Stories for Journey To The Soul...જ⁀➴

Allow yourself to be taken on a mystical adventure deep into the ocean. As you venture lower into the abyssal unknown, you come across hundreds of types of life and learn more about the world around you as well as the world within you. Exist within a universe where at the center of it all is love and acceptance and feel as you are right where you are meant to be...

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0. Taking A Dive. The Fool

As you sit at the beach you have familiarized yourself with over the years, your gaze fixates on the crashing waves in front of you. You come to this beach when you need to think, when you need to let your brain air out for a while. Feelings of disconnect from others and the world have creeped into your everyday life and it's begun to damage your mental wellbeing. Attempting to ground yourself by connecting with the world around you, you sit down on the blanket you had brought with you and begin to take in all of your surroundings. You can feel the crisp cool ocean breeze against your skin as you breathe rhythmically, matching the tempo of the waves. The smell of the ocean is pleasant as it enters your system and begins to clear out the negative energy you had trapped inside. Eventually, your eyes land on the ocean that seems as though it itself is alive as its waves crash with purpose on the shore. Looking at the horizon, you're unable to see where the ocean ends and the rest of the world begins and you feel smaller, part of a bigger picture. Just as you are a small cog in a machine much larger than yourself, so is every other person, animal, and plant. As you continue to look at the coastline, thinking about everything below the surface that plays a part in the never-ending cycle of this existence that rarely ever cross your mind. Curiosity begins to well up inside of you as you wonder about the worlds unbeknownst to you below the surface of the water. Armed with a strong sense of determination and a pair of goggles, you make your way towards the water and stand on the shore, close enough to let the water begin to sink your toes in the sand. You slowly take steps forward, feeling the sand give way beneath your feet. You continue forward and allow it to work it's way up your body, sending chills through it. The water was not too cold, not enough that it was uncomfortable, and you use the time before you are fully engulfed by the ocean to put on your goggles. Waves continue to crash against your torso, threatening to tear you down, but you're able to withstand their efforts. You take a deep breath, holding your mouth shut, and dive into the water. Once your entire body is below the water, you open your eyes and are met with a drop off in the ocean to your left, after it only dark blue for what seemed like forever. You continue to swim forward, keeping a distance from the dark blue abyss. As you swim, you hear the echoes of a whale from the depths reach your ears and while you don't understand the language spoken to you, you feel as though there is a sense of needing on the cries of the whale. On your right, a more elevated part of the ocean existed, a kelp forest. The bright and beautiful greens of the seaweed moved back and forth, with the breathing of the ocean. Admiring the forest, you relax your face, and without thinking, begin to take a breath of the water in front of you. Much to your surprise, you're able to breathe! You stay in position, breathing in the water and trying to understand this sensation that feels like you're breathing, but not taking any water in. As if the ocean is beckoning you on a journey, you seem to have been gifted the ability to breathe underwater temporarily to help you continue your journey; your journey to the abyss.

I. Passing By. The Magician

Unable to explain the phenomena you're experiencing, you wade in place, being mindful when you feel your mind wandering to your existence above the surface. What began as an impulse decision to dive into the ocean is slowly becoming a journey that holds more meaning that you're not sure if you're ready to embark on. You have no idea where it will lead you and you're aware that continuing may change you as a person for good. You're not someone who likes change, but instead find yourself more comfortable staying in place. Looking up, you notice how the sun refracts on the surface of the water, making otherworldly patterns that are mirrored on your skin. It would probably only take you a few moments before you would breach the ocean, being in your own world once again, but you find yourself unable to move. Whether it's because you don't want to take advantage of the gift to breathe underwater from the ocean, as you're not sure how much longer it will last, or because you genuinely want to continue your journey, you're not sure. The person that you feel yourself becoming is someone plagued with doubt for themselves and the world and if you return to the surface right now, you are just feeding into that doubt. Facing these feelings that you have towards yourself, you understand that they are a part of you. When you doubt yourself, that isn't someone else, that's you. You must intentionally feel love for yourself and release the doubt you allow to suffocate your mind. You can't seem to want to move though, towards above the ocean or towards the ocean floor. Instead, you remain in position, and allow your mind to wander and stay mindful of where it tries to escape to, returning it to the present moment whenever you notice and connecting with yourself as the ocean gently moves you.

II. Enveloped. The High Priestess

After a short while of remaining in relatively the same position, the movement of the ocean begins to drift you towards the kelp forest at your right. You allow the ocean to take it to where it wants you to go and you move through the water slowly until you eventually lay to rest on the floor of the forest. Opening your eyes, you see the surface of the water move in a way that seems mystical. The kelp at either side of your body lightly brush your skin and you close your eyes, feeling the ocean move around your body. The water lulls you into a meditative state, softly humming around you, and you begin to find a deeper appreciation for this experience you're being magically taken on. Without the weight of equipment or any worry of the world above, your mind feels at peace among the seaweed. Using the rhythm of the ocean to keep you grounded, you inhale with gratefulness for this journey you've begun and exhale with love and appreciation for the world around you. Keeping your eyes closed, you feel the soft kisses from a curious fish against your legs. You feel a closeness with the fish that has begun to nibble at your ankles as a connection that would have never been formed otherwise was being formed. You continue to meditate and think about what would you like to learn from whatever this experience shows you, without judgement or doubt. You decide to face everything you meet with love and understanding, not allowing your own thoughts or feelings to have an impact on the sights before you. As you continue to match your breathing with the ocean, you feel strong vibrations against your right arm. They've been there for quite some time now, but you're only just noticing them. As you slowly open your eyes, you first look at your fish companion, and he looks at you. The two of you look at each other for another moment before the fish swims off through the forest, never to be seen by you again. Looking in the direction of the vibrations, you see a colorful city of coral in the distance. Through the kelp, you see the hundreds of fish darting around, in and out of the coral and your doubts are replaced with curiosity.

III. Coral Reef. The Empress

You decide to follow the vibrations you feel in the water, moving towards the coral reef. Once you reach a point close enough to the reef, you wade in position once more, admiring the bustling ecosystem in front of you. Stuffed to the brim with life of all kinds, big and small, bright and dull, your mouth is left open as you take in the sight before you. You've seen the beauty of coral reef through pictures and videos but you decide in that moment that none of those do the true beauty of the reef any justice. The reef in front of you is almost too overwhelming, as your eyes dart from creature to creature, attempting to soak up all of the beauty that you see. The coral silently provides protection and love to the many fish that rest there every night. Each creature in this underwater ecosystem plays an important part in keeping the reef alive and you feel a tangible connection between the reef and its inhabitants. You see young fish slowly learning how to move around in this strange world they live in. You see smaller fish that are lunch for the larger fish hiding in various holes and caves that have built themselves into the reef. Fish that have deemed the coral reef their home swim around, looking for food or maybe just exploring. You begin to look at all the inhabitants of the reef as peers as you notice the similarity in your own life to them. Even though you feel sometimes as though you are wasting your life away, abandoning any purpose you might have though you had, by simply being alive and allowing yourself to be connected to the world around you, you fulfill your purpose. These fish have a deep connection with their living home, finding it a safe haven from the larger fish that consider them a meal, and they thank the reef by providing them with nutrients. The reefs allows you to time travel and see the millions of generations of live that have slowly made this into their home.

IV. Above Your Head. The Emperor

The liveliness of the reef does not last forever though and the previous bright blue color of the ocean seemed to dull as the fish started to move closer to the reef. Looking up, you notice that there's a disturbance on the surface of the water that's causing it to distort and shake the ocean in a viscous way. A storm has begun above the water, forcing the waves to dig deeper into the ocean, shaking the world underneath them. Overcome with fear, you begin to swim down and look for anything to keep yourself safe in. As you swim down, you notice that the fish that were previously swiftly swimming around the reef were now taking shelter inside of the many caves built within the reef. You decide that you need to find a shelter for yourself as well, and dive deeper to find an opening big enough for you. Eventually, you find a large enough cave for you to fit in and stuff yourself inside of it, going as deep as you can to avoid the viscous shakes and roars of the storm. You feel grateful towards the ocean for providing you with someplace to stay as you as you attempt to calm your heart while the viscous storm wages on above the surface, uncaring to the millions of lives underneath. The ocean, which was previously moving rhythmically to and fro, now shakes with uncertainty and rage. As you continue to feel the vibrations of the storm from within the safety of the cave, you realize that the feeling expressed by the storm is not rage, in fact, there's no malice in the movements of the ocean at all. The ocean moves in retaliation to the screams and cries of the clouds and the storm is just another cycle in life. Just as it has millions of times before, the storm will calm. With this thought, you're able to begin calming your own heart, breathing deeply. You put your hand on your heart and feel it echo against your hand until it matches the movement of the water, and it's at that moment that you realize the storm has calmed alongside you.

V. Guided Through. The Heirophant

Having gotten yourself in the cave in the panic, you find yourself somewhat lost. You try to backtrack your way out of the cave but with the lack of light you're unable to find the exit. Though you're trying not to let it get the best of you, fear creeps back into your mind and you wonder if you'll ever be able to find the way out on your own. You worry that the gift given to you by the ocean will run out while you're stuck in here, but before you're able to be fully consumed by these worries, a cave fish makes it's way into view and checks you out, similarly to the fish in the kelp forest. The fish lays soft kisses against your skin and brushes it's fins against you as it gains an understanding of who you are. Sensing that you are not a threat, the fish begins to lead you out of the caves but not in the same way that you entered them. Wondering if you should follow the fish, you keep a close distance from the fish guiding you. You completely let go of all your worries and allow the cave fish to take the lead, putting your full trust in him. You feel pressure building in your head slightly as you feel your body descending deeper into the ocean, curious as to how far you'll be able to travel. The cave fish leads you through twists and sharp turns, showing you a path unknown to you, but familiar to the creature in front of you. As you continue through the caves, you feel other cave fish begin to kiss you in the same way the first one had, joining you on your exit out. It feels like they are also making sure that you follow them, keeping you safe as you exit their home. As you reach the exit of the cave, the cave fish stays in place at the cave opening, beckoning you. You exit the cave, turning around to look back at the other cave fish that tagged along for a journey with a curiously big creature, meeting their many eyes. You can hardly see them, as the light at this depth makes everything barely visible. With a quick look, the cave fish then turn around and return back to the tunnels of their home.