Finding Strength in Your Shell: A Guided Visualization

A dear friend of mine grew up partially on a beach in Mexico. She still visits often (once I even spent a week with her and her family), and every year shares pictures of the baby sea turtles as they crawl from the sand for the first time and make that great race to the shoreline to begin their life.

A turtle's shell is often a metaphor for how we hide, but a shell is armor, safety, and preparedness. "Come out of your shell," the saying goes. A turtle without its shell is a meal, but a turtle who never peeks out from it is debris. Once the turtle sticks her head out from her hard home, she realizes she is exactly where she needs to be, and she knows the work she must do.

I, too, grew up on the ocean, but we didn't have sea turtles to cheer on. I feel the power of the ocean in my bones though, the feeling of being called to a place even when you are there. The ocean is wild, powerful. When I moved to the desert I didn't quite understand it until driving with a friend at night through a long stretch with no other lights. The sand looked like the ocean, and the town a mountain range away — I could have sworn it was across a bay, lights reflecting on water. With this meditation, I want you to feel the strength of the tide that pushes and pulls you toward your ultimate home. Appreciate the shell you carry, rather than resent it, and imagine yourself peeking out of your shell and back in, knowing you can both protect yourself and explore.

OK, here we go... get comfortable!

As you sit in this meditation, please do sit comfortably, in a supported position. If your brain goes in another direction, just accept that without judgment and come back to the meditation imagery. If your feet are cold, or there's a leaf blower or chainsaw outside creating noise, or people, don't be discouraged. We are humans existing as part of our environment, part of nature, part of the planet. What we do, what we experience of each other, aren't outside of nature, so hear or feel without judgment, and without discomfort. Cold feet are a part of changing weather, and our bodies eventually calibrate with bloodflow or else we put on socks. For a few moments, it's OK. Give yourself five minutes for this visualization.

The shells we carry are not bad, they are not good. They are tools. Imagine your shell growing around you. What does it look like, what does it feel like? Pull your limbs and head inside, feel the safety of being your own protector. Without effort. Without fighting. In your shell, you can just be. Hear the soft wind outside. The ocean calls and answers itself, a constant. Sit in this feeling for a while, if your mind wanders, come back to the shell and imagine what looks like inside. Is there art hanging on the walls? Is it a cocoon? When you are ready, stretch your head out. Then your arms, then legs. Feel the air touch you, and look around your surroundings. What looks different, knowing you can be your own safety? What do you want to explore now that you know you can protect yourself? Walk toward that place or object you want to experience. Feel the power of being able to exist exactly where you want to be, exactly as you are.