Hello and welcome to the Artist's Morning Podcast.
My name is Darius and I'm so grateful you and I get this time together.
This is episode one and let's start by laying some of the groundwork around how this podcast works.
There are three parts.
Part one is a story and a lesson.
Part two is a guided meditation journey,
A short 10 minute experience.
And part three is the integration.
It's where I share a writing exercise that will help you bring the lesson,
The meditation and the episode together.
Now this is episode one.
This is the beginning.
So let's be real here.
Yes,
I have a vision for what this podcast will be and how it will grow and what the most important things are and what things don't matter at all.
And you don't know shit till you do it.
Oh my gosh,
How many times I've been wrong about what I thought the project was and then I went out into the real world and almost immediately was like,
Nope,
Pivot this way.
And this way was so much better than I could have ever imagined.
So yes,
To putting ourselves out there before we know what this fully is,
Yes,
To moving before you feel ready,
Because guess what?
Ready isn't a feeling.
Oh my gosh,
How much of my life I wasted waiting for the feeling of ready.
And then someone said the magic sentence to me,
Ready isn't a feeling.
Ready is a decision you make.
You decide you are ready.
I was like,
Oh my God,
I remember hitting pause,
Getting my notebook out and being like,
I need to write that down.
And so here we are,
Nowhere close to ready,
Not even interested in ready.
Instead,
In a space of permission,
Permission to play,
Permission to get it wrong,
Permission to be messy.
Yeah,
There's something about giving ourselves permission to be a beginner.
I don't know how it happens,
And it happens to so many of us when we start something.
It's like there's this baked in expectation that even though we're at the beginning of a new creative endeavor,
We need to be the best there ever was.
I'm going to be the best podcast host in the existence of the medium.
Episode one,
Here we go.
Lunacy.
And so our lesson today is to rejoice in that special window of time where we are a beginner,
Where we don't know better,
Where we're allowed to suck.
And so our meditation today will be on the topic of permission.
And yes,
I can give you permission to live your wildest dreams.
I can give you permission to step in to that art that lives inside your heart.
And the truth is,
There ain't nobody's permission out there.
That will be more empowering to you than your permission for yourself and your life and your dreams.
And I know I said the D word dreams,
Dreams.
For some of you,
That sounds exciting.
For some of you,
That's a little terrifying because you might have had a dream.
You might have shared your dream.
That dream might have not yet come true,
Might not ever come true.
And that can hurt.
And for some of us,
That means we close our hearts.
This dear friend is an invitation to you and your glorious heart to stay open.
I know at some point you might have been hurt.
I know at some point you might have been discouraged or rejected.
And this is your invitation to do whatever you can to live with your heart open.
We need your heart in this world.
We need your heart in this world.
We need more heart in this world.
The courageous act,
A rebellious act,
Despite it all,
To live with your heart open.
It's time to meditate,
Dear friend.
I've said many things,
So let's take a moment to slow down.
Your eyes are open.
I'd like to invite you to close them now.
Slowly,
Gently,
Going inwards,
Bringing a softness to your forehead,
To your eyes,
To your jaw,
To your neck.
Allowing the softness to work its way down,
Down,
Down,
Down your back,
Down your hips,
Your pelvic region,
Your thighs.
This warm,
Gentle softness slows everything down,
Brings calming,
Soothing energy to your body,
To your being.
Down your knees,
Your shins,
Tops of your feet,
The bottoms of your feet.
Taking a nice,
Deep breath into the bottom of your belly.
New,
Fresh energy in.
In,
Letting go of old,
Unwanted,
Unneeded energy out.
I'm going to share some affirmations.
You can repeat them.
You can just listen to them.
You can let them float away if they don't resonate.
That's okay too.
Today,
I choose to be ready.
Today,
I choose to be ready.
Today,
I give myself permission to play.
Today,
I give myself permission to make mistakes,
To try.
Today,
I even give myself permission to fail.
Today,
I choose to be ready.
Nice,
Deep breath here.
Big exhale out.
I give myself permission to be a beginner.
I give myself permission to experiment and explore.
Just imagine who you could become.
If you created a world in which you felt safe to experiment,
To explore,
To play,
To get messy,
To grow as an artist,
As a writer,
You are safe here,
Dear one.
This is your time to shine.
Breathe that in.
This is my time to shine.
This is our last song.
I'm going to stay quiet and allow you to bask,
To play,
To soak in the energy and the possibility of choosing to give yourself permission to let that creative light inside you shine.
Bravo,
Dear artist.
Bravo,
Dear writer.
Bravo,
Dear creator.
You made it to the end of the meditation.
You made it to the end of the episode.
And for that,
I am so grateful.
There's a part three to this episode,
Which is a writing exercise,
Which I have shared below the audio player for this podcast.
Please make sure to take a look and review and integrate our lesson today around permission.
Thank you for podcasting with me.
Thank you for meditating with me.
My name is Darius,
And I will see you next time.
