Chamblee54

What follows is a script for a guided meditation. It was presented May 16, 2026, in Highlands NC. The date and location are central to this exercise. We will be using 4-7-8 Breathing. When we are in Tibet, on the other side of the world, we will practice Loving Kindness Meditation.
Welcome to my guided meditation. Thank you for helping to create this. The theme of the weekend is Transcending Traditions. Or maybe the opposite … Cis Beginning. Either way, we are going to take a different approach. Please don’t take this too seriously. … I am going to be pronouncing names in unfamiliar languages. I will make mistakes. I am also going to be presenting details, which are not guaranteed to be accurate. I would enjoy your forgiveness. If you cannot hear me clearly, please raise your hand, and I will speak louder.
From time to time, we are going to welcome people into our circle. When I say “Welcome ___” you are invited to say the name with me. … Let’s draw the circle close together. I would like for us all to hold hands, or have some other physical connection to the circle. The people on my side can place a hand on my shoulder or thigh, as I will be using my hands. … Please look across the circle, and see who is sitting there. If you don’t remember their name, remember the color of their shirt. Tuck this detail into your mind for later use. · Now, I would invite you to close your eyes. Put your feet firmly on the floor, and make yourself grounded and comfortable.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Highlands NC is at 35.05° N latitude and -83.19° W longitude. We are going to use this as a starting point. Moving north from Highlands, we will go due north until we cross the state line into Tennessee. Bat Harbor TN, Jonesville VA, Hazard KY, Columbus OH, Detroit MI. We will leave land at Bad Axe MI, and move into Lake Huron. We will enter Canada at Blind River ON, and move up to Hudson Bay. We will be back on land in Nunavut (NOO·nuh·voot) Territory, and run out of land at Ellesmere Island. This is 82° N, and is one of the furthest north points on the planet. Alaska only goes up to 71°N. We will skate over the Arctic Ocean, and get to the North Pole. Be sure to say Hi to Santa Claus.
May 16 is the 136th day of 2026. 229 days remain. On May 16, 1770 – Marie Antoinette married the future King of France. Cake was served at the reception. · May 16, 1777 – In Savannah GA, Lachlan McIntosh killed Button Gwinnett in a duel. Mr. Gwinnett was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the namesake of Gwinnett County GA · On May 16, 1919, in West Allis, Wisconsin, Wladziu (VWAD jew) Valentino Liberace was born. He was known to friends as Lee, and to the world as Liberace. Please join me: Welcome Liberace, You will make our journey more fabulous with your presence. · On May 16, 1929, in Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place. · Other fabulous people were born on May 16 include Janet Jackson, 1966, and Tucker Carlson, 1969.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving down from the north pole, we are going to go south at 83° E. At 74°N, we will go into Russia at Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District (Tie-MEER-skee Dol-GAH-nah Neh-NETS-kee). We will go through Russia into Serebryansk (seh-reh-BRYANSK) Kazakhstan, and on into Tacheng (tah-CHUNG) Prefecture, Xinjiang (SHIN·jaang) China. Soon, we will move over the frontier into Tibet, which is governed by China today. At Gêrzê (GUYD tsay) County, Ngari (NAH-ree) Prefecture, we will be at 35.05°N/83.19°E. This is the other side of the world from North Carolina.
At this time, I would invite you to think of a person that is special to you. I am going to say “I want”, and leave a silent space. When I leave the silent space, I want you to substitute that person’s name. We are going to wish for this person to be happy, healthy, prosperous, and safe. · Repeat after me. · (Breathe in, said by the presenter only) … I want __ to be happy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be healthy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be prosperous. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be safe.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving through the Himilayas, we go through Dolpa (DOHL-pah) Nepal, before entering India at Gorakhpur (goh-RUK-poor) Uttar Pradesh (OO·taar pruh·DAYSH). We have been going through some cold lands, with very few people. Once we cross into India, that will change. We will leave India at Tantadi (TUN-tuh-dee) Andhra Pradesh (AAN·druh pruh·DAYSH), move into the Bay of Bengal, and on into the Indian Ocean. We have been in Asia for 3,898 miles.
We are going to be in the Indian Ocean until we reach Antarctica. As we go over the eastern equator, we can introduce the seven wiccan goddesses: Isis, Astarte, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna, Diana. Please join me: Welcome Isis, Astarte, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna, Diana
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
At some point in this ocean, we will reach 35.05°S/83.19°E. This is directly on the opposite side of the earth from Highlands, NC. If you were to take a laser beam, and point it at the center of the earth, this is where it would come out. · At 66.6° S, we will reach Antarctica. We have spent 5,761 miles on the Indian Ocean. Soon, we will reach the south pole.
At the north pole we talked about births on May 16. At the south pole, we will talk about deaths. In 1984, we lost Andy Kaufman. In 1985, we lost Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch of the west. In 1990, we lost Sammy Davis Jr. and Jim Henson.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Crossing the South Pole, we will return north at -83.19° W. Soon, after 2,829 miles in Antarctica, we will enter the Pacific Ocean. There will be no more land in the Southern hemisphere. South America is completely east of -83.19°W. Soon, we reach 35.05°S/-83.19° W, and move on up to the equator.
As we go over the western equator, I would like to welcome four men onto our journey. These men have been central to the connection between Man and the divine. These four men are Siddhartha Gautama (suh·DAAR·tuh GAU·tuh·muh), better known as the Buddah, Jesus of Nazareth, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (muh-HAM-mud ib-n ab-DUL-lah) , and Elvis Aaron Presley. Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Elvis. Join me: Welcome Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Elvis.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
After 5,590 miles on the Pacific Ocean, we will reach land at Pavón Puntarenas (pah-VOHN poon-tah-REH-nahs) Province, Costa Rica. Soon we will be on the waters of the Gulf of MEXICO, before reaching land at Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. After passing through Cabo Gracias a Dios, Honduras, we will again sail over the Gulf of Mexico, and on to Bahia Honda (bah-HEE-ah ON-dah) Cuba. There will be one last trip on the Gulf of Mexico, before hitting North America at Horseshoe Beach, FL. We will cross the state line at Nasty Pond GA, go past Milledgeville, before arriving at Highlands, NC.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
This is the midway point of our journey. The next portion will be east at 35.05°N. This will be shorter than the North South portion, which covers the circumference of the planet. The only time this would happen east-west is at the equator. A degree of latitude is always 69 miles, while a degree of longitude is 56 miles at 35°N. Our total trip around the world is 24,840 miles going north-south, and 20,420 miles going east-west at 35.05° N.
We start the east-west part of out journey in Highlands NC, and move on to Rocky Bottom SC, (Always dreaming about Rocky Top TN). We go back into North Carolina south of Charlotte, before hitting the Atlantic Ocean at Ocracoke (OW·kruh·kowk) NC. Once again, our time on the Ocean will be uninterrupted, with 3,913 miles between North Carolina and Larache (la RAYSH), Morrocco. At Sidi Boubekeur (See-dee Boo Bake ER), Algeria, we will hit 35.05°N/0°E-W. We will go through La Laouata (Lah Lah-oo-AH-tah), Tunisia, before hitting the Mediterranean Sea. We will visit the islands of Crete and Cyprus, before hitting land at Soda Khawabi (So-dah KHAA-wa-bee), Syria.
On May 16, 1916, Great Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This was an agreement regarding the Ottoman Empire properties once WW1 was over. France would get Syria, while Great Britain would get Palestine. These occupations did not go smoothly. The Sykes-Picot agreement was one step in the process of West Asia becoming the mess that it is today.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving east from Syria, we will go through Baiji (BY-jee), Iraq, which would be included in a future Kurdistan. We go through Hasanabad-e Shir Mohammad (Huh-sun-uh-BAUD-eh Sheer Moh-hum-MUD), Iran, Puza Aw (POO-zah AHH) Afghanistan, miss Turkmenistan by a few miles, before going through to Bagh Dehri (BAHG DAY-ree) Pakistan. Soon, we will be North of Kashmir, where it is tough to say who the government is. The next stop is Tibet/China, where we will once again at Gêrzê (GUYD tsay) County, Ngari (NAH-ree) Prefecture, where we will be at 35.05°N/83.19°E. … the other side of the world from North Carolina. In 390 miles east, we will be at 90°E.
A few minutes ago, I asked you to note who is sitting across the circle from you. I want you to think of this person, and say their name when I say leave a silent space. Repeat after me. · (Breathe in, said by the presenter only) … I want __ to be happy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be healthy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be prosperous. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be safe.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving out of the mountains, we will exit Asia through Rizhao Shandong (REE-jaow SHAN-dong) China. This is 4,707 miles from Syria. We shall visit Gwangju (GWAANG·joo), South Korea, and leave land for good at Minamiboso (mee-nah-mee-BOH-soh), Japan. After a while in the Pacific, we get to where 35.05° N hits 180° E-W. We will spend 5,698 miles on the Pacific before coming ashore at Pismo Beach CA. We will only spend 4 miles in Nevada, before going through Flagstaff AZ, Zuni Reservation NM, Amarillo TX, Hobart OK, and Conway AR. The Tennessee-Mississippi border is legally intended to be at 35 degrees north latitude. However, due to errors in surveying technology, the actual line (often called the “Winchester Line”) is about a mile south of the 35th parallel. We will go through Memphis, -90W, and Chattanooga, before arriving in Highlands NC. This is 2,632 miles across America from Pismo Beach CA.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
We are now back where we started. When you are ready, gently open your eyes. You may want to be careful when you stand up, and get used to being back in North Carolina. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the day. Pictures today are from Georgia State University Library The social media picture was taken September 27, 1955. “West Peachtree and Peachtree Streets”
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah