Please close down your eyes.
Start to lengthen your breath.
Make sure that you're comfortable in whatever position you've chosen to do your meditation in at this point.
Whether you're laying down or seated or standing,
Maybe walking.
This is your body,
Your time,
Your space.
So take what you need and just use me as a guide.
If you are able to though,
Close down your eyes so that we can shut out the rest of the world and come into our inner cave,
Our inner sanctuary.
That sweet place inside that's just ours,
That doesn't belong to anybody else.
I call it my cave.
I'm going in my cave.
And as you come into that space,
See if you can feel what the withdrawal from the rest of the world does to your body.
Does it bring a sense of calm?
Do your shoulders automatically soften?
Bring your attention into the center of your chest,
Into your heart space.
Check where you're at with your heart this morning.
How does it feel?
Does it feel tight?
Does it feel open?
Is there a slight trace of anxiety,
Stress or does your heart feel quite singy,
Happy,
Jolly?
Regardless of what your heart feels like,
You're just paying attention to it.
You're not trying to shift anything.
You're allowing your body and your emotions to be.
We're giving them grace in this quiet time.
The last thing we want to do is sit down for meditation and get angry with ourselves about stuff.
No,
This is a time to kind of love on yourself.
Be kind to whatever it is your body is telling you when you quieten down and shut up for a bit.
Take a big,
Deep breath and purposefully pull your shoulders down away from your ears.
Let's make some space.
Do that again.
Nice,
Big,
Deep breath all the way down to your abdomen.
Push your abdomen out with the oxygen intake.
Let your nervous system know that you're doing calm breaths.
And as you exhale,
Make sure that you pull your shoulders down mindfully.
Time to relax.
Take a moment to think about all of the different things that you're working on in your life.
There's always specific areas for each one of us,
No matter who we are.
Career,
Money,
Relationships,
Our bodies,
Family,
Our spirit.
Are we religious,
Spiritual,
What we believe?
Think about these specific areas of your life for a moment.
Think about any area that comes to mind that you might need a little bit of extra strength,
Willpower,
Determination to get through at this point in your journey.
What's challenging you?
What part of your life?
There may be multiple or just one.
If there's multiple,
Make it easier on your mind for this meditation and pick the strongest one.
It'll come to you.
The one with the most need today.
What's draining you?
What makes you tired?
What pulls you off your happy path?
What takes work?
And just sit with that part of your being for a few breaths.
Think about where you're at with it specifically.
How do we get through it?
How do you get to the other side of this challenge?
Does it need daily practice,
Daily focus?
Would that be helpful?
Does it need to be removed,
Separated,
Taken out of your life?
Would that be helpful?
Does it just need a little bit more work,
More time,
More energy,
More dedication?
What feels right for you in your body when you think about these options?
Do you work on it?
Do you remove it?
Do you change it?
Which one?
Just let your tummy relax,
Let your body relax,
Let your mind relax.
If your left brain is going a little bit chaotic,
Way too many thoughts and feelings around this,
Let's pull back to the breath.
Remember your breath is boss.
Your breath is your home space,
Your home base.
Breathe with me.
Breathe in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold.
Relax.
All is well in this moment.
All you're doing right now is just looking at options,
Choices.
Take a deep breath and calm your mind.
Soften your shoulders.
Come back to a place of ease and balance.
Relax with me.
Just breathe.
Whatever this is,
We've got it.
We've got it,
Right?
Let's bring a moment of clarity into all of this.
We have our own facts and whatever it is,
I'm sure we'll get through it.
Let's just state that I will get through this no matter what.
Whether I have to change something,
Let go of something or fix something,
I'll get through.
And with that being said,
Let's start to focus on that willpower,
That determination.
The third chakra in our energy centers,
Of hundreds of energy centers,
The third main chakra,
Our solar plexus.
This is our place of will,
Our power.
This is what drives us forward,
Our confidence,
Determination,
Our ability.
Let's take some breaths down into your upper abdomen,
Above your belly button,
Below your chest.
Breathe into that energy center.
Just give it some life,
Some support,
Some love.
Determination comes from this place in our being.
Once you know what you want to do with that part of your life that's tiring or heavy or not bringing much joy,
Once you know and sense what you need to do about it,
Determination from this part of your body,
This part of your thinking system,
Your solar plexus,
Determination is going to help you on the journey,
Giving you that extra strength to complete that which you need to do.
Our strongest way to feed our determination is to feed it the outcome.
So when I was quitting alcohol,
I didn't focus on everything I was losing,
Everything I was stopping,
Everything that I felt differently,
All the awkward times,
All the social times without the alcohol,
All the need and stress when I needed the alcohol.
I thought about the outcome,
Me.
I was determined for that aspect of me to feel free,
To feel light,
To not be consumed by thoughts of something that controlled me.
What are you determined to feel?
What's the goal?
What's the shiny object at the end of the path that will feed your determination?
Focus on that.
Let's sit in that,
Feel it in your body,
Feel that outcome as if it's already so.
See yourself in your mind,
Living as if it's already so.
How you would feel,
How you would walk,
How you would talk,
How you would dress,
How you would behave,
Make it all real.
Let it tingle in your body.
I knew what I would feel like without alcohol.
I knew it,
And I would sit and let it tingle in my body as if it was already alive inside of me.
That feeling of being completely free,
Nothing controlling me.
What do you want to feel?
Make it real right now.
Just breathe,
Always come back to your breath.
Check in with your shoulders,
They may have tightened up.
Check in with your jaw.
Nice,
Big,
Deep breath.
Soften,
Bring yourself back into harmony.
And trust,
Trust my friends,
And so it is.
You're capable.
And with a little bit of determination,
You'll get there.
I'm going to count to three,
And when I get to three,
You can open your eyes and come back into your reality.
One,
Two,
Three.
With your eyes open,
Let's just make that declaration.
And so it is.
And so it is.
Namaste,
My friends.
