Positive Ways To Start Your Day: Setting Intentions

Start your day with calm and clarity. Take a deep breath, center yourself, and allow the peaceful energy of the morning to fill you. This meditation invites you to set positive intentions, release any tension, and cultivate a sense of inner peace as you step into the day ahead.

Transcript

My name is Jason Stevenson and welcome to this guided morning meditation.

As you slowly awaken this morning,

This meditation will gently guide you into a natural embrace of the day ahead.

Before we begin,

I invite you to come into a comfortable position,

Whether that's sitting or lying down.

Ensure that the spine is straight,

Your shoulders are relaxed,

And the neck should be aligned with the spine.

All muscles gently relaxed.

So just take a moment to adjust yourself in any way necessary.

Just to ensure you are comfortable and supported.

And when you are ready,

Allowing your eyes to gently close.

To begin this meditation,

Simply come to notice your breath.

Without trying to change it,

Without judgment or assessment,

Can you simply notice the nature of it?

Witness the way it effortlessly moves into the body,

And then just become attuned to the natural flow of the breath.

As though observing the breath,

The full length of each breath in and out.

As you begin to settle,

Take a moment to witness the entirety of your body and mind,

Our thoughts.

Often when we wake,

We carry fragments of our dreams.

And we hold on to thoughts about the days behind,

And the days ahead of us.

So simply begin to observe,

From a place of non-attachment,

Whatever you may be carrying in the physical body.

Just gently witnessing any areas of tension or discomfort.

And invite your breath to nurture these areas.

Take a few deep breaths into each area of the body,

Calling for your attention.

And then gently release them.

Allow your body to sink for a moment into complete stillness and silence.

In the same way now,

Draw your attention to anything arising in the mind.

Now there is no need to search for anything.

Simply observe yourself.

Open up to the thoughts that may be pre-existing,

Or as they make themselves known.

Just witness the nature of your thoughts.

Notice the nature of them,

And in the same way,

Release them.

Knowing that they are simply intangible ideas about what has come,

Or what may be to come.

And as you do this,

Naturally notice yourself sinking further into this present moment.

Sinking deeply into this waking day.

And as you do this,

Naturally notice yourself sinking further into this waking day.

Whatever ideas you have about the day ahead,

I invite you to set them aside a short while,

As you explore the moment you are presently in.

Just notice through the physical body,

The surface that supports you.

The chair you are seated on,

Or the mattress you are lying on.

It might be the floor.

Quietly observe any sounds or physical sensations around you,

Both strong or subtle.

And through your closed eyes,

Notice if there is any sense of sunlight trickling in.

Or shadows dancing behind your closed eyes.

As you come to mindfully explore the world around you,

Through silence and stillness,

Begin to make note of the presence of day.

Just continue to allow the breath to guide you through this gentle awakening of the senses.

Noticing how you are inextricably linked through the breath to the world outside of you.

Allow each in-breath to nourish you.

Out,

To free you of any constriction,

Fatigue,

Or even thoughts that may be lingering.

Allow yourself to be nourished through the breath,

As you open your heart to this new day.

I invite you now to draw your awareness to your belly.

And as you do,

Watch the way the breath flows in through your chest.

Filling the entirety of your lungs.

And causes the stomach to expand,

To rise.

And you might witness an expansion of the chest area as well.

An opening up of the heart space.

And a deepening of the heart space.

If the mind wanders,

Continue to simply invite it back down and into the physical body.

The day ahead will wait.

For now,

Simply embrace and enjoy these quiet moments of stillness,

Presence,

And awareness.

Allowing yourself to tune in to the energy of a gentle and natural expansion that comes with sunrise.

Now from this place of complete awareness and presence,

Begin to tune in to the heart space.

Drawing your awareness to the centre of the chest.

And allow your heart to expand.

And as it expands,

Envision it touching all possibilities for the day ahead.

You might envision a white or a golden light radiating out from the heart.

Making contact with the future that is continually unfolding.

If you find any anxious or fearful thoughts arise,

Just witness them without becoming attached to them.

And gently focus back into your heart space or into the golden light radiating from this space within you.

Focusing now on your highest potential and visions for the day.

It might be goals that you want to achieve.

Things that you want to set out to do or you need to do.

And allow any cluttering or limiting thoughts to naturally fall away.

And there is no need to force anything out of existence or to change.

Or judge or condemn anything that might be arising.

If anything less than your highest potential arises,

Simply notice it,

Acknowledge it and allow it to dissipate.

Whatever we envision on a regular basis,

We start to manifest in the outer world.

Consciously reflect for a moment on whatever it is your highest self wishes to manifest in your life.

Or more specifically in the day ahead.

What is the deepest yearning of your heart?

What is the energy you wish to carry with you throughout your day?

Continuing to feel into the heart's glow and compassionately allowing conflicting mental chatter to subside as a higher truth reveals itself.

Begin to narrow in on what is it you wish to manifest.

Considering for a moment that you already hold whatever it is.

You may take a few moments to breathe into this feeling as if it is already present within you.

Allow your thoughts to be clear and conscious.

Stemming from the core of who you are.

You might like to consider in the words of Rumi,

What you seek is seeking you.

Just allow the openness of your heart to hold the truth that whatever you hope to embody is already here.

It is already present within you.

Just coming back to the body now and taking in a few more grounding breaths before setting a powerful intention for the day ahead.

Allow yourself to be completely here.

Knowing that in truth,

There is nowhere you need to go and nothing you need to achieve.

As we increase our ability to be fully present,

You might find limiting thoughts begin to fall away and you begin to embody more deeply the truth of who you are.

Take three silent and steady breaths here,

Rooting yourself in the expanding energy of this morning.

So from this place of pure presence,

I invite you now to set one more clear and powerful intention for your day.

Consider whatever it is you wish to embody and state it to yourself as if it were already here.

For instance,

If your longing is for self-confidence and esteem,

Consider a phrase such as,

I am confident and complete.

Or if stability and safety are of your highest concern,

Perhaps an affirmation like,

All of my deepest needs are being met.

Just allow yourself to become very clear and focused on your intention as you begin to repeat it to yourself with each full breath.

So take a few moments of silence here as you align your intention with your breath,

Letting the words fill you up entirely again and again.

For just a few moments.

So wherever you are now resting,

Come to notice once again,

With eyes closed,

The environment around you.

Feel into the physical support of the ground beneath you,

Of the material world that has been manifested around you.

See if you can notice the air of the room that you are currently in.

Any sounds,

Near or far.

And take three more full breaths here,

Knowing that you are unconditionally supported in this journey.

Gently begin to soften the area around the eyes.

And when you are ready,

Slowly open them up to the world around you,

Noticing the delicate transition from dark to light.

As you move forward in outward action,

Continually come back to the intention you are carrying within you.

Knowing that the universe is here to support,

Guide and nourish you with every step that you take.

And until next time,

Goodnight my friend,

Goodnight.