Going Under The Hood

Learn why giving yourself permission to listen is essential for personal transformation. In this episode, you’ll be guided in a short practice to drop beneath the noise of every day life and connect with your inner wisdom and guidance.

Transcript

Welcome to On the Verge. I am Kara Bradley bringing you our first Sacred Sunday. Oh, I love these morning messages with these themes because it allows me to put on different hats to come to you in different ways. And these Sacred Sundays are going to be about practice, About insight, About finding ways that suit you, To listen to you, And your own wisdom, And your own guidance, And your own genius. I come to you today from Burlington, Vermont, Where we are spending a few days, Brian and I, On our New England, Northern New England tour. And on this Sacred Sunday, My inspiration is this phrase that I often remind myself of, And that is going under the hood, Giving myself permission to go under the hood, With myself, For myself, In conversation with me, My inner voice, My inner guidance, That source energy. So for today, Let's dance. Let's dance with ourselves. Let's just be with who we are and how we're showing up today. And let's give ourselves permission to just press pause, To press pause on all that's happening in your life, To press pause on all those things you think you need to do, And to just sit with you. And you don't have to physically sit if you're walking. That's fine, Driving, That's fine. But it really is this moment and this opportunity to turn everyone else off. And to be right in the center of who you are. You can call this meditation. You can call it prayer. You can call it reflection. It doesn't matter. My morning practice, I know, Is so essential for me to do this. In the wee hours of the morning, To set my state, To center myself, To ground myself, My voice in who I am. If I don't do it, Honestly, I'm like, I'm off. I'm off for the rest of the day. This practice of going under the hood could be a minute, Although I suggest more. But even if you start with a minute, Five minutes, Ten minutes, I think 15 minutes is ideal because it allows the mind to run its course, To run itself out. So even if you just grab a few moments at the end of that clarity, Of that wakefulness, Then it's worth its weight in gold. So let's just for a few minutes here together, Press pause. Let my voice just be background music, Just guiding, Gently guiding you inward. The best way to turn inward, Or one of the best ways, Is to turn your attention or your awareness on your body. I like to start at the feet. So just notice your feet on the ground or wherever you are. Just notice them. You can press, You can lift your toes, Just to bring and turn your awareness from your mind and your thoughts down to the lowest part of your body. Feet planted, I like to say. And now move your attention to your heart beating. Can you find your pulse somewhere in your body? And when you do, Just allow your awareness to rest there, Resting on the beating of your heart. In meditation, We call this an anchor for your attention. So once again, Notice the pulse in your body. And now turn the light of your attention, It's like a flashlight, Just turn it to your breath. Notice the experience of breathing. Notice what it feels like to inhale, How it changes your body or your mind. And what it feels like to exhale. Just riding your breath like you're gently floating on a lake or on the ocean, Just feeling the gentle rise and fall of your body as you tune into this simple rhythmic breath. And so now, Just for the last few moments, Allow your mind to just be. You have three anchors, You can always go back to your feet, Your pulse, Your breath. So if you find yourself flying away in thought, Just come home to one of those anchors, Feet, Pulse, Or breath. And you don't have to do anything else. Just allowing yourself to be with you. Noticing who you are under the hood of the car, Beneath the surface. Right here in this precious moment of your precious life. Here I am. Here I am. Here I am. If your eyes have been closed, Open them. And notice yourself in space. You can still reside in this very raw sense of you, Even with your eyes open, Even as you move through the world. Your wisdom, Your guidance, Your genius emerges from this place. From this deep sense of you, Of me. Oftentimes we're just on the other side of the hood scurrying around in our busy life. That we forget to listen. We all do it. I do it. And that's why these practices, Just like this one, Simple, Simple awareness practice of yourself, Can help you to become familiar with who you are under the hood. With that brilliant, Intelligent, Creative, Clear self under the busyness. So now as we move out of this practice, Carry this with you. Carry this natural state of clarity and calm with you. And remember that you can always go under the hood, Even for a minute. The more that you practice this, The more that you can apply it and return to it out there in your everyday life. And this in so many ways is a coming home. Thank you for joining me for this sacred Sunday, Even if it's not Sunday. You can still do it. And remember to give yourself permission. To pause, To turn inward and to listen. Because nobody knows you like you. Nobody can guide you, Direct you, Like you. You are worth listening to. You are worth pausing for. Once again, I'm so happy to be here with you for these morning messages. Thank you for listening. If you have gained some value from this podcast, Please review it. It helps others to find our time together. Be well.