Butterflies go through an incredible journey. They start out as larvae, next they become caterpillars, and finally they attach to a leaf or tree and enshroud themselves with a fine and strong cocoon. Then they appear to sleep. But, during this time when they remain out of sight, they are silently TRANSFORMING. Nothing is visible to the eye that observes from the outside. An inner process of transformation changes an earthly caterpillar with its belly on the ground, into an extraordinary creature with beautiful, iridescent wings. The old form must die or be released for the beautiful, new creature to emerge and take flight. With people too, very often inner, silent transformation is continually taking place, mostly beyond our usual realm of conscious awareness. Through healing practices such as yoga, it is possible to transform the worm-like qualities and shed them like an old cocoon. It takes courage and a willingness to grow and change. What old cocoon would you like to shed off today? What would help you transform, grow, and fly? You are free when you are fearless.

Journaling Questions ❤️

Set a fresh intention for the coming week.

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly. ~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Do you think the caterpillar knows what it will become as it retreats from the world into its cocoon? Or is it a grand gesture of faith, and simply trusts everything will be OK in time? ~ Nigel Coates

Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. ~ William Newton Clarke

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~ Maya Angelou

Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time. ~ Deborah Chaskin

“Just as the world around us changes and evolves, so do the circumstances and situations in our lives. We live in a universe that is alive, vibrant, and constantly evolving. Change is the way nature, the universe, and the Divine move us through each period of our lives. We are led to our next lesson, our next adventure. There’s no need to deny change, to fear it, or fight against it. Change is inevitable. Just as the earth is in constant motion and transformation, so are we. Growth can be gentle now. Growth can be fun. Breathe in new air. Breathe in new energy. Exhale the past, its feelings, beliefs, and toxins. Let it go. Let yourself be transformed.” ~ Melody Beattie

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

Butterfly Meditation 

As you take in a deep breath, start to visualize the ground below you filled with the color of your choice. This color extends 50 feet down into the earth. Now, begin to imagine the energy centers on the bottoms of your feet opening up. As you inhale, visualize the soft color you have chosen filling up your feet. When your feet are completely saturated with the color, bring the color up through your ankles, legs, pelvis and lower back. Each time you exhale, witness the color leaving through your lungs, carrying any tension and stress with it. See the tension dissolve into the air. The color is now reaching your abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, neck and head. Exhale the color slowly out of your lungs.

Imagine you are a caterpillar. You are crawling on the tree where you live. Attaching yourself to a branch of the tree, you slowly start to form your cocoon. Gradually, you surround yourself with a golden, silken thread until you are totally hidden. You are inside the cocoon, completely surrounded by the softness of silk. You rest in the warmth of the golden darkness. You are not fully aware, so you do not know what is happening to you. However, you somehow sense that in this apparent stillness the Divine is at work. See if you can sense what is happening to you. At last, the cocoon breaks open, and a ray of light penetrates through a split in the cocoon. As the light touches you, it makes you feel a sudden surge of vitality, and you realize you can shed the cocoon that is around you. As you feel the cocoon falling away, you begin to discover that with it you have shed the defenses and supports of your safety net, and your past. You are freer than you ever dreamed you could be! You are now a beautiful, multicolored butterfly. You realize your boundaries have widened, and you can fly wherever you want. You feel light, fearless, and free.