Hey friends,
Welcome back to the Meditation School Podcast and today is a special episode.
It is a holiday episode.
So happy holidays,
Happy Hanukkah,
And Merry Christmas,
And Happy New Year,
And whatever else you celebrate.
If you're watching the video of this,
I have a sweet shirt on.
It's Will Ferrell from the Elf and it says OMG and he's super excited and so am I.
I actually ran into him at a cafe in LA like two years ago I think.
We caught eyes for a moment and he seemed so sweet.
There's a scene in the Elf movie where he gets in the elevator and he sees all the buttons and he presses one and he's like beautiful and then he presses all of them and there's like 80 of them and there's another guy in the elevator and he just looks at him and he goes it looks like a Christmas tree.
David,
Why are you bringing up the Elf?
I thought this podcast is all about meditation and calming down.
Well,
As we get into the holiday season and as the cycle ends and as we go into the new year,
I think it's really important to take a step back to recalibrate and really think about and reflect on what's important to us.
Although a lot of us believe certain things are important,
The way we act and respond in the world sometimes shows that other things are important.
For example,
We all want to believe that play is important to us,
But seriousness and responsibility usually overshadows it.
We also want to think that giving is a big piece of who we are and what we care about,
But most of the day we spend our time thinking about what we can get,
How we can get more money,
How we can get more things,
How we can get people to like us.
And I think the holidays is usually a time where people get really stressed out,
Family gets in your space,
There's too much going on all at once,
And people get lonely and depressed even though it's supposed to be this really beautiful special time of awakening and opening and sharing.
So how can we honor ourselves,
Our spirituality,
As we go into the holidays and have some fun at the same time and not be super stressed out and anxious all the way through to the new year?
Because you don't want to start the new year off the way you ended the previous year if it's not in a great energy.
So first and foremost,
And this might sound a little bit intense,
But I think it's important to sit down and actually write a list down of all the people that stress you out.
That doesn't mean it's to judge them or even to say that it's their fault.
Okay,
Not saying it's their fault.
Just write a list down of the people that in some form or another you think cause you stress.
Ultimately,
You cause yourself stress,
But let's just start with a list.
And then next to each person's name,
I want you to write down what about them or the situation or the scenario stresses you out.
So is it their judgment?
Is it their neediness?
Is it pressure of some kind?
Is it too close to you in your space?
What is it?
And then see if you can take them out of the equation and start to reconcile that energy inside yourself or yourself.
And if you have to have a conversation with them,
If you can't,
Then maybe it's time.
The end of the year is a great time to really reconcile and heal.
So if you can recognize,
Wow,
A lot of my stress comes from me caring what these three people in my life think.
Now is it those three people's fault?
No,
It's a great opportunity to sit back,
Maybe in meditation and contemplate why do I care what these three people think?
What is the image?
What is the energy inside me that makes me believe,
Feel and think that it's important to have their approval?
As you start to resolve that and work through that or whatever it is,
You're going to unlock so much of your energy.
And what you'll realize is that there's a deep level of purpose underneath it.
You might think this person is annoying me and they're making me stressed out and that's not what I want through the holidays.
But when you look closer,
They're giving you the ultimate holiday gift.
They're pressing all your buttons.
They're getting on your elevator and they are pressing all your buttons.
And that gift is they're giving you the opportunity to reflect on maybe some weaknesses that you have,
Some places inside yourself that are unhealed or unresolved,
Where you haven't stepped into your power.
So find out whatever this is,
Whatever the person is doing to you,
Or you think they're doing to you is sit down,
Start to work through it in meditation.
And you're probably like,
All right,
David,
Well,
I got that pretty quick.
How do I actually work through it?
So let's just do three easy steps to work through some energy,
Some negativity as we close out this year.
So step number one is just identifying what the energy is.
All right.
This person makes me feel unworthy or unloved.
OK,
So the energy is I feel unworthy or unloved.
It's just an example.
Feel that in for a moment in your body.
Actually let yourself feel it.
Step two,
Take a moment and reflect.
Where did I first start feeling this energy?
Did this person come around and this the first time it's ever happened to me?
Or is this something that's recurred time and time again?
And they're just another person that's kind of pressed my button.
So find where the original image memory experience comes from,
If you can,
Or one that's a little further back.
That's maybe actually part of the irritation.
And once you find what that is,
Step three,
Take a clear look at it and begin to resolve it by seeing if you can have compassion for yourself,
Acceptance,
Understanding.
Really look through it and just ask yourself,
Is this true?
Am I not worthy or was I just a little bit less conscious in the past and somebody programmed me or pushed me or hurt me in some way to make me feel like I wasn't?
And you'll allow that image,
That memory,
That energy to start to resolve just by looking at it and sitting with it and bringing in one level of acceptance after another.
And if you're like,
David,
I just can't accept it.
Then I want you to start by accepting that you can't accept it.
David,
There's bad people in the world.
They're mean to me.
They torture me.
Okay.
Can you start by accepting that?
And then let's see what's on the other side of it.
But if you respond in anger or rage or you hide,
You avoid,
Then nothing good is going to really come out of that.
And you're going to have coals in your stockings,
Energetic ones.
This is really a great opportunity to shift your energy before the new year.
And this is the ultimate gift that you can give yourself and the people around you that you love,
Which is your own spiritual awakening,
Your own shift of energy,
A calm,
Peaceful,
Loving,
Accepting,
Compassionate version of yourself.
The one that you know is there that sometimes gets covered up by that holiday stress or other people's negativity.
Use this as an opportunity.
I think whether you're celebrating Hanukkah or Christmas or anything else,
All of these holidays are really a reflection of something deep in the human spirit that yearns for the truth,
For love,
For growth.
So Christmas,
Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and all of the teachings that come with him around love and acceptance.
And in Hanukkah,
It's really a celebration of,
Well,
One of the pieces historically is the celebration of winning against a tyrant.
But we can look at that also as an analogy of winning against an inner tyrant.
So there might be a negative energy that's an inner or even an external tyrant in your life that's pressing your elevator button,
Lighting up your internal tyrant.
It's time to sit down and reflect,
Shift your energy.
I know I gave you a lot of homework.
I hope you have an amazing end of your year.
Love yourself and everyone around you.
You out.
See you soon.
