Before we get started,
Find yourself a quiet,
Comfortable spot where you won't be disturbed.
Make sure that you're in a comfortable,
Upright,
Seated position using any props you need,
So you can stay seated pain-free throughout this practice.
Whenever you've found a comfortable position,
Close your eyes,
Completely relax your body and turn to stillness.
Let's begin.
Arriving into your body by taking a couple of deep breaths in,
Inhaling,
Filling the lungs all the way up until the collarbones,
And exhaling,
Releasing completely.
Let's repeat.
Inhale,
Allow the body to expand,
And exhale,
Resting the body more comfortably into your posture.
Using your breath to get more and more comfortable in your position,
Moving until you fully arrive into stillness.
Continuing your natural breathing,
Allowing the body to relax and grow heavier and heavier with each breath out.
With each exhale,
You sink deeper and deeper into relaxation,
Drifting away from your day and arriving here in this moment.
As I count down from five,
With each count,
You'll go deeper and deeper into relaxation.
Five,
Letting go completely.
Four,
Growing heavier and heavier into the body.
Three,
Finding complete stillness,
Drifting away.
Two,
Going twice as deep as you are right now.
And one,
Arriving in your mind's eye,
In a beautiful garden.
The first thing that comes to mind,
It might be a garden you know well,
Or a garden of your mind's imagination.
What does this garden look like?
Are there flowers,
Pathways,
Or trees?
Is it dark,
Bright,
Or colorful?
Are there bushes,
Or weeds?
Notice how you've entered the garden of your mind.
As you walk through your garden,
Find yourself an empty plot of soil.
See the soil.
It is rich and prepared to grow.
It is the very creativity of life.
Now look into your hand and see a seed.
This is a seed of intention.
The intention you give this seed,
You will plant,
And it will grow in your life.
An intention is more than just a goal.
It's a quality or feeling that you would like to infuse in your thoughts,
Actions,
And daily life ongoing.
Learning how to set meaningful intentions can change the shape of our experiences.
It empowers us to become more connected with ourselves and potentially lead a more heartful life.
So,
What feeling,
What intention,
What emotion,
Or characteristic would you like to cultivate more into your life?
Perhaps you would like to stop taking things personally,
Or perhaps you would like to be more mindful of your energy.
What in your everyday life could use a little more attention?
More thoughtfulness.
Try to formulate your intention into one word or short sentence.
For example,
More patience,
Loving awareness,
Releasing judgment,
Or giving more to others.
Now,
Look back at the seed of intention in your hand and give your attention to this seed and plant it into the rich,
Fertile soil.
If you have more than one intention,
Imagine planting a seed for every intention.
Imagine what would happen if you gave your seed of intention the water,
Love,
And attention it needs to grow.
And imagine what would happen if you didn't.
An intention is only a seed we plant in the back of our minds.
It's our conscious thoughts and actions that help to grow our intention to flourish.
So,
Take a moment to imagine how your life would look like if you could cultivate more of your personal intention into your day-to-day moments.
What would it look like to you to be more patient,
Kind,
Compassionate,
Or caring for yourself and others?
What would you change,
Do,
Or say to give this intention more power to grow?
Visualize your seed growing into a beautiful,
Strong tree with branches and leaves growing in all directions.
Only you are responsible for the changes you want to create in your life.
Remembering your mind is a garden,
Your thoughts are the seeds.
The harvest can either be flowers or weeds.
So,
Take good care of your garden and come back to it often to nurture,
Water,
Or take in its beauty whenever you need.
Slowly releasing the image of your garden and letting go of your intention.
We've planted the seed and now we must wait for it to grow and find the light on its own.
As I count down from three,
You'll start to come back into the space you're sitting or lying in and arrive back into your body.
Three,
Slowly beginning to move your body intuitively.
Two,
Noticing the breath.
And one,
Exhaling and letting go completely,
Opening your eyes whenever you're ready and remembering you can come back to your intention at any time you need.
