The Golden Ball of Love
Day 1
I began the work of seeing, hearing, and witnessing the Great Mystery in daily meditation by closing my eyes, focusing on my breathing, and letting my energy drop, a breath at a time, into my heart. As I tuned in, I heard the protocol for this work:
Drop into your heart and rest there.
Clear the screen. (I saw myself clearing snow off a frozen lake with a sweep of my arm, in preparation for scrying into the dark lake.)
Instead of looking into the waters, let whatever is in the water present itself to you.
Breathe it to the surface.
Greet it with an open heart. Make it feel safe in your presence.
Watch where and how it wants to evolve.
Record what you see, hear and feel.
It took a while to clear the ice and drop into my heart. Then, from beneath the ice, a snake swam to an open hole and presented himself as my guide to these realms. He would bring me what I needed to see.
I watched as he swam back and forth in the pond. (In my imagination, I referenced the floodplain behind my house, part of the Don River about the size of a large baseball diamond.) Going deeper each time, he stirred up silt on the floor of the pond. Deeper still, he moved between layers of rock. I had an impression of an alternative to fracking, how energies of Nature can move between layers of form, elegantly opening them without force as the matter gives way. But when impatience forces the process, matter responds like concrete, needing to be blasted open.
Down, down went the snake, no longer zig-zagging back and forth but in a deep dive, until his teeth latched on something — a small golden ball, about the size of a penny. He brought it to the surface and spat it out before me.
Picking it up, I looked closely and saw the word Love spelled in different languages, both on the surface of the ball and suspended within it. I understood that these were not just words in human languages, but Love speaking through every living element — mineral, chemical, plant, and animal.
My reaction was dismissive; I already know everything Is Love, as though the gift was a trinket, a bauble. Then I remembered the protocol: to welcome whatever emerges and make it feel safe. I paused to integrate what until now I had only superficially acknowledged. A snake has brought me the essence of Life in a simple yet powerful symbol — a golden ball with the word Love shimmering throughout it.
I popped the ball into my mouth and immediately recalled the nine flower essences I made from roses. ‘Love in the Body’ was the theme, supporting the diverse ways love is activated in each chakra and all our relationships. With deep gratitude for the Snake guide and the gift of the golden ball of Love, I wondered, How often is a golden ball portrayed in stories and mythology?