Your Future Self Thanks You

An empowering meditation where you will work with your childhood self to practice self-love and reconnect with a sense of play and curiosity. Lou will guide you to help you uncover your innate wisdom and find an inner-child mantra that will help you progress on your journey. Toward the end, you will reflect on what you can embody now that your future self will thank you for.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

My name is Lou Redmond and I am so grateful that you are practicing with me today.

I would like to share the inspiration for today's practice.

I was on a camping trip with my beloved partner,

Kelly,

A much needed time outside during our quarantine period where we were able to go onto someone's land and set up our tent and just spend some time in nature and get out of our home.

It was healing in many different ways.

On one of the days we decided to go on a little hike.

On this hike we wanted to do some exercises from this book that we were reading.

It's a book called Soulcraft by Bill Plotkin.

One of the exercises was that you embody as you are walking out in nature.

You really try and be your five-year-old self or five to ten-year-old self.

What that means is you do whatever it feels like to do as a kid would do.

You get really curious about things.

You allow yourself to skip and to see something that catches your eye and just to play.

It's really about playing and really trying to get out of our agendas and thoughts and things that we have as an adult and really connect with that child self.

We both went on our own path and decided to do this practice on our own.

It was a really fun way as I was going to just enjoy what it was like to be that young,

What it was like to be curious and to be playful.

As I was walking I decided to go up this hill which was kind of like a mountain range off the path,

Off the beaten path.

As I was getting further up it started to get a little steeper and it started to get much more rocky.

I kept moving,

Kept going and then I saw a sign basically telling you that you shouldn't go any further.

I went a little bit further.

I didn't think I quite made the top but I was feeling a little afraid.

I was a little scared.

I was like maybe I'm not out here by myself.

What's going to happen if I get hurt?

These are really rocky things.

I lost sight of that child self.

But then in that moment I thought,

Hmm,

What would my five-year-old self say to me right now?

What came to me was this feeling and belief that I can do anything.

I acted like a child self or saying this to myself and I just kept repeating it almost like it was a mantra.

I can do anything.

I can do anything.

I can do anything.

I can do anything.

I just kept walking,

Kept taking a step forward.

Instead of thinking the fears,

The thoughts,

The mantra kept me focused on moving and I got up to my peak and it was a really wonderful experience and just showed the power of our minds and focusing it in a time when we're afraid or when we need it.

And so I wanted to invite an idea of finding our childhood mantra with this practice and also thanking different parts of our self.

I was also on this way to this camping trip listening to a podcast with Liz Gilbert and she had talked about this practice that she does of doing something now that your future self will thank you for.

And so this whole practice will be embodying this concept,

Seeing if we can really connect with ourselves now,

Connect with our younger self and also see something that our future self will thank us for.

And so with that,

Go ahead and begin to move into your space,

Close down the eyes if you haven't yet.

And any last movements that need to be taken,

Please take them.

And starting to allow the body to find stillness,

Allowing the heartbeat to slow down,

Feeling the connecting points of your body,

Your cushion,

Your chair,

Surrendering into your support and then also finding an alertness and an awakefulness throughout your chest and your upper body.

Beginning to bring some awareness into your breath,

Starting to feel that light expansion of your body with each breath in and with each breath out,

Allow yourself to connect and to settle just a bit more.

We're going to attune ourselves here by just connecting with sound for a moment.

And so I'd like you here to connect and notice the sound that your natural breath is making,

That subtle and soft wisp of air that you might hear and just listening for it,

Even if it may be difficult to hear.

And then moving away from the sound of your breath,

Which is this natural,

Always present part of us,

Into the natural existence that's outside of us.

So I'd like you to bring your awareness to anything that you hear outside.

Maybe you hear the song of some birds,

It's the wind on the window sill.

I'm starting to connect this inner nature with outer nature.

Just using sound for your attention,

Noticing the impermanence of the sound that comes in and out.

And then see if you can notice the silence in between the sound,

Listening for silence,

Which is kind of a paradox.

Just noticing how does that attune your awareness.

And then together we're going to take a full breath in and a full breath out.

And we're going to move through some visualization to work with this inner child work that we're going to do.

So I'd like you to bring your attention to your mind's eye space between your forehead.

And imagine that you are watching yourself playing outside as a child,

Somewhere between the ages of five or ten.

So thinking about what did play mean for you at this age?

Were you in a playground?

Was it sports?

Your backyard?

And this was a beautiful sunny day.

So going and seeing that experience,

Watching it for a moment.

Noticing what it's like to watch that child play,

Seeing the innocence,

The presence,

The curiosity.

Notice what it looks like and notice what it feels like as an adult to watch this.

And I do want to say if you had a tough childhood,

Holding this child just with that compassion right now,

Right?

Knowing that this doesn't have to be a playful and joyful thing if it was a difficult childhood for you.

And whether you're watching this child in joy or with just compassion,

I'd like you to ask yourself,

Is there anything that you'd like to say to this child?

Maybe anything they needed to hear.

Maybe it's something like,

You are loved.

You are beautiful.

You are whole.

Anything that feels right for you here,

Start to share it with this younger version of you.

Sending them that love,

Imagining that they're receiving it even though they don't know that you're there.

And now imagine after you've sent them that love that instead of watching them,

You go and you morph into the younger version of you.

So you are in that experience as the five or the ten year old self.

You are the one that's playing.

And notice if anything changes.

And then allow yourself in that first person view to play and to skip and to explore and to do what the child in you,

The child in you did.

And as you play asking what were some of the things that this child believed?

How did they see the world?

What was their wisdom?

See if you can connect with that for a bit.

And from that space you look over and you see again now that future self,

The current self that was watching in.

And you see from your child eyes and thinking about is there anything that the child can say to the adult version of you?

And this is what if you can find the words I'm going to call our inner child mantra.

For me it was you can do anything.

For you maybe it's believe in yourself.

You are loved.

Go for your dreams.

Trust in your gifts.

Get out of your own way.

Maybe one of those resonate or maybe again just thinking what does your child self want to say to your older self?

And when you find something that feels true for you,

Just like a mantra,

I'd like you to just repeat it.

Repeat these words over and over and allow them to quiet your mind.

If it's you are loved,

Just keep saying you are loved,

You are loved,

You are loved.

And then let that go and take a good breath in and out.

I'd like you to be back with your current self now and thank your younger self for the wisdom that they gave to you,

The wishes that they imparted.

Now as your current self right here right now,

I'd like you to think about a challenge or a difficulty that you might be facing.

Maybe it's an anxiety,

Maybe it's a stressor that is in your life,

A specific one or just maybe it's a general sense.

Holding that in your awareness just for a moment,

Allowing it to be here.

And then seeing,

Does your mantra support what you're going through?

Can you repeat your inner child mantra here to be with this stress and to be with this anxiety in a new way?

And if the mantra doesn't fit for this one,

Is there anything in your life where you can find use of this child mantra?

Maybe sometime in the future when you go and do something where this could be useful.

And so imagining it current or future and bringing those words into this experience.

Noticing if it helps.

And letting that go.

And now I'd like you to see a version of yourself in the future.

A version of you that is ideal,

That is embodying all of this wisdom and all of this good energy from your past and your current self.

So what does this future person look like?

Maybe you see an experience you'd like to have,

A goal accomplished or a feeling that you like to have,

A partner that you like to be with.

What does this life look like?

Really embody the feeling that you're hoping for,

The love,

Connection,

Peace.

Try to feel that feeling right now as you see this future self.

And then asking,

What is something that you can do now that your future self will thank you for?

Maybe first just we'll set the intention together.

So I'll offer some words.

You're welcome to repeat them silently to yourself.

I will be strong.

I will be loving.

I will be courageous.

I will be myself.

I will be strong.

I will be loving.

I will be courageous.

I will be myself.

And then anything that you'd like to say or do now for your future self,

Maybe just embodying that mantra once again if it fits.

I will be generous.

I will be caring,

Whatever it might be,

Just setting that intention,

Something your future self will thank you for.

And then lastly,

Is there any action that you can take when you leave your cushion or your chair today and go out into the world?

Any action that your future self will thank you for?

And so just asking that question and not needing an answer to come.

Just seeing if anything wants to arise for a moment.

What can you do today that your future self will thank you for?

See that future ideal self thanking you for all that you're doing,

All that you're going through.

They know that it's worth it.

They know that you're going to come out greater,

More loving,

More genuine,

And more connected to yourself.

So see them sending you love,

Receiving it.

And then slowly,

When you feel ready,

Letting that all go and beginning to open your eyes and come back to your day.

I would love to hear in the comments if you want to share what your inner child mantra was.

I'd love to read them.

Or if there was anything that came up that your future self would thank you for,

I'd love to read about it.

I thank you so much for practicing with me and I look forward to being with you again very soon.

Much love and namaste.

Reviews

Remember adventure is what my inner child said. 😀

Thanks Lou 🙏🏻 fantastic meditation to tap into & transform the past, present & future 👌🏻🙌

Thank you for this!! ( I’m worth it, enough and loved).

"Have fun", "trust yourself". Those phrases were much needed and appreciated, by my current and future self. I am preparing two massive projects at work and I know my future self will be grateful for the hard work and focus I have to put right now (trust yourself!!) so later I can have fun working with these new clients and team. Thank you, Lou, for always being helpful.

Loved this meditation! My childhood mantra is: I love who you are and are becoming. My future self mantra is: Be yourself and be patient

I loved that. It brought up a lot of sadness seeing how disconnected I am from my inner child. She told me it’s ok to live with wild excitement, and the words ‘wild love’ moved through me. I love the question at the end, and I’m looking forward to living into the answer. Thank you so much for this!

Merci beaucoup. Très bonne médiation. I was able to connect with my inner child.

Life is a playground, don’t take it too seriously. My inner child said as she held my face with her bright light 🤍 thankyou

Thank you! I’ll just leave here my inner child mantra, as it was truly eye-opening: “Believe in yourself, you can achieve anything you set your mind into; stop getting in your own way”.

It is kind of internal and time engineering to find ourselves in terms of latent nature maybe Sankalpa. I cannot say what my inner child said:) but my future version said to me: It is a matter of being not doing. Be persistent and continue. / Thanks a lot. Very very incredible experience.

Thank you for your lovely meditation.
Blessings with love

I am enough... Thank you and many blessings. 🙏🌸🦋

Loved that.
Inner child mantra: just do it! (You’re good at almost everything you do. So just try it, go for it!)

Lou, I live your meditations. This one is fantastic. I had a smile on my face and told my current self to “remember the magic”. Thank you so much. ❤️❤️❤️

My future self loves truly knowing that All is well. Thank you for this wonderful experience Lou. 🙏💜🌹🕊✨

My child self asked my adult self to not let me loose my voice. 🙏😶💙

Really liked this- helped shift my mood toward confidence and calm. My future self mantra was believe in your dreams

So delightful to hug my little self and tell each other to believe in yourself!

Thank you for helping me to revisit my inner child. I felt like I wanted to hug her and tell her she is loved and safe. Her message to me was to enjoy being myself and not be afraid to strive for a life that brings me joy and happiness.

Thank you so much for today. My inner child was so brave and with such a strong inner strength persevered and went through very tough times....I never saw it until today....that strength was always there and I will embrace it.