Time To Slow Down And Come Back To Now

In this fast-paced world, with everything that is going on around us, as well as within us, we need to have a solid foundation that is able to sustain our sense of peace, joy, harmony, love, and wholeness.

The world is not going to do it. Other individuals are not going to do it. But we need to choose this for ourselves.

I invite you to join me as we continue to explore how to move along the Path of Freedom.

Transcript

Blessings,

Blessings and welcome to the path to,

Or the path of freedom as a dear friend of mine reminded me,

Or made me aware of the other day.

That this is not really the path to freedom,

But this is the path of freedom.

And the difference obviously is that the path to freedom implies that there is a final destination that we are traveling to,

That we are journeying to.

But this is a path of ever-expanding freedom,

Of us setting ourselves free to be in ever-expanding love and joy and harmony and freedom and abundance and wholeness and all these beautiful qualities.

So this is,

I may not remember to refer to it as the path of freedom,

But I will do my best moving forward to get it straight,

To get it right.

Not that there is any right or wrong in anything,

It's just different.

But anyways,

My name is Daniel Roqueo and I am very grateful to be here.

It's been such a long time since I placed myself in front of the camera like this,

Or the microphone.

Almost a year.

Because of different reasons,

Which I will not go into now,

But I'm very grateful that I'm here and I'm very grateful that you are here,

Whoever you are and wherever you are.

So thank you for joining me as we continue to explore tools and practices and become more and more aware of ourselves,

More and more conscious,

As we raise our vibration and expand our consciousness so that we may make more and more conscious choices,

Higher and higher choices that are more and more in alignment with the good that we wish to experience,

With peace,

With love,

With harmony,

With joy,

And so on and so forth.

Today's topic is time to slow down and come back to now.

Time to slow down and come back to now.

And this is a point that has been brought to my attention in a big,

Big way these last few months,

And particularly these last couple of weeks.

Some of you may know that a little over a year ago,

Me and my family moved from Sweden to Spain.

It was a beautiful year that we spent down in Spain,

But since a few months,

We're back in Sweden.

And coming back,

Even though we're moving back to the country that I was born in and my wife was born here and our kids are born here,

Even though we're coming back,

It was a major adjustment coming back.

We didn't just pick up where we left off,

But there were so many things that we needed to consider and that we needed to deal with and all manner of things.

And so upon coming back,

My experience has been that life has been very,

Very,

Very intense.

It's been moving very,

Very fast.

And I know that many people around the world have the experience of life moving very fast and things happening a lot.

There's a lot happening.

So many things coming up to the surface,

Swirling,

Spinning.

So there's lots of anxiety.

There's lots of stress.

There's lots of worry and fear coming up.

And you may have heard me say before,

And it's not my saying,

I'm not going to take credit for it.

I'm just a conveyor of something that it is a principle that someone articulated at some point where they said that when life becomes intense,

We need to intensify our practice.

And I had an experience about a week ago where someone close to me,

They did something,

They made a particular choice,

They acted in a certain way.

And due to the intensity that I've had,

I have not chosen.

The ego would say I've not been able to,

But in truth,

I have not chosen to make that choice.

Make my practice a priority.

I have these four spiritual needs that I need to tend to daily meditation,

A creative space,

A physical movement on a regular basis,

And having a breathing space,

A space of just coming back and being fully present,

Being here and now,

A space void of activities,

A space void of doing this.

I've neglected that since coming back.

And so I got pulled into a whirlpool of reaction,

Of mental and emotional turmoil and turbulence.

Not because of what they did,

But because of my interpretation and the judgments and the opinions that I got hijacked by.

And this brought to my attention in a very,

Very big way that this is life's way.

It's always like that,

You know,

Life is always a beautiful mirror.

When something happens in the external,

Or actually when something happens in the external that we react to,

That becomes a part of our experience,

That is life inviting us to look at our experience,

To become aware of the limited thought patterns,

To become aware of the notions,

The stories that we buy into,

So that we may release and let them go,

So that we may make higher choices,

Choices that are more in alignment with the good that we wish to experience.

And so I had,

I had about a day when I was absolutely,

Absolutely blaming this individual and I had much judgment about the choice that they had made and the actions that they took.

So I was stewing in that for about 24 hours,

Or actually 12 hours,

And then the next morning I had gained some distance to it,

Some perspective on it.

But it made me realize that I can no longer buy into the excuses that the ego is telling me that I don't have enough time,

I don't have enough energy,

I don't have the space to really make my practice a priority,

All these excuses.

And I thought they were valid excuses.

But this experience brought to my attention that I cannot hide behind,

If I,

If I want to live in peace,

If I want to live in ever expanding joy and harmony and wholeness,

Which I do,

Which I do,

I cannot let the ego run the show.

I cannot let external conditions and circumstances dictate when I engage in my practice,

When I practice,

What I practice.

And there's another beautiful saying that goes,

We don't want to build our practice into our lives,

We want to build our lives around our practice.

And I used to be,

I used to have a very solid practice before we left for Spain.

During Spain and since coming back,

That habit,

That way of life has dissolved.

And so just to illustrate the beauty of coming back,

Of slowing down and coming back to the now,

Let's have a moment of doing just that.

So I invite you to,

I invite us,

I invite us to close our eyes,

To put a smile on our face,

To let the body know that all is well.

And then take a deep breath in,

Breathing in,

Another deep breath in,

And this is how we come back.

This is how we slow down and be aware that it doesn't need to be for more than 30 seconds.

I mean,

We can easily squeeze this short but very powerful practice into a bathroom break.

Or even if we're sitting in an office or a cubicle or whatever,

We can easily take 30 seconds to close our eyes and just breathe.

And on a larger scale,

And what I caught from this experience,

This challenge,

The blessing that I mined,

One of the blessings,

But one of the major blessings that I mined from it was that I need to find my way back to having a breathing space,

A regular breathing space.

Now what we did here,

It was being conscious of our breaths,

Coming back to the nowness of this moment for a short period.

When I speak of having a breathing space,

I'm speaking more of having a space,

A longer space,

And for me that space is at least 20 minutes,

So I always set a timer on my phone for 20 minutes.

And I place myself in a space,

In a place where I know that I will not be disturbed,

In a place and in a space where there are no distractions,

So there's no TV on,

There's no radio on,

No podcasts,

No nothing.

Perhaps,

And I actually usually do,

Put on some very soft,

Low volume instrumental music.

Nothing that triggers the mind,

Nothing that triggers intellectual activity,

But something for the mind and the body and the soul and the heart to lean into and to rest in.

But we can just as easily just be quiet,

And it is so important in this fast-paced world,

In this world that is so based on doing,

Where many of us are so caught up in doing and running and speeding and forcing and hurrying,

It is so,

So important that we have a practice that allows us to come to a stop,

That allows us to slow down,

Not only when we have our meditation space,

Be it in the morning or the afternoon or whatever the case may be,

But on a regular basis throughout the day.

Just like we're breathing on a regular basis.

We don't just take one deep breath and hold it for as long as we can and then let it go and take another deep,

Long breath.

But we breathe.

Not shallowly,

But we breathe calmly and regularly.

To sustain the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen that are needed in the body,

So that there's a balance.

So let's have another moment of practicing,

And I'm going to extend this space a little bit,

But let's take those deep three breaths,

Closing our eyes,

Putting a smile on our face,

And breathing in.

Another deep breath in.

And if you will,

Please say with me,

Out loud,

If you feel comfortable and if you're able.

If not,

Mentally.

But saying it out loud carries more power.

It becomes more integrated,

More embodied.

But please say with me,

All is well.

Something wonderful is happening now.

Everything is working for my highest good.

Perfect preparation and unfolding is always happening.

So,

This takes about a minute.

Out of our time,

Out of our days,

Out of our schedule,

Out of our whatever.

We each have a minute to come back to.

Five times a day,

Ten times a day,

Twenty times a day.

To ground ourselves,

To center ourselves,

To anchor ourselves,

To step out of time,

To step out of the mind,

To step out of busyness,

Intellectuality.

Come back to the nowness of this moment using the breath,

And then lean into whatever affirmations we feel we need to,

Whatever affirmations we resonate with.

A few of the affirmations that I'm working with right now is that I'm happy,

Healthy,

Rich,

And wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.

That I'm living a simple,

Peaceful,

And quiet life,

Unbound by time and place.

That God is my only source and supply.

So,

Which affirmations we lean into is not as important as that we do the work of creating our minds,

Of dwelling,

Of turning our attention to the good that we wish to experience.

The good that we wish to experience.

Because we want to take our minds back.

Yes,

I know,

There's so many things pulling at our attention.

We go on social media,

We watch the news,

Or listen to the news,

Or read the newspapers,

Or hear our friends or colleagues talk about this and that.

So many things.

And so it becomes very,

Very important that we protect our consciousness.

That we,

On a regular basis,

Come back to remind ourselves of what it is that we wish to experience.

In the midst of fear,

Worry,

And doubt.

In the midst of chaos.

In the midst of turbulence.

In the midst of whatever is happening in the world,

In our lives.

We need to come back.

Coming back to the breath.

Having a moment of pausing,

Of slowing down,

Becoming still.

And then a moment of creating our minds.

To know.

To feel.

To recognize.

To realize.

The good that we wish to experience.

And this,

Obviously,

It is not a one and done thing.

It doesn't happen overnight.

And we need to combat the ego with all its excuses and reasons as to why not to.

Like the ones I became aware of.

I don't have time.

I don't have the energy.

This is not the time or place or space.

All these excuses.

We need to battle them.

We need to overcome them.

So that we,

On a regular basis,

Every time we go to the bathroom,

At the top of every hour,

Every 15 minutes,

Every time we see a bird or a tree or whenever the phone rings or whatever,

Finding a cue that helps us to come back.

Finding a cue that reminds us to come to full stop.

So this is the invitation for us today.

To find a structure.

To find a way.

And this is actually called,

This whole practice is actually called Practicing the Presence.

Which is where we find a cue.

Something that we use as a reminder.

We choose something that we use as a reminder.

That serves as a reminder for us to slow down.

To come to a full stop.

And then treat our minds with whatever affirmations we feel we resonate with.

Are inspired by.

Or that we feel that we need.

So this is the invitation.

No questions at this point,

I believe.

No.

No questions.

So as always,

Thank you so,

So much.

It's been such a joy and beautiful experience to be back.

I absolutely love this space and I'm very grateful that you are participating.

That we are participating in this space together.

So thank you so,

So much for joining me.

Thank you so,

So much that we get to walk this beautiful path together in this season.

And one last time I invite us to come back to the breath.

Taking a couple,

Actually taking three deep breaths.

And then affirming.

So once again,

Let us close our eyes.

Let us put a smile on our face.

And let us breathe in.

Another deep breath in.

Let's say and let's state together that all is well.

That something wonderful is happening.

That everything is working for our highest good.

And that perfect preparation and unfolding is happening now,

Always and forever.

Thank you so,

So much.

Until we meet again,

As always,

I bless,

Bless,

Bless your day.

And I bless,

Bless,

Bless your way.

Much love,

Many blessings.

Namaste.

Reviews

Daniel, you never fail to fill my heart and lift my spirit back to where it belongs.. thank-you thank-you thank-you ✨🕊️😊
Marnie

OMG! Welcome back! You have been missed. This was THE perfect session for today and any day. The words and thoughts that you convey are so comforting. Thank you for allowing yourself to be a conduit! Many blessings to you and your family 🙏🏾🙏🏾

Wonderful to have you back! A lovely, grounding meditation. Thank you. 🤗🙏💛

It is so good to have you back! I’ve been thinking about you lately and hoping you’d return. Be Here Now! Now is not then and here is not there. Welcome back! It’s so good to hear you!