Today,
Let's begin by gently rooting the base of our spine into the ground beneath us,
And feeling a great sense of strength and stability holding our body.
As your eyes close,
Notice a gentle upward expansion,
As if a thread at the top of your head is lifting and supporting your head,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your spine.
Allowing your heart to open a little bit and soften in the center of your chest,
Feeling a sense of softness and a sense of comfort.
As you continue to sit in stillness,
Noticing the places where you might still feel tension,
Allowing your awareness to go to those places of tension,
Breathing in and out,
Becoming aware of the sensations of tension,
Becoming aware of the thoughts and emotions that may arise.
As you become aware of your thoughts and emotions,
Notice if you feel any resistance to those thoughts,
To those emotions.
Perhaps you notice a part of you that resists,
Or resists a certain thought or a certain emotion.
Perhaps you notice a part of you that wants to change,
That wants to get rid of a certain thought or emotion.
Becoming aware of these voices and responses,
There's no need to push these thoughts and emotions away.
You can simply let them be,
Simply allowing yourself to move further into a perfectly comfortable state.
Now begin to imagine on the screen of your mind what your life will look like in five years from now.
Notice all the details in bringing this scene in the future fully to life.
As you bring this scene to life,
Noticing all the colors,
The surroundings,
The people around you,
The sounds and the feelings within your future self.
Imagine what it feels like to be in this future life.
Imagine your feelings and thoughts that shape this point in the future.
As you continue to bring this scene to life,
Exploring all aspects of your future self,
Notice the emotions that arise.
Imagine bringing all the good qualities,
All of those fantastic thoughts and feelings from the future,
Bringing those back into your present moment.
Accepting with gratitude that feeling of comfort and ease.
Noticing also any resistance that you might have to achieving this future life.
Any resistance to being happy in the future.
Now as you continue to sit in stillness,
Notice if there's any part of you that resists the future self.
As you sit,
Allowing yourself to feel the sensations of resistance,
Notice what that resistance feels like.
Does it create a tension in your body as if you're trying to move away from the future?
Does it create a worry that perhaps this future that you imagine won't be achievable?
As you sit with any of these sensations of resistance,
Notice whether there's a part of you that wants to change a thought or a feeling in your future life.
There's no need to force anything in this image you're building of your future life.
Maybe something needs to change in this image.
Maybe something needs to be different in how you imagine your future self.
Still rooted in this image of your future self on the screen of your mind,
Begin to notice which aspects of this new life bring you great joy.
Is it your future environment where you live?
The people in your life?
How you spend your time?
Lean into that joy and contentment that these things bring in your future life.
As you bring that joy into your present moment and begin to allow it to fill your body,
Notice how you perhaps begin to resist some parts of your present life.
As if you notice that your life right now,
Today,
Doesn't bring you the type of joy and contentment that your life in the future might bring.
Continuing to breathe in and out,
Noticing these thoughts and emotions,
And allowing yourself to deepen into this joyful,
Grateful,
Contented image of your future self.
Are there any things that you thought you needed or wanted in the future,
But which aren't bringing you joy?
Is that fancy car or big house which you thought would bring you happiness in the future not necessarily satisfying your needs?
Can you relate to these things differently?
Allow yourself to feel those thoughts and emotions,
Becoming aware of the sensations that arise as you really explore this image of your future self.
And now,
Return to those things in your future self that do bring you great joy.
Really notice and welcome in all the aspects of this image of your future life,
That make you feel great,
That really elevate your spirit.
Do these things currently exist in your present life?
If so,
How might you express more gratitude for what you already have in your life right now,
Today?
Or if these things don't exist in your present life,
Then what steps might you need to take in order to invite this wonderful sense of joy and contentment and gratitude into your life?
As you continue to breathe in and out,
As you continue to sit in stillness,
Notice if there is a part of you that wants to change a thought or a feeling in this future life.
Can you connect with the thoughts and emotions associated with this beautiful,
Joyful future life?
Feeling the intensity of those thoughts and emotions as you breathe in and out,
Allowing yourself to experience both your resistance to the unknown future and your openness to what the future might hold in store.
Now move back to the present moment and bring a sense of openness,
Spaciousness to your awareness of the present moment.
As you bring this feeling of openness to the present moment,
Imagine looking out at the world through a clear,
Open window,
A window that shows you a vision into your life as it is right now.
What do you see there?
What does your life right now look like?
What are you able to express gratitude for right now?
What might you want to change?
Can you allow yourself to experience both the resistance and the openness to the present moment without trying to change the present moment,
Simply accepting it as it is?
And knowing that decisions you take in the present can lead you toward the future that allows your fullest,
Richest,
Deepest self to emerge.
As you sit in this place of openness,
Ask yourself,
What is the best way to live in this present moment?
Letting go now of any thoughts or images in your mind,
Begin to slowly become aware of your physical body,
Returning gentle movement to your body as you begin to become aware of the sounds around you and the room in which you are sitting.
And in your own time,
Allowing your eyes to gently open,
And spend a few moments writing down any notes on anything that emerged for you from this meditation,
And taking this sense of gratitude and contentment with you into the rest of your day and into the future that lies ahead.
