Years ago,
Between 1994 and 2018,
There was a TV show,
And it was called Inside the Actors Studio,
And the host,
Who was James Lipton,
He would ask actors questions about their lives and their careers and acting.
And one of the questions that he consistently asked to the actors was,
If heaven exists,
What do you hope that God says to you at the pearly gates?
And I was struck by one of the actors he was interviewing one year,
Who was Steven Spielberg,
And when he was asked this question,
His reply,
He thought for a second,
And then he said,
Thanks for listening.
And I thought,
Wow,
That's pretty profound,
That Steven Spielberg has a way of tuning in and listening to a deeper wisdom within himself,
His creative wisdom,
That he believes God is giving to him all the time,
And that he listens to it.
So let's practice an avenue,
A portal into that inner wisdom,
To that way of listening that Steven Spielberg was talking about.
So I want you to get in a really comfortable position,
And just kind of feel yourself in the seat where you're sitting.
I want you to kind of get grounded in the outside of your body,
Feel your feet on the floor and your seat in that seat that you're sitting.
Just notice how your arms are resting,
Notice your hands,
How they might be curled and where they are.
Just notice the outside of your body.
And I'd like you to take a deep breath in,
Slowly let it out through your mouth,
Do that again,
Deep breath in,
And slowly exhale out.
As you get a clear sense of the outside of your body,
I want you to turn inwards and see if you can drop down into the inside,
That inner space,
Many call it a sacred space,
A place where your soul resides,
Where you can go and just be.
So I want you to just kind of drop into that inner space.
A lot of times we carry our minds with us in there,
And our mind wants to chatter away or give us a list of things to do.
But for now,
If those things happen,
That's okay.
Just let them come and set them aside.
You'll get to those later.
But for right now,
You want to clear a space in that internal space and just allow there to be some quiet.
Just a peaceful space to be.
And as you breathe,
And you sink a little bit deeper into that quiet internal space,
Just allow yourself to be there.
And just see if you can get a sense,
If there's something in there that you want to let go.
That you need to listen to.
It comes up for you in this moment.
Maybe it's something you've been thinking about for a while.
It's something that needs your attention.
Just listen.
Give it some space.
See what you might be being invited to.
And you kind of get clear on that.
Well,
Oftentimes,
Other things will want your attention.
Part of this practice is to kind of set those aside and just stay with what first got your attention.
Allow those other things to come,
And greet them as they come.
And see what needs your attention right now.
Sometimes when you enter into this sacred space,
There's a deeper wisdom that comes.
It might be a creativity that comes.
Something invites you to look at something a little bit differently,
To get a sense of things that are important to you.
Sometimes things get your attention,
And sometimes there's just a quiet.
Everything's okay.
It's a practice.
The more that you come to this inner space and listen,
The more likely you're going to be inspired by a deeper wisdom.
That listening will pay off into something really cool.
So as you acknowledge this inner space,
Acknowledge yourself entering into that deeper place of listening,
Just kind of think anything that might have come.
Think an internal peace,
If you felt that.
Thank yourself for entering into this process,
For trying something new,
Or maybe continuing a practice that you've already begun.
Just allow what has happened to be,
And promise that inner space that you'll be back in.
To listen again to the wisdom that might come.
For now,
I'm going to re-enter that space where you can feel your body.
You can feel,
Maybe wiggle your toes,
And you can feel your feet on the floor.
Get reacquainted with your outside body,
That space that you're in,
Where you're sitting,
Where you are.
Maybe give your shoulders a little stretch,
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Thanks for joining me.
