Welcome to this guided meditation.
I'm so glad that you're here.
I'm so glad that you took the time just to set aside for yourself for this five to ten minutes just to be with you.
I'm really proud of you.
Because I know that it can take a lot just to do this.
And you did it.
You showed up.
And that's worth noting and it's worth noticing and it's worth being proud of yourself for.
So today as we get started I invite you to get comfortable.
In whatever seat you have whether it's a comfy couch or laying down on your bed or laying on the floor sitting in a cozy chair just take a moment to just notice how good it feels to be laying down or to be sitting how good it feels to be supported and held by the seat.
Check in with your breath.
Are you breathing rapid and shallow?
I invite you to take a couple of just deep intentional breaths all the way in through your nose filling your abdomen with air and slowly exhaling through the mouth and letting out a little sigh.
In today's meditation we're actually going to be talking about glimmers and hope.
And so as we get started I actually invite you maybe you could even have a little smile.
Like just turning the corners of your mouth up a little bit.
Right?
Imagine yourself in a way that you're expecting something good.
Expecting something to go right.
Expecting something that makes you feel good and feel loved and feel supported.
Because when we smile even if we don't mean it it actually sends a signal to our brain that tells us that we're happy and it releases oxytocins.
You just need that extra hormone kick,
Right?
So glimmers,
If you're unaware they're known to be the opposite of triggers.
Triggers tend to be the thing that reminds you of harm that was done to you in the past or something traumatic that you've experienced.
And a lot of times those triggers actually are happening subconsciously It could be a smell,
It could be the sound of someone's voice it could be the look on someone's face it could be an event it could be the weather it could be a date on the calendar There's lots of triggers that we're constantly surrounded by and we feel the impact of those.
You feel it in your body,
You feel it in your nervous system but we can also be impacted by glimmers and glimmers are the opposite of triggers glimmers are the things and the moments and the senses that bring a sense of peace and security and joy and happiness and safety They go more unnoticed than the triggers only because our brain is bent towards looking for cues of danger for survival It's beautiful really because if we were actually being chased by a bear if our brain was bent toward looking for cues of safety we won't actually run for it we won't actually run fast enough to escape right?
So in order to keep us alive our brain is bent toward looking for cues of danger without our permission most of the time It's happening most of the time subconsciously.
In fact 95% of the way in which we interact with the world is actually happening from the subconscious part of our brain and in that subconscious part of our brain is the parts that where fight and flight live it's where are the protective mechanisms,
It's where those live and so it's easy for us to feel overwhelmed as we move throughout the day and we're constantly being triggered by a sound or a smell or a sight and so it takes the conscious part of our brain that prefrontal cortex the executive functioning part of the brain and our conscious awareness to look for the glimmers our brain's not going to do it for us we get to do that so with a smile on your face,
Just a slight smile on your face,
I invite you to first notice how do you know when you've encountered a glimmer?
What does that feel like in your body?
We know what it feels like when we encounter a cue of danger like our chest gets tight,
Maybe our throat gets tight,
Maybe our stomach flips upside down what does it feel like when there's a cue of safety?
When there's a moment of hope maybe you will smile maybe you feel like you can breathe a little bit easier,
Maybe you get the butterflies in your stomach maybe you do get a rush of blood pumping but it doesn't feel like danger,
It feels like excitement,
Right?
So I first want you to check in with your body and notice as we begin to think and as we begin to find these glimmers and identify these glimmers I want you to notice how it feels in your body when you experience them and so for a moment can you think of one person in your life that gives you that cue of safety friendship,
Support love maybe it's a few people and I just want you to think about them for a moment think about the things that they do and that they say that make you feel safe and loved and secure how does your body respond to thinking about them?
What are some other things that make you feel safe and alive maybe it's a sunrise,
Maybe it's a sunset maybe it's the way that butterflies fly through the air maybe it's the smell of a campfire maybe it's the sound of children laughing I want you to take a moment and I just invite you to go through the senses starting with smells what are some smells that just bring you home is it a favorite candle is it the smell of someone's perfume is it the smell of the laundry detergent that your parents used on your clothes when you were growing up and then move towards sights what are some things that you see that make you come alive that make you feel connected and grounded maybe it's the sight of somebody walking through the door that you've been waiting for maybe it's even just seeing a smile on somebody else's face what are the sounds is it a favorite song just take a moment to identify what those glimmers are for you how does your body respond when you visualize those things,
When you give attention to those things it's so easy to get caught up and being overwhelmed by the triggers in our life and they're very valid they have a place too they just don't get they just don't always get the permission to sit at the head of the table all the time sometimes what our body needs is to be reminded of all the things that surround us that are actually keeping us safe that actually make us feel like we're at home and this is not to ignore the triggers or to pretend like they don't exist but it's to allow the glimmers to co-exist at the same time because while we need those triggers to cue us of when there is real threat or when there is danger we just as much need the cue of glimmers to show us the reality of our safety and so I invite you today as you move throughout your day and this week and this month anytime that you can think about it to look for the glimmers knowing that your brain is not going to do it for you this is a choice that you have to consciously choose but it's for your benefit because as we notice the cues of safety our bodies can begin to settle and they can begin to rest and they can begin to release the constriction and release the tension and release the tightness and your body can just rest knowing that it is in fact safe and I invite you to stay in this space as long as you need to before you move back into your day
