If you woke up one day and the social norms of what was expected of you were totally different,
Do you think you would still make the same life choices?
If you're living in alignment with your deepest authentic self,
Then you might say yes.
The practice of finding our authentic self is hard,
And ourselves are always changing.
You are not the same person you were one year ago,
Ten years ago,
Even one day or one breath ago.
Yet at the same time,
Your core is unchanged.
Your need for belonging and connection has always been there.
The wish to feel fulfilled and happy,
The desire to contribute something meaningful and of worth to the world,
Has likely always been with you.
Despite this,
It's so easy to lose ourselves to our roles and responsibilities,
To our children or our work or our goals.
It's so easy to go about life without really even connecting with our unique self.
So caught up in doing,
And then at some point we stop and look at our life,
And realise we are not happy.
We are far from who we thought we would be.
Sometimes a shock,
Initially we can move into acceptance and welcome the unexpected twists and turns.
Sometimes the shock propels us to make changes,
Small ones at first,
Which pick up momentum as we go.
That's what this practice is about.
We are going to connect with ourselves today,
And see if we can find that little quiet inner voice that speaks to you sometimes,
And says,
Wouldn't it be wonderful if.
.
.
Imagine if I.
.
.
If only I could.
.
.
That little voice that speaks your true desires,
That maybe you know is there,
But you ignore because it is too far-fetched,
Too unlikely,
Or too heartbreaking to acknowledge that this voice has not been heard.
So,
If you're feeling courageous,
Then getting into a comfortable position,
Allowing your eyes to close,
Letting yourself tune in to the sounds of the world.
Let go of the need to search.
Let go of the need to try.
Let go of the need to find anything.
Let go of the need to reach clarity in this practice.
You're much more likely to reach clarity if you let go of the expectation and the striving for it.
You're much more likely to feel centred if you just notice how you really feel,
And allow that experience to move through you.
This practice might bring up some emotion,
Some grief or sadness as to the life you are not living.
Know that you are strong.
Sit tall,
Strong back,
Soft front.
Know that you can handle anything that arises.
Breathing into it,
Creating space for it,
And knowing that you are not your emotions,
You're not your thoughts,
You are the one witnessing all.
You are safe.
So,
Taking the awareness deep into the breath now,
Let it fill you and breathe your whole body.
And as you settle and rest deeper into your body,
Acknowledge yourself here,
In this time and this place.
And as we rest here together,
I invite you to remember a time when you knew there was something calling you,
An urge,
A yearning.
It might have been very simple,
Or maybe it was a bigger desire.
The desire to do something,
Travel somewhere,
Experience something,
Or have something.
Tune into this desire,
This inner wanting,
Whatever comes to mind.
See if you can notice what it feels like,
And where it sits in the body.
This is also where compassion is required,
Acknowledging that we are allowed to want.
We are allowed to want and desire things.
We can acknowledge our desires,
Regardless of whether we feel we deserve them or not.
We can let go of the mind that shuts these ideas down when our inner defenses spring up.
When we might not even allow ourselves to think about what we want,
For fear that we will never be able to have it.
But you are safe,
And you are allowed to want.
Can you create warmth with your mind,
And breathe,
And open up to listening.
Shift gear now and tune into something that you know you don't want,
Something that you perhaps have in your life at the moment that you have.
Something that you don't want,
Or something in the future that you don't want.
Perhaps it's to live somewhere,
Or to do something in particular.
Perhaps it's a relationship that you no longer feel aligned with.
What does it feel like to acknowledge not wanting?
Now in Buddhism they would argue that craving and aversion are unhelpful.
But in this practice craving and aversion are helping us to understand who we are at a deep level,
And what we really desire.
When we have found ourselves caught in being what the world wants us to be,
What our families want us to be,
What our parents,
Or partners,
Or kids,
Or boss wants us to be.
But if you were sitting here,
A little dot of consciousness,
On this giant wet rock whizzing through space and time,
What would you want for your life?
It is very easy to reach an age where we are not sure if we are happy with our life.
In fact we know we are not happy.
But we do not know how to make change because we are so trapped in our life as it is.
Systems around us,
Holding us.
Family systems,
Work,
Responsibilities.
What would happen if you took just one of those little tiny voices?
Little dream.
And you allowed yourself to ask the question,
What would be the smallest step that I could take right now that would bring me one step closer to being the version of myself that feels the truest,
The realest,
And the most inspired.
And the more you might start the small steps towards these ideas,
The more you start to realise that perhaps,
Just perhaps,
You might even be able to have it.
Or at least a version of it that would bring you real and lasting joy and contentment.
And it might take time,
But anything is possible when we open our mind to letting ourselves walk our own unique path on the earth.
Living a life where your happiness is guided by that quiet compass within.
