Find a comfortable seat,
And just take a few minutes to kind of just get settled in.
Putting your body into a position where you feel comfortable,
Yet supported.
Alert,
But resting.
And close your eyes if that feels okay,
Or if it doesn't.
Maybe find a spot that you can kind of blur your vision a little bit and just softly hold your gaze at one spot.
And just take a few deep breaths,
Just noticing your breath.
Just beginning to increase your awareness of the present moment.
Using your breath like this hook for our focus.
We don't need to change anything about our breath.
And doing our best not to judge anything about our breath,
But just noticing it.
Noticing where in our body we feel the physical sensations of breathing.
Noticing the sounds of our breath.
And if your mind is doing other things,
That's okay.
We don't have to fight with it,
We can let it wander away sometimes.
But see if you can keep part of your awareness hooked onto your breath.
We don't have to do this perfectly.
See if we can rest and trust the idea that the way we're doing it is good enough.
Just be curious maybe for a moment about what it might feel like if we could get our breath to move a little more deeply into our bodies.
So maybe if before we were noticing most of the physical sensations of our breath,
Around our nose or throat,
In our shoulders or chest,
Or even our belly.
Can we just go one step lower and see if we can shift that place of our awareness of our breath.
Maybe down into our chest or down into our diaphragm.
Or even down into our hips.
And just kind of be curious and play with noticing where the energy of our breath goes.
And through this meditation,
I may use visualizing language or sensing language.
And everybody's imagination works differently,
So if you're getting like really visual stuff,
That's cool.
And if seeing what I'm talking about is difficult,
That's also okay.
That's also fine,
Right?
It doesn't matter what imagined sense it's showing up as.
For me,
It's just like a felt knowing,
Like a,
I get the concept.
For other people,
Things might show up very physically or visually.
All of them are fine.
So don't let me using visual language get you hung up on the cues.
If you're sensing what I'm talking about in a different way,
Just go with a different way.
It's exactly right,
However it shows up for you.
So I'm going to invite you to start imagining that you could move your breath up and down your spine.
So that when you inhale,
It would be like your breath starts at the base of your spine and that energy just moves up to the top of your head and back down when you exhale.
Almost like we're using our breath to push this ball of energy up and down our spine.
Just kind of clearing out,
Focusing and centering our awareness on this central energetic channel.
Just noticing how it is to center your awareness in that space.
And as we do this,
As we maybe watch a white light moving up and down our spine with our breath,
Just noticing the places in you that feel calm and peaceful,
Centered and wise.
And just okay,
No matter what's happening around outside of this calm and centered space.
There is a part in all of us that is always okay.
And sometimes it's harder to access than others.
But I believe that it's there.
And if it's hard to join me in that belief,
That's okay too.
And just watching this white light moving up and down your spine.
And maybe you're feeling like outside of that white light,
There's energy swirling around or your energy feels stretched out or scattered or chaotic.
Maybe you can visualize it like all these tendrils like,
You know,
Being stretched and pulled in so many different directions.
And if we could for just these few moments together,
Just kind of visualize that you could like pull all those tentacles back in.
Like they just get absorbed by that white light that's moving up and down your spine.
Just recalling all of that energy that we've spread out outside of ourselves.
And just for these moments,
Let's be selfish and hold all of that energy for ourselves.
Just noticing what that feels like.
And again,
Whatever you're experiencing and however this is showing up,
Whatever feels easy or hard or clear or confusing,
All of that is fine and just things to notice.
And let's keep that one hook of our awareness on our breath and this calm centered space.
And we're going to practice a more advanced skill,
A dual attention.
So we want to keep part of our awareness on that centered space.
And then still with our eyes closed or eyes softly focused somewhere,
We want to begin in our mind's eye to begin to visualize the room and the world around us as it currently is.
And just noticing any physical or emotional or thought sensations that may come up in response to that.
Noticing if the feeling of how well that hook into the centered space was holding changed when we introduced the world back into the equation.
And then as best you can,
Still visualizing this present world around you to the degree that you're able,
Return your focus to that calm and centered place inside.
It will be harder now,
But we're just practicing.
And even maybe returning to your breath and not picturing the white light going up and down to help you strengthen your connection to that place.
Maybe practicing that pulling your energy back in.
Maybe even visualizing yourself getting bigger and the world around you.
Shrinking down.
And then we're just going to begin to let that world around you fade into white.
And now in our mind's eye,
It's you,
Your centered self,
Just in this vast white blank space.
As you continue to watch that white light move up and down your spine.
Just kind of tuning in to the wisest and most honest part of yourself.
And getting curious here in this white void,
This blank space where it's just me and my centered self.
What do I know to be true about myself?
What are the anchors that can ground me in chaotic and uncertain times?
What characteristics in me can I always depend on?
And just letting these qualities come into your awareness.
And there may be other parts of you that want to argue with them.
And poo-poo them and minimize them.
And we're just going to try to let those parts be there,
But keep that hook of our awareness.
With this wise,
Centered,
Honest part.
The part that sees our resilience.
Our strength.
Our courage.
Our ability to be present and okay.
No matter what's happening.
No matter how big or small we believe those qualities to be in ourselves,
Even if they're just seeds.
Let's just find them now and connect to them.
Maybe noticing,
Where do I feel this quality in my body?
When I want more of it,
Can I go there?
Can I breathe into there later?
Just taking a few moments to notice.
Continuing to watch the white light.
Staying centered.
Then we're going to imagine ourselves in this white void,
Start to walk forward.
And as we walk forward,
Without a lot of judgment,
Without a lot of overthinking,
Or preferably no thinking,
Right?
We just want to let this rise out of our subconscious.
We're walking forward into our future.
And just let a moment in the life,
Like you're walking into a random moment.
A random moment in your future,
As your future self.
And let the scene take shape in your imagination.
It does not have to be anything big,
Right?
Maybe we're walking into dinner with our family,
Or we're walking into shopping in the grocery store.
Some random,
Everyday moment.
And just really noticing how you feel in that moment,
Internally,
In your body,
Physical,
Emotional sensations.
Letting the scene really flesh itself out around you.
Checking in,
What do I see?
What colors are there?
What am I wearing?
What do I smell?
What do I hear?
How does the air feel on my skin?
Who's with me?
And after spending some time in this space,
Noticing how this future self is kind of this visual representation of all of those core qualities we were just noticing.
About ourselves.
And kind of let that future world fade back to white.
Really taking in that future you-self into your core self in this present moment.
Noticing again,
Where do all those great,
Dependable qualities,
The things you know for sure,
That you trust about yourself,
Where do they live in your body?
Maybe even pose the question to this really wise,
Centered version of yourself.
How can I access this when I'm back in the world and feeling so distracted?
And slowly imagine yourself moving back,
Allowing the present world around you to reappear in your mind's eye.
Picturing yourself seated back where you are in this room.
Watching that white light move up and down your spine with your breath.
So that when you inhale it moves from the base of your spine to the top of your head and back down with every exhale.
And feeling again now with the world present again in your mind's eye.
Feeling again into those qualities,
Those places in you.
That you can depend on,
No matter what chaos or uncertainty is happening in the world around you.
And bringing to mind other people who also have dependable qualities that are in your world.
And other people who see these dependable qualities in you.
Maybe focusing your breath at heart center.
Maybe just really allowing your moment to feel into the sense of gratitude for these qualities in you.
For the ability to tap into them,
For the people in your lives that are dependable and supportive.
And who see you.
And just taking three deep breaths.
And whenever you're ready,
Blink open your eyes,
Look around the room,
Reorient yourself to your surroundings.
I hope this has been helpful.
