And Now I Want To - A Practice Of Reclaiming & Reflection

Reclaiming yourself from trauma can be a daunting task. In this guided visualization, you are led on a path to recover and reclaim yourself while considering the phrase And Now I Want To. This is an opportunity to do some mindful journaling, and then write your own future in a journal, to reclaim your story outside of the trauma.

Transcript

Welcome to your meditation class today.

My name is Shannon Moyer-Semenye and I have the honor of leading you in a practice of looking forward to your future.

You're going to go on a bit of a journey together so I invite you to get nice and comfortable with your breath,

With your body.

If you feel called to sit down or lie back,

Listen to the rhythm of your own body and honor where you are today.

This meditation will be so much more effective if you lean in to where you are starting from.

When you feel comfortable,

I invite you to close the windows of your eyes,

To start to draw that breath up and in through your nose and sending it all the way down to your feet.

Before we begin on this journey of looking towards the future,

We need to spend a few moments here with our breath,

Getting nice and grounded.

Whatever it is that happened before today,

Whatever stories,

Experiences,

Anything that you are carrying with you there in that beautiful heart of yours,

Today we take a few moments to just put it to the side,

To get anchored down into our breath knowing that if at any time you grow distracted by thought,

By sensation or movement in your body,

By emotion,

You can bring your awareness back to your breath,

Recognizing the coolness of your inhalation on the edges of your nostrils as you draw that air in,

The slight pause before you exhale and noticing the warmth as that breath leaves your body.

Breathing in and breathing out,

Allowing all of the muscles of your body to melt down into the surface that supports you today.

Feeling the darkness to come behind your eyes,

Taking a few more breaths here,

Feeling grounded and feeling safe.

And on your next inhalation,

I invite you to allow your mind to wander to a space where the forest edge meets the grass,

Looking down at the ground,

Recognizing your own two feet there in that space,

Starting to draw in the details.

The details of today are going to be so important.

So spend a bit of time looking around,

What colors do you see?

As the air touches your skin,

Is it cool or is it warm?

Is there sunlight?

What can you hear and what can you smell there in that space?

The grass meets the forest edge.

Take a few breaths,

Ease gently into this space.

And when you feel ready,

Looking up and recognizing that there is a path here,

It's not a path that we are just going to start running down without an end in mind.

But when we are going to very slowly,

Mindfully walk down individually and yet together,

When you feel ready,

I invite you to take that first step forward.

And as you do so,

I invite you to consider,

And now I want to.

This is your path of wanting,

Your path of growing here on this path.

One step at a time,

You are invited to write your own story.

All of the things that you carry before all of the stories that have burned their way,

Etched their way onto your heart.

All of the ways that you've been hurt,

They lie behind you.

And here today on this path,

You get to reclaim the story of you.

And now I want to.

You get to write the rest of that.

As you step bravely,

Vulnerably onto this path,

Take a moment to recognize the difference you feel just in that first step.

Has the air changed?

Are the colors different?

Is what you see and hear and feel different than when you were standing on the edge?

I invite you to take another step forward and start this beautiful journey of,

And now I want to.

This is a path of reclaiming,

Of thinking and feeling down deep in the depths of your heart.

What is it that you want?

How do you want the rest of your story to play out?

And now I want to.

You get to determine that.

No one else.

No one has more power than you here in this moment,

Every step carrying you forward.

No one gets to write the rest of your story but you.

And now I want to.

What are those goals,

Those aspirations,

Those heart filled desires?

What are they?

What has gotten buried along the way?

In your story of being a beautiful human being,

What pieces of yourself have you buried away?

Have you allowed to grow quiet?

Have you hushed for someone else's comfort?

And now I want to.

The rest of the story is up to you.

And here on this path,

Led by your own two feet,

You get to write the rest of that story.

Keep walking one step at a time until you come to a clearing.

In this clearing is a table.

On the table there is a journal and a pen.

I invite you to approach this table,

To look at the journal,

To open it up and find the words and now I want to there on the top of the page.

Taking the pen,

Reclaiming and writing the rest of your story.

And now I want to.

Only you get to write it.

Taking pause and breathing down deep into the core of your being.

And now I want to.

Writing out whatever comes without being forced,

Trusting that you know the rest of your story,

Regardless of what you've been told,

The limitations that have been put on you.

And now I want to.

When it feels as though you've written all that you can,

Not that your story is complete,

But just the next phase,

The beginning of the rest of your story has now been put down on a piece of paper in your own writing.

I invite you to close up the journal and to not place it back on the table,

But to take it with you.

This is your story.

This journal was laid out here mindfully for you.

Taking it with you and starting your journey back down that path.

One step at a time,

Feeling the contact that your feet make with earth beneath you.

Realizing how different you feel in your heart space.

And when you come to the edge of the forest,

Where it meets the grass,

Taking a big breath,

Placing that journal over the space of your heart.

And now I want to.

These things that you have vowed to yourself,

These words that you have written from your heart become a declaration of self.

And now I want to.

Taking a big breath in,

Sending it all the way down to your feet just as we did when we began this process together today.

This time starting to draw your awareness back into your physical space.

Starting to wiggle fingers and toes.

Taking in the sounds of your room,

The ones that extend beyond your walls.

And only when it feels right to you,

Allowing the windows of your eyes to come back open.

If you have a journal or piece of paper available to you.

And now I want to write the rest of your story.

Breathe that story forward and bring yourself home.

No one else but you gets to write the rest of this story.

And now I want to.

Belongs to quote the letter books by Bernie Bolton called A special

Reviews

Absolutely love it. Soothing voice, beautiful practice - following this teacher.

Excellent. Great motivation after a slip up in recovery, it has helped me stay committed. Will try for a few days.

This meditation was exactly what I needed today. Decided I would sit and write about it even before you suggested it at the end. Will definitely come back to this one. Thank you.

Empowering and easy!
Thank you!

That was wonderful, thank you 🙏🏻

A gentle prompt to dream forward (and move forward). Thank you! 🌞💜

Stirred Feelings of Hope, Courage, and Empowerment. Thank you

Just beautiful and really helped me feel more encouraged about the changes I am facing. ❤️

Beautiful, powerful! Thank you Shannon this was just what I needed today! NAMASTE 🙏🏻