You're always training your mind,
The only question is,
With what?
I want to share a little technique with you that changed the way I see the world and has added a little extra layer of magic to it.
So I dreamt this up a few years ago when I was working for another meditation app.
I was writing a script and trying to teach how the reticular activating system works.
So this is the part of your brain that decides what you notice and what you filter out.
Did you know that at any given moment your brain is taking in around 11 million bits of information,
But you're only consciously aware of about 40 or 50 or so?
So you're not seeing everything,
You're only seeing what your brain thinks is important to you.
And that's when this idea came to me.
So I invited people to visualize a blue butterfly,
Nothing mystical,
Just something simple and very specific.
I suggested they make it important in their mind and then go about their day and their weeks and see what happens.
I did this myself and what happened to me was beyond what I expected.
So I started seeing blue butterflies everywhere on coffee cups,
On t-shirts,
Even on a wall of a hotel room that I would check into.
My favorite story is someone gave me a gift and said,
I don't know why I chose this for you.
I just felt like you had to have it.
And when I opened the box,
There was a pair of tiny blue butterfly earrings.
So this happened so much for me that it became a symbol,
Like a quiet reminder that I'm paying attention and that I can choose what I focus on and what shows up.
And it also made me realize that if I can train my mind to notice blue butterflies,
Then I can train it to notice more of the things that I want in life,
More opportunities or support,
Connections,
Joy.
And that's exactly what I did.
So let's try this together now.
You can do this with your eyes open or closed.
Some people find closed easier because we will visualize.
Now just take a slow,
Deep breath in and exhale,
Let it all go.
Now in your mind's eye,
As best as you can,
Begin to visualize a beautiful,
Big blue butterfly.
There's no right or wrong way to see it.
Just see if you can notice its color.
And if you can,
Begin to make the blue a little brighter,
A little more vivid and vibrant.
Turn up the saturation.
Notice the shape of its wings.
And what other details can you notice about this blue butterfly?
And then gently let your visualization go.
You don't need to hold on to it.
Just go about your life and notice what appears.
Maybe you see it on a screen,
On clothing,
Hear it in a conversation,
In a song,
In unexpected places.
And each time this blue butterfly shows up for you,
Which I think it will,
Just let it be a quiet reminder that what you focus on grows,
That your attention is powerful,
And that you play a part in what you get to see in your reality.
If you enjoyed this,
Bookmark this track and I would love to hear in the comments when a blue butterfly shows up for you in your life next.
All right,
Thank you for listening.
Have a beautiful day.
