing here has to be finished. You are in charge of this.

Settle into a comfortable position. Sitting or lying down. Let the eyes close, or rest them on the floor in front of you.

Take a few slow breaths, with the out-breath a little longer than the in-breath.

Now, let a place come to mind where you feel safe and at ease. Do not rush it. It may be the first place that appears, or you may try a few before one feels right. If a safe place is hard to find, choose a place that feels even a little calmer than here. That is enough to start with.

When you have your place, look around it. What do you see? Notice the light. Is it daytime or evening? Bright or soft? What colours are there?

Notice what is close to you and what is far away. Walls, trees, sky, water, furniture. Build the picture slowly.

Now the sounds. What can you hear in this place? Perhaps birds, or waves, or wind, or a fan, or the particular quiet of a room with the door closed. Let the sounds be there.

What does the air feel like on your skin? Warm, cool, a breeze, still. What are you sitting or lying on, or standing on? Feel the surface under you.

Are there any smells here? Rain on dry ground. Food cooking somewhere. Sea air. Old books. The smell of a place you know well.

Now notice how your body feels in this place. The shoulders can drop here. The jaw can loosen. The breath can slow. Nothing is being asked of you here.

You may be alone in this place, or you may have someone with you who makes you feel safe. A person, a pet, a presence. That is your choice. If someone being there makes it feel less safe, let them step out. This place is yours.

Look around once more and make any changes you want. Add something. Take something away. Change the light. It is yours to arrange.

Now choose a word or a short phrase that stands for this place. One or two words. Something you can say to yourself later to bring it back quickly. Say the word to yourself now, while you are here.

Stay a while. Breathe here.

Notice what it is like to feel safe, even a little. Notice where you feel it in the body.

Breathe here a little longer.

In a moment, you will leave this place and come back to the room. The place does not disappear when you leave. It stays where it is, and you can return by closing your eyes and saying your word.

Say the word once more.

Now, slowly, notice the surface you are actually sitting or lying on. The sounds of the real room. The weight of your body.

Take a slightly deeper breath.

And when you are ready, open your eyes and look around.

The place is there whenever you need it.