On success and protection,
I'm going to drop a truth bomb today right at the beginning.
I found from past experience that it's best to do it quickly so we can get our resistances out of the way.
You ready?
Here goes.
We protect ourselves from success rather than protecting our success.
Let's dive into this.
Those who want to do well in their lives,
Maybe advance in their career or pursue a creative dream,
Can have a particular aversion to optimism.
The Academy teaches us that all great thought comes from having a critical perspective.
And so we wean ourselves from optimism at some point in school,
And then years later,
We wonder why we are so grumpy and dissatisfied.
The problem is that we apply the same critical mind,
The mind of protection,
That is necessary in our schooling and our workplaces,
To ourselves.
And so we can end up feeling unsatisfied at a deep level with who we are.
This leads us to feeling like we are never a success.
It leads us to protecting ourselves from success.
Let's journal about this now for two minutes.
How have you protected yourself?
From success.
How?
Very good.
And finish the phrase that you're writing now.
And then put your journal to the side.
Next time we will dive more into the idea of success and prosperity with some more journaling exercises.
But today I want to lead you in a visualization for protection.
So get yourself into a comfortable position.
Perhaps get a blanket or meditation cushion or pillow for your lower back.
We'll take four deep breaths into the belly,
Breathing in and exhale,
Filling the belly and letting go,
Breathing deeply and letting the muscles relax.
As I name each body part,
I want you to bring your attention there without judging or criticizing or needing to change anything.
Simply becoming aware of your body in the present moment,
Alive.
Your right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
All your toes filled with light.
The top of your foot,
The bottom of your right foot,
All the bones inside your foot,
Your heel,
Your ankle,
Your right foot filled with light.
Your right front calf,
Your right front shin,
Your knee,
The top of your thigh,
The back of your thigh,
The sides of your thigh,
Your whole right leg filled with light.
Your right hip,
The right pelvis,
The right waist,
The right side of your lower belly,
Your middle belly,
The right side of your lower back,
Your middle back,
Your hips and right side of your torso filled with light.
Your left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe,
Your left toes filled with light.
The top of your left foot,
The bottom of your left foot,
All the bones inside your foot,
Your left ankle,
Your left foot filled with light.
Your left shin,
Your left calf,
Your left knee,
The front of your left thigh,
The back of your left thigh,
The sides of your thigh,
Your whole left leg filled with light.
Your left hip,
The left side of your pelvis,
Your left waist,
The lower left side of your belly,
The left side of your middle belly,
Your lower left back and your middle back,
Your hips and trunk on the left side filled with light.
Your chest,
Your lungs,
Your heart,
The diaphragm,
Ribs,
Collarbones,
The whole front of your body in the chest area filled with light.
Your upper back,
Your left shoulder,
Your right shoulder,
Your lower neck,
The whole upper part of your back filled with light.
Moving down your right arm into the right biceps and triceps,
Right elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Top of the hand,
Bottom of the hand,
Thumb,
First finger,
Middle finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
The right shoulder to the tips of your fingers filled with light.
Your left shoulder,
The top of your left arm,
Your left biceps and triceps,
Your left elbow,
Your left lower arm,
Your left wrist,
The top of your hand,
The bottom of your hand,
Your left thumb,
First finger,
Middle finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Your shoulder to the tips of your fingers on your left side filled with light.
Your throat,
The front of your throat,
The right side of your throat,
The left side of your throat,
Your jaw,
Right side,
Left side,
Your chin,
Your right cheek,
Your left cheek,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
Inside of your mouth,
Your nose,
Your right eye,
Your right temple,
Your left eye,
Your left temple,
The area between your eyes,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Forehead,
Hairline,
Top of the scalp,
Back of the scalp,
The area inside your head,
The forehead,
Your right ear,
Your left ear,
Your whole face,
Neck and head held in light.
And from the top of your head down through your shoulders,
Torso,
Arms,
Back,
Waist,
Hips,
Leg,
Feet,
And toes,
Your whole body protected in light.
I'll close today with my poem,
The Moment.
You know the moment in the show when you think,
Oh,
She's really in trouble now.
And the danger,
Addiction,
Bad guy,
Betrayal,
Loss,
Sabotage comes crashing down around her.
And you think,
What's going to happen?
How will she recover?
And oh man,
Oh man,
Is she ever making a mistake.
That is the fall.
That is the very thing that is the condition of the possibility of our being.
And thousands of theologians and philosophers and literary scholars have spent millions of gallons of ink spilling to figure it out.
And you,
Dear one,
On your couch watching the show just now are doing more than simply following the plot.
It's much wider,
Grander,
Wondrous than that.
You,
Your snack,
Your drink,
The thing you're escaping by watching,
That is your fall.
And somewhere out there behind a screen you cannot see are viewers who follow your every move.
The way is never smooth,
Otherwise they'd stop watching.
So go ahead,
Get up,
Be the heroine.
They have a final heroic song they wrote for you.
And they have been rehearsing for this very moment that you are in.
