Welcome to Gaia! ::

___Cusi sighed as she surveyed the empty classroom, her young nerves becoming impatient. She wasn't offended with tardiness, because the class had yet to start, she was offended by her own actions. She'd come so far, from her home across the sea, to face the Vale once more. To make things interesting, her newest student was the Specimen of a Researcher who was in charge of the wing named after her mother. She felt no resentment, nor jealousy towards the young man. Cusi of course was appreciative of the sentiment, but was dissatisfied when she learned the great Doctor would not be present at the opening ceremony. This new woman, who was now in charge of the Laboratories and the realm surrounding, what was her story?

___She looked back and forth, before leaning to the chalkboard and sniffing it. A weakness of fidgeting, as any normal child would she did several random things without even knowing why. In a few minutes the bell would ring, and then it would all begin. Cusi straightened her little bow and assumed the straightest position possible. She needed to look ship-shape for her first pupil! Of course in her eyes she looked exactly that, but in anyone else's, she looked like an overeager little girl with a love for bows and a frown that possibly meant she might take this all a little too seriously.

___Cusi yelped and jumped away from the blackboard as her student walked in. She giggled nervously and clasped her hands behind her back, embarrassed that the boy had possibly caught her sniffing it. I'm such a freak!, she thought shamefully to herself. Lifting her eyes she looked at the young child, and felt a few tears come to her eyes. She was so embarrassed, but that wasn't why she felt the stinging sensation. If her mother had still been alive, would he've been her mother's Specimen?

___She touched her chair and stood behind her desk. Still fairly short for her age, she felt intimidated by the broad wood paneling before her.
___"Welcome to Inner Conduction. I realize there's only one of you, so please feel comfortable here." Cusi held up a book for Opuntia and smiled, "Please discard all books and materials to the rack beneath your chair, and we will begin immediately."

___Cusi rapped her pointer upon the desk firmly, still recovering from her embarrassment. Her cheeks remained slightly flushed, but she pushed for professionalism and went through it anyway.
___"Before we learn any Inner Conduction, we will be learning about ourselves." She motioned for Opuntia to follow her to a corner of the room, where the sunlight was a little brighter and there were cushions to sit upon the floor. "To sit, we bring our feet together behind the desired seating cushion, lift one leg after another - if you're right handed lift the right leg first, if left, you understand. Sink slowly to your knees, do not just drop! Now put your weight on your rump so your knees splay, and gently maneuver yourself into a cross-legged position - are you settled?"

___The young woman smiled and quickly lit a long stick of sandalwood incense. She placed it between them and straightened her back.
___"Sit up straight, roll your shoulders back, chin high. Place your hands upon your knees and I want you to take a deep breath with me." Cusi inhaled slowly, her eyes watching the boy. "Breathe deep, seek peace." She smiled. "In through your nose, make sure you can feel the aroma all the way in the back of your passage, and out slowly through the mouth. Seven seconds each."

___She exhaled. "Controlled breathing, allows you to calm your nerves, and analyze a situation. If you can control your mental and physical actions at the same time, you can control anything else - Do you have it?" She questioned whether he had a hang of it or needed further detail.

___She raised an eyebrow, coaxing him to continue the proper breathing. "Now close your eyes, and empty all thoughts. Maintain the seven second inhaling and exhaling without even thinking about it. Train your body to do it automatically." Cusi watched him carefully, making sure he would keep his eyes closed and in case she needed to correct him.

___"Back straight ..." She gently reminded him, the haze of the sandalwood beginning to create a mist that strained the sunlight. It wasn't always easy for many children to grasp the concept of a new conditioned response. Breathing goes as fast or as slow as your body needs it, but to train it to a crawl without having to force it or concentrate was a feat. However, a feat that needed to be attained.

___She considered him carefully, he was fairly young, it probably wasn't a good idea to demand that he master the breathing and peace of mind so quickly. "Seven." Cusi smiled at him gently, "Try it with your eyes closed, and count on it until your body can estimate how long seven is." She hoped he was seated comfortably, because this could take a fairly long time. Maybe he wouldn't notice his legs falling asleep.

___"Once your body is used to the length of inhaling and exhaling, try to do it while focusing on only one thing, perhaps a favourite moment by yourself. Try to eliminate as many distracting factors in the vision as possible."

___Cusi watched him close his eyes and sink into the meditation. She breathed in deeply, and blew at the incense stick, scattering ashes in a thick cloud and sending smoke patterns in the air. Weaving her hands she guided the patterns, sending them into his nose to stimulate his brain. She fluttered her fingers, hooking them into the projection of his mind and slowly began to draw out distractions. Cusi gently wrapped them around her fingers and held he hand close to his chest, but not touching it.
___"Can you feel your heartbeat, hear it?" She urged him deeper into the meditation. "Sink further into that thought, until it disappears into a single moment."

___The young teacher smiled softly, pleased with his intense concentration. He was obviously trying hard, and it was paying off. Eventually it would all come to him naturally, and without him having to focus so hard. This was good progress, for a first session. He was dealing with learning meditation very well.
___"Fall into the heartbeat, let it fill your thoughts, only let your heart bloom there." She shifted and pulled her hand back to her side. "Now, concentrate and go deeper into the steady beat. Find your center, your natural spirit." Cusi didn't expect his to look anything like a normal humans. When she first meditated and found her center, it was a small reddish-purple ball with gentle tendrils slowly emanating within the darkness of her mind's eye.

___Baldr had taught her meditation while she was still very young. When she had asked what his looked like, he'd told her that it was a ball of light too, but it was growing - moving. Growing with ever changing roots and leaves through the seasons. Like a small snow-globe filled with light and a constantly evolving tree, and it had delighted her young imagination.
___"You'll know when you've found it ... Once you have, I want you to try and nudge it out and through your arms ..." She hoped she wasn't going too fast for him. "Imagine a point in the middle of your palms, and focus on sending the energy there ..."