The Lions Heart Within

The Ground Beneath Your Feet

Take a moment to arrive. Find a posture that is both dignified and relaxed. Let your shoulders fall away from your ears. Feel the ground, the chair, the surface that is holding you. It is steady. It is present. It does not ask you to be anything other than what you are. Bring your awareness to your breath. The quiet tide coming in, and the quiet tide going out. You don’t have to force it, or change it. Just notice it. This breath has been with you your entire life, a faithful companion. For now, let it be your anchor. We are here to speak of courage. Not the roaring, frantic courage of the battlefield, but something older, deeper. A courage that is quiet, sovereign, and utterly unshakable. For millennia, across cultures and continents, humanity has seen this courage embodied in the lion. In ancient Egypt, the lion was a guardian, a symbol of the sun’s protective fire. In the coats of arms of European nobility, it represented honor and military strength. We see it carved into the stone of ancient temples, a silent protector against all that is false. We call our bravest kings "the Lionheart." But this is not a history lesson. This is an invitation. An invitation to look past the external image—the teeth, the claws, the roar—and to feel the *essence* behind it. For the truest strength of the lion is not its ferocity, but its profound stillness. Its calm command. Have you ever watched a lion at rest? It is not agitated. It is not restless. It simply *is*. Present. Aware. Possessing a quiet confidence that needs no announcement. It holds its power in reserve. This is the energy we will touch today. The heart you will find within yourself.