Hello,
My name is Denise Richter and I'm a personal development and mindset coach.
Thank you for joining me today.
In this guided meditation we are going to practice awareness.
Hopefully this will get you on the path to being more aware and present as you go through your day.
This is a good one to do outside and even while walking,
But if that's not available to you,
You can do it sitting down and indoors and still fully participate.
For at least the first part of this,
Please keep your eyes open.
Before we begin,
I want to tell you that learning to focus your awareness can be beneficial in many ways.
We are going to start very simply and these simple exercises can be used when you are feeling anxious or out of control of a situation or even of your own emotions.
A short awareness exercise can help you diffuse anxiety or anger and give you a small sense of control which can help you shift your perspective.
Toward the end of this recording,
I will talk about awareness as it relates to the bigger picture.
Learning to shift and guide your awareness can improve relationships,
Increase self-esteem,
And improve overall life satisfaction,
So it is well worth practicing.
Start small and you will begin to see increasing positive effects.
Let's begin.
We'll start by taking a few deep breaths to connect with your body to let go of any distractions and to get focused on this important act of self care.
Breathe in for one,
Two,
Three,
And out for one,
Two,
Three.
Another breath for one,
Two,
Three,
And out for one,
Two,
Three.
Take a third deep breath at your own pace and then settle into a natural breathing pattern.
Eckhart Tolle said,
Awareness is the greatest agent for change,
So today we are going to practice awareness.
Your mind might be stuck in a pattern of noticing that doesn't serve you.
If you take note of all the bad drivers,
For example,
You won't see the one who graciously allows you to merge.
If you are focused on how clumsy you are,
You will notice every time you trip or drop something,
But you'll fail to give yourself credit for all the moments of coordination and grace.
But changing our lens of awareness takes practice,
So let us start small.
As you walk or sit in whatever room you are in,
I want you to look around and take note of all the yellow objects in the room.
I will give you some moments of silence,
So see how many yellow things you can notice.
Were you surprised by how many yellow objects you saw?
Let's try another color.
Look for all the blue objects you can find in this next span of silence.
Let's try focusing on a different sense.
How many sounds can you identify when you focus your attention on your sense of hearing?
I want you to listen mindfully in the silence that follows.
Did you hear anything surprising or unexpected?
I run a supplemental science program at my daughter's school,
And I was once preparing a unit on bird calls.
I remember walking my kids to school and noticing,
For the first time,
Over a dozen different bird calls.
I'm sure you have noticed this shift of awareness that often happens as a product of circumstance.
If you are in the market for a new house,
You start to notice all the for sale signs that you would have passed without even noticing before.
This applies to our experience of all the big and small things in the world.
Our minds are like Google search bars.
If you put in,
People are jerks,
You will get plenty of evidence for that.
However,
If you put in,
People are kind,
You will see overwhelming support for that also.
The truth is both exist.
Good and bad exist.
We cannot control the large majority of that,
But we can control what we focus on.
Our world is unsettled and divided.
There's no doubt about that.
Signs of discontent are everywhere,
But people are responding with kindness,
Creativity,
And a push for meaningful change.
We can focus on the tantrum throwers or we can focus on the growers.
We can adjust our filter so that our results are more uplifting.
Today,
I encourage you to look for the good.
Start small and take time to notice all the flowers or all the cute dogs you pass,
And then try the bigger picture and keep your eyes open for all the good and kind and helpful people.
Join them.
Help out in any way you can in your little circle of the world.
Increase your awareness of the opportunities to spread goodness and grow into a better version of yourself.
But don't forget,
Meaningful change always starts with awareness and mindful awareness takes practice.
So be grateful to yourself for taking the time to practice today.
Thank you so much for listening.
I hope you have a lovely day.
