The Rocking Chair Vision

The Rocking Chair Vision is a guided visualization practice to help you connect with a future version of yourself, toward the end of your life, sitting in a rocking chair and reflecting on the life that you've lived. By connecting with a future version of yourself via the present, you get to sense the ways in which this version of yourself is already here in the now, and can also gain insight into the ways in which you may be out of alignment.

Transcript

Hello my friend.

We are going to do an exercise,

A guided meditation,

A visualization practice called the Rocking Chair Vision.

I'm sitting out here in my own rocking chair on the front lawn,

The sun shining.

It's the morning time.

You can hear the birds chirping.

I'm gonna try to get rid of any cars that pass by,

But know that I am in the zone with you.

The Rocking Chair Vision is a really beautiful practice,

Something that I practice regularly.

I teach to all my clients because it helps us really get in touch with what we want our future to look like in relationship to the now.

So in this exercise we're going to connect with ourselves towards the end of our life.

This is really powerful.

It's similar to a death contemplation.

I'm not gonna guide you to your deathbed and have you connect with the less-than-finite nature of being alive,

But that's baked into this because when we really connect with what it means to not exist at the end of the course of a lifetime,

We can really start to more deeply appreciate what's here in front of us,

Have a reverence for life,

A attitude for life.

Countries and traditions that regularly contemplate the end of their lives and death are happier as a result.

So that essence is baked into this,

And also where I'm gonna guide you is towards the end of your life.

So that sentiment is sort of there,

And yet it's maybe not as scary to look at.

But inherent in this is the ability to connect with how you want to feel,

Feeling complete and full and satisfied at the end of your life.

Or maybe it's gonna come up for you in a different sense that when you connect with this exercise you feel regret and remorse,

And there's information in this exercise that guides us back to the ultimate question of how am I living my life right now?

Am I living my life in integrity?

Am I living my life to the fullest with appreciation,

With reverence for what's in front of me?

And it can be a really great way to check in with ourselves and guide ourselves back into balance and alignment when we fall out of it,

Which we do,

And that's okay.

So the imitation is to really connect with and visualize as deeply,

Feel into as deeply as possible what it would feel like to sit in your rocking chair,

And it doesn't have to be a rocking chair.

I'll give you more deets in a moment as we go through the exercise.

What would it feel like to just be surrounded by the people you love,

Or to be alone and happy,

Whatever it is for you,

But to really feel into a sense of,

Wow,

I have lived my life to the fullest.

That's the aim here,

And that really helps us connect with who we're becoming in the present,

Because who you are becoming,

Who you yearn and long to rise into,

To grow into,

To heal into,

Is already here and now,

And as we visualize and connect with them in this exercise,

You're gonna start to feel that and build that connection.

So that's the backdrop I'm gonna give you for now,

And I invite you to settle in.

Please be seated for this,

Unless for you it makes sense to be laying down here as you're,

You know,

At the end of your life,

And you just want to be horizontal.

That's cool,

Too.

Closing your eyes and taking a nice deep breath.

In fact,

Taking a few deep breaths just like this,

And really starting to arrive into the present moment first,

Coming into the senses,

Starting to pull in sound,

And noticing what sounds come to you in the world around you.

Of course,

You can hear my voice,

And noticing what else comes to you,

Whether you're outside and you can hear animals,

Or there's a vent indoors,

Starting to receive the world around you.

As you generally start to shift into the world within you,

Getting to experience the felt sense of the body,

So noticing what it feels like to be sitting here,

Feeling the shape of the body,

Feeling the weight of the body,

Where the surface of the body makes contact with the furniture beneath you,

Or the floor,

The ground beneath you,

Feeling those touch points,

Feeling your feet on the ground,

And just feeling this internal sense of,

And you can make a sound if you like,

This internal sense of relaxing your shoulders.

You're here now.

You're here now.

And furthermore,

Starting to really feel into the chair that you're sitting in,

Or whatever furniture is holding you right now,

Feeling its shape,

Feeling its density,

And then starting to sort of fall back into this rocking chair vision.

You can do this visually to the best of your ability.

All of us have different visualization capacities,

So don't feel like it needs to be 100% visual.

What's more important is the felt experience,

And to the best of your ability,

Bringing in the senses will warm up the oven of the emotions.

But starting to settle back into a future version of yourself in your 80s,

90s,

Whatever feels really good for you,

Or if you believe that you'll go into your 120s,

Or your 140s,

However you feel the future may be for health care and longevity.

Imagine,

Really imagine,

Yourself towards the end of your life,

Sitting in your rocking chair,

Or whatever it is for you.

There may be an Adirondack chair,

Or a future version of a chair,

Or maybe you're in some sort of gravitational device that has you floating and held,

Or a hammock.

Whatever feels most true for you,

And you're playing here.

We're imagining,

Not so worried about perfection,

Just follow your gut,

Follow your intuition,

Follow my guidance,

And trust in this vision.

As it's maybe being creative for the first time,

But you're settling into,

Oh where do I want to land?

Where would I love to be?

At this stage,

This final stage of my life,

I'm starting to connect with where you are.

What do you see around you?

Maybe it's inside,

And you're imagining the inside of your dream home,

Or your dream castle,

Or maybe you're outside,

You're in nature,

You're in the city,

Or in some futuristic version of the city.

Where does it,

Where is most in alignment for you to land?

Hopefully you can start to bring a smile to your face as you connect with this.

This is,

This is where you want to be.

It's exactly where you want to be.

You know,

Maybe it's spent a lifetime to get here.

So cherishing that you are home,

Exactly where you want to be home.

Starting to bring in the sights,

And the sounds,

And the smells of this home.

Really bringing that to life.

Now starting to get to know who's around you.

What does family look like to you at this point in your life?

And know that there's only the right answer for you.

There's no wrong answer here.

You need not to have a big family,

Or even a partner.

Maybe to be happy,

And in alignment,

And to have lived your best life is a solo endeavor.

And that's,

That's fine.

If that's for you,

That's beautiful.

Maybe there's a big family there.

Maybe it's an extended family.

Or maybe it's super simple,

And just a single person who's there with you.

Or maybe they're with you,

And there is a family,

But in this moment you're,

You're on your own,

And you're just sitting with yourself,

And reflecting on your life.

Play with whatever feels good.

But start to bring the sounds,

The smells,

The sights of your community,

And your family into your imagination here.

Really feeling them around you.

Widening that smile.

Sinking into the sense that you're really here in this moment.

And these people are really around you.

These people are really with you,

And present with you.

How good does that feel?

So lingering here for a few moments,

Connecting with the sights,

Sounds,

The smells of the world,

And the people around you.

So you really soak up,

This moment.

And we're gonna turn more inwardly now.

The scene has been set,

And perhaps maybe the family sort of,

Sort of drops away for this,

As it could be,

Could be loud and rambunctious in your,

Your rocking chair home.

And maybe you need a moment to reflect inwardly.

And just starting to,

To scan your heart for the tone of what it feels like to have lived the life that you have lived.

Where do you land in this moment?

How do you feel in relationship to life?

To your choices?

To the results,

The fruits of your labor in life?

And you can really trust whatever comes up here.

And perhaps there's a tone of,

Oh wow.

I didn't live life to the fullest.

There's so many things that I wish that I had said.

Passions that I wish I had pursued.

People that I wished I had loved.

Maybe that tone is there.

And welcoming that.

And owning and honoring and holding space for that.

Maybe there's a grief there.

A sadness.

And if that's part of your experience right now,

Welcoming that.

And then putting it down for a moment,

Whether it's organic or you're having to kind of create this sense of contentment.

What would it feel like to really rest in a sense of contentment toward the end of your life,

Sitting here in your chair,

Looking out,

Living in your dream.

Being exactly where you want to be.

Feeling this sense of,

Damn,

I've lived a good life and I'm proud of that.

I'm so happy to be who I am today.

I'm so happy to be here in this moment.

Softening your shoulders.

Softening your jaw.

Softening your belly.

Releasing any residual tension in your body as you really feel,

Feel into this sense of gratitude,

Of enoughness,

Of integrity,

Of breath,

Of just being,

Being so full.

What would that feel like?

And resting here with this sense that there's,

Unless you're super active and you're still chopping wood and making things,

It's just like a young whooper snapper at your old age.

Perhaps allowing in just a permission to be and nothing to do here.

Just this really beautiful restfulness and peace that you get to feel.

Knowing that you have lived well,

That you are living well,

And that you'll continue to live your life well until your last breath.

So just lingering in this for a few moments longer.

And now starting to let the scene fall away.

Let the world around you,

The visualization,

Start to dissipate,

Dissolve.

And really staying with simultaneously the felt experience in the body,

In the emotional space.

Body,

The smile on your face,

The relaxation,

The softness in your shoulders.

In the gaze behind closed eyelids.

Continuing to rest into this feeling as you start to return into the world around you here in this present moment.

Connecting with the chair that you're sitting in.

The distinction between it and your future rocking chair.

Connecting with the room that you're in.

Connecting with landing back here in this present moment and still feeling this sense of contentment,

This sense of peace.

Sense of gratitude for living life so fully.

Can you feel who you will become in this present moment?

Can you feel them already here?

Sure,

The circumstances may not be around you currently,

But these feelings are the precursor.

These energies that are cultivated in the here and now are the prerequisites that define and become who it is that you will become.

And as you sit here in this present moment,

Really feeling into the ways in which you are already them.

The fear can fade away.

The trust can arise.

The sense that it's all working out.

It's all working out.

And that you are so good and so held and so on the right path.

My goodness.

And also welcoming and holding space for the information,

The guidance that may rebalance you in these moments.

There's such medicine and potency in the sense,

As you connect with this exercise,

The sense that you may have felt that,

Wow,

There could be regret.

There could be remorse if I choose whatever path I'm on or whatever path I am afraid to lose myself to.

And so using this,

Welcoming this information to guide you into integrity in this present moment,

To guide you into a space of,

Wow,

I know exactly who I'm becoming,

Where I'm going.

That is my North Star.

And it's here now.

Who I am becoming is who I am.

And as I am this version of myself in this moment,

I know exactly the choices to make in order to continue on that path.

I am home.

I reside in the home that is this present moment.

I reside in who I am.

I reside in faith in who I am becoming.

And really just letting yourself be held by this and sense the new choices that may be called to your attention to make in the coming moments.

Sense what is already in alignment and where you can lean in and rest more fully in the parts of yourself that are thriving and alive and exactly who it is that you want to become.

And as you feel yourself sitting here,

Your feet on the ground,

Your body very alive,

Open your eyes slowly and just really settle into the world around you.

Sort of feeling into this shift in what's here and now.

The world around you may look a little different,

Hopefully,

As you feel a little different.

Having really created a new anchor in yourself.

And as I like to say,

It's not what we do,

It's how and why we do it,

Not just in yourself,

But in a version of yourself that's a little bit more baked in a how and why that is true for you.

Feeling into the intentions that have come forth and risen to the surface in this present moment.

And as you move forward about your day,

Continuing to let this work you and feel connected to this version of yourself and this visualization and the feelings that you are called to feel at the end of your life,

Including all of them,

And letting them inform you.

Both back into integrity,

If there are new choices that you need to make,

And especially so really starting to feel into the interconnection,

The collapse of the timeline that who you are becoming is here now.

And starting to cherish and cultivate and connect with that contentment,

With that peace,

With that joy,

With that satiation.

Make a home in it.

Make a home in yourself.

I love you.

Have a beautiful,

Beautiful now.