Welcome my fellow being.
I'm Janelle Thay and I will be guiding you through the Sewing Seeds for a New Start meditation.
This meditation was designed for you to regain calm,
Courage and confidence in new endeavors.
Often the new year,
The sunrise,
All the flowers blooming in spring symbolize new beginnings.
We plan,
Set resolutions,
Intentions,
Goals of what we want to achieve for the new year,
The new day,
The new week or month.
But truth is,
We can start anew every day and every moment.
This meditation aims to do this for you,
To sew seeds for a new start,
Right here,
Right now.
I will ask you now to find a comfortable seating position with your spine erect.
If you like,
You can let your hands gently fall into your lap or bring both hands into Chin Mudra.
For this,
Rest your hand on top of your thighs with your palms open,
Facing up.
And let your thumb and index finger gently kiss,
Forming a circle.
Your middle finger,
Ring finger and pinky remain straight.
This hand gesture aims to remind us we are one with all there is,
Pure consciousness.
That we can let go,
Surrender and trust that even though starting something new is difficult at first,
We are not alone and we will overcome challenges along the way.
Let's begin.
Close your eyes and pay attention to your body.
How are you feeling today?
Tense,
Sore or relaxed?
How's your breath?
Shallow from the chest or deep from the belly?
And how about your mind?
Is it busy chasing one thought after another?
Slowly check in with yourself and observe.
Don't judge.
Everything is allowed in this very moment.
Now let's deepen our breath further.
Inhale slowly through your nose,
Allowing your belly and chest to rise as you fill your lungs with air.
Exhale slowly through your nose or mouth,
Whichever one feels more natural to you.
Let's do this together.
Inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale.
Continue like this in your own rhythm for a couple of times now.
Inhale and exhale.
Return to your natural breathing pattern.
Sowing seeds for a new start begins from within.
It's like starting an indoor garden.
Before you plant a new seed,
You make a list of what you would like to grow.
The same is true for living your life intentionally.
What thoughts,
Emotions and intentions do you want to cultivate in your life?
What challenges are ahead of you?
What goals do you want to achieve?
Maybe it's starting a new job,
Building healthier habits or reshaping the relationship with yourself.
Whatever it is,
Picture them now one by one.
Conceive detailed mental images of them.
If you feel like your mind is wandering off,
Return your focus to your breath and then start again.
Now visualize that you have accomplished your goals.
How does it taste,
Smell,
Sound,
Look and feel like?
Now move on to visualizing the actions you need to take to get there.
What do you need to do?
Feel it as if it was already your reality.
These may be things of your liking and disliking.
Envision how you're going to handle them.
Now picture yourself in front of a roadblock and visualize how you're going to overcome it.
How does it feel having persisted and grown from it?
Does the feeling of pride and joy take presence within you?
Now return the focus to your breath and keep on breathing calmly in your natural rhythm.
As you will go into execution,
You may notice things pan out differently than you had imagined.
Or you may encounter other preconditions to be fulfilled.
That's okay.
You're now prepared for it.
Take it moment by moment.
Fail forward and learn about yourself and your environment along the way.
Take a deep breath and repeat after me.
Whatever comes my way,
I trust that I can handle it with mindfulness,
Calm and confidence.
Keep the focus on your breath.
When planting seeds in your indoor garden in late winter,
It is recommended to use a growing light.
The same may be true for your new start.
Depending on your starting point,
You may require support,
Someone that can shed light on a couple of things for you.
That's okay.
There's no harm in reaching out for help when needed.
Just like seeds don't sprout in too cold environments,
The seeds you sowed for a new start won't either.
Be warm-hearted,
Kind and gentle with yourself.
You're doing great.
Remember also the seedling first struggles underneath the earth before one day it emerges.
Those who only knew it as a seed may not recognize it,
But it will remember its journey of becoming something great forever.
Every new start brings a new seed with a story yet untold.
Honor the seeds you sow.
Honor their story.
Honor your story.
Now let's take one final breath together before you continue your day.
Inhale and exhale.
Thank you for having taken the time to share your practice with me today.
Namaste.
