Welcome to today's meditation.
We're going to use an I am affirmation to prepare the mind for who it is or what it is we would like to be and embody.
And you may well be familiar already with affirmations in which case,
Great,
Lovely.
And if this is new for you then welcome to the idea.
Just while you get yourself into a comfortable position,
You can be seated laying down,
Whatever appeals.
I'll just give you some warm up really as to what this is all about.
So often we can find ourselves sort of caught in repetitive thought loops,
Negative mindset or limiting beliefs.
And to imagine ourselves in another state of mind or in another mood can be just too much of a virtual or mental leap.
And so affirmations can sort of provide a bridge between here and there.
They end up feeding our subconscious mind and they help us to arouse the emotion or the state of being that we'd like to be in.
So we sort of call it forth and we use language as a way to get there,
As a way to feed the mind and body.
And perhaps even for the cynics among us,
And I am quite cynical at times too,
It's sort of a way of persuading ourselves into something.
I like to use affirmations when I am in a shadowy or stuck place to try to bridge my way into somewhere else.
But I also like to feed them to myself as I'm on the way up,
As I'm sort of emerging into a spring like mood,
If I've been stuck in winter for some time.
And then equally,
If I rise all the way up to summer,
I use them there and then too as a way of multiplying that lovely,
Delicious warmth and glow and positivity and radiance that I feel during summer moods.
So they can be useful at any stage in the sort of ladder,
Snakes and ladders of emotions and moods that we feel as humans.
And as with anything,
The more we practice them,
The easier they become,
The more natural they feel.
So today's affirmation is going to be nice and simple as they all are.
And we're going to use the words,
I am joy.
So now that you've found your comfortable position,
And you've allowed the body to settle a little more in your spot,
Taking the hands wherever feels most inviting,
They can be resting on the lap.
They can be in prayer position at the heart,
Or they can be hand on top of hand over the heart space.
If your hands are in your lap,
Then you might just explore turning the palms up or down and notice which feels more inviting.
Typically when we open the palms upwards,
We're inviting energy,
We feel perhaps more connected to the space around us,
Whereas palms down,
There's more grounding,
We feel more connected to the body.
And automatically I want you to soften your shoulders,
Relax your body,
Take a gentle lift through the spine so that you feel the neck lengthening in the crown of the head,
Reaching towards the sky,
Sense of poise,
Radiance and readiness in the body,
But at the same time a softness.
It helps you to focus your mind,
You can bring your gaze to your third eye,
Your asana chakra,
The space between the eyebrows.
Or if you'd prefer to cast your glance down into the heart if there's any tenderness that needs your attention,
Then that can be an alternative.
If you can turn the corners of the mouth up into a smile it makes so much difference.
It softens the muscles in the cheeks and the jaw,
And it sends an automatic signal around the body to relax and to enjoy.
So we have three preparatory deep breaths here,
Inhaling through the nose,
Nice and long and slow,
Letting your body really receive the fullness of that breath,
Holding that breath just for a couple of beats.
And when you are ready,
Exhaling back out.
And on these next couple of breaths again,
Slowing down,
But imagine that you are filling with joy,
With radiance and light.
Feel the vibration of your body rising,
Exhaling any doubt,
Any tension,
Any worry,
Any cynicism.
And final round of breath.
Feel the vibe rising.
And exhaling back out.
So good.
So keeping your glance now either at the third eye or down into the heart.
You can mentally repeat to yourself after me.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
I am joy.
The whole body believing in it,
Going with it,
Absorbing that emotion.
Let yourself play,
Be whimsical.
Say it out loud if you want to.
Really let it radiate throughout you.
Let yourself believe it.
And let yourself be it.
Let it be your truth because it is your truth.
I give you the space now to explore that in whatever way your voice wants to explore it for another minute here.
I give you the space now to explore that in whatever way your voice wants to explore it for another minute here.
I give you the space now to explore that in whatever way your voice wants to explore it for another minute here.
So good,
So so good.
Just notice how that feels.
Allow yourself to receive that feeling.
Notice if there's anything that you see.
Come back to this smile on the face.
And if you'd like to give thanks for your joy and your practice,
We'll bring the hands together at the heart centre and simply bow the head towards the heart as a gesture of thanks.
Namaste.
