Welcome to day one of putting space between you and your thoughts.
I am so glad you're here.
My name is Lynn and I welcome you.
Find a comfortable position,
One where your body feels both supported and at ease,
Where you can let go and surrender and feel comfortable.
Join me in taking a great big inhale through the nose.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Gently close the eyes or possibly find a soft gaze and begin to bring your attention inward.
Start by noticing the breath each inhale and exhale.
Notice that by bringing your attention to your breath,
It may have deepened,
Lengthened,
Broadened.
This breath is with us all the time.
The belly rises,
The chest rises.
And then as you exhale,
You feel the chest go down and the belly relaxes.
And as you pay attention to your breath,
You might notice that there's actually a rhythm to your breath.
A comfort,
If you will.
And maybe you choose to set an intention for our time together today.
It's a simple one.
Bring your attention back to your breath when your mind begins to wander.
No judgment,
No worry.
You just bring it back again and again.
Take a great big inhale through your nose.
Exhale,
Let it go.
My friend,
You are not your thoughts.
Byron Katie says,
A thought is harmless unless we believe it.
As you sit with that quote for a minute,
What comes up for you?
Maybe you recall a time when your thoughts were racing.
Almost as if they're spiraling,
Headed downward,
Going into a deep,
Dark place.
Before you know it,
You're full of fear,
Full of anxiety.
Or maybe what came up for you was resistance.
What do you mean I'm not my thoughts?
They're in my head.
They are real.
Our brain is an amazing organ.
It's constantly scanning the horizon,
Looking for danger,
Wanting to protect us.
It stores all of these experiences that we've been through.
All of these stories we've read and told ourselves.
Everything that's happened in our life is stored in our brain.
And when new things come up,
New information is presented,
Your brain sorts through it,
Trying to make sense of it.
What if you sat on the sidelines?
You let your thoughts arise,
But you didn't get attached to them.
Instead,
You just noticed them.
Imagine that you're sitting near a river.
This river is flowing.
You can hear the sounds of the water as it meanders through the banks around the rocks.
And every time a new thought arises,
You put it in the river and let it go.
Or maybe you're lying down by this river,
And some of the thoughts go in the river,
Letting them go on their way,
And other thoughts you choose to put in the clouds.
Looking at them,
Seeing them,
Naming them.
No attachment.
It sounds so simple.
You are not your thoughts.
And yet,
We've spent most of our lives in our heads,
Believing the things that we think.
Thoughts arise,
But they don't define you.
Thoughts arise,
And you can let them go.
Send them down the river or plant them on a cloud.
And maybe,
You choose to reframe them.
Maybe,
In the moment,
You pause and reflect.
Is that true?
Take a great big inhale.
And an even bigger exhale.
And I invite you to place your hands over your heart.
And trust your heart.
When the thoughts arise in your brain,
In your mind,
In your head,
You choose to go deep to your heart.
What does it feel like to believe that thought?
What does it feel like to let that thought go?
How would it feel to change the thought?
Reframe it.
Stephen Covey said,
Between the stimulus and the response,
Is the space that makes us human.
It's the space that allows us to choose,
To create,
To imagine,
To challenge.
So if you think about thoughts like a stimulus,
Before you make any sort of response,
You pause.
Go to your heart.
And get curious.
Is this thought useful?
Is it even true?
How will I be if I let it go?
Or choose not to believe it?
My friends,
We are born with this choice,
This free will.
And yet,
When we examine our day,
Our week,
Our year,
It's amazing how often we're just reacting.
We're believing every thought in our head.
Letting things get carried away.
Letting feelings get hurt.
What if you paused?
Take a great big inhale through the nose.
Take an even bigger exhale through the mouth.
Take another great big inhale through the nose.
Exhale,
Let it go.
You are not your thoughts.
You have the ultimate ability of choice.
Of letting go.
Of not believing.
Of reframing.
Remember Byron Cady's words.
A thought is harmless.
Unless we believe it.
Bring your awareness to this subtle shift that you notice now.
Maybe you feel calmer.
Maybe your mind has slowed down.
Maybe you notice your openness to new possibilities.
Or maybe you're simply grateful for taking this time to pause.
Take another great big inhale.
And another great big exhale.
Offer yourself some really sincere gratitude for showing up today.
And then bring your attention back to your body.
Maybe wiggling your fingers.
Rotating your wrists.
Maybe moving your head from side to side.
And when you're ready,
Gently opening the eyes.
Bringing your awareness back to where you are.
Noticing the surroundings.
Reorienting yourself to this world outside of you.
And remember,
Don't believe everything you think.
They're only thoughts.
I hope you enjoyed this meditation.
This was day one of a three day series.
I hope you'll come back and listen to the next two.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
