Welcome.
How you start each morning can set the tone for how you experience the rest of the day and the week,
And how you shape your day could very well reflect how you shape your life.
With the wonder method approach of inquiry and meditation,
The invitation here is to treat your morning design like an experiment in new habit formation and maybe habit reformation.
With deliberate daily testing,
You will discover what sticks,
What makes a difference in your days.
So with the wonder method,
Honor your experience as it is and as it unfolds.
Refrain best you can from evaluating whether or not you had a good or bad experience.
Simply acknowledge,
Accept,
Experiment,
And practice with consistency.
In a moment,
I will lead us through a brief reflection and a meditation.
Most of the wonder method meditations aim to elicit more awareness of the mind's mysteries and fluctuations.
And with consistent practice,
You might actually foster a new relationship with the mind itself as it is,
Wondrous.
Then I will move you through a few prompts related to the tracking wonder framework and core tracking wonder skills.
So you might have on hand something to write on and with.
Okay.
For now,
Close your eyes.
Come into a comfortable seated position,
Assuming a posture of dignity,
Stability,
And ease.
And take a few deep breaths.
And breathe easily and effortlessly now.
Become aware of the sensations of sitting and any sensations on the skin or within the body.
Give yourself these few minutes to pay attention to your attention.
Become aware of your visual plane behind your eyelids.
You likely see a mix of light and dark sensations.
Invite a sense of openness within that visual plane.
Notice if there is openness within all parameters of the skull and beyond.
Notice how that awareness feels.
If you observe a thought in snaring your attention,
Taking you off on a train of thought,
Then observe it and let it float by.
These default thought patterns are normal debris of the mind's activity.
The practice here is to refrain from attaching too much meaning or emotion to them.
On the next slow exhalation,
Return your awareness to openness in the mind.
Just experience the mind like a wide sky.
Okay.
You can keep your eyes closed for the next segment if you wish,
Or you can open them.
If you open them,
You might look away from the screen and just soften your gaze.
The next segment is aimed to connect you with what we call your young genius character strengths,
Your sense of devotion,
And your sense of curiosity.
So first I invite you to foster a sense of safety within your body and imaginative memory.
If you're willing,
Let your imaginative memory take you back to a time when you were young and you felt free and alive.
Free and alive to be your most unique self,
Your most unique expression without regard for reward or recognition.
Maybe you're seven or eight,
Nine or 10 years old or older,
If that's better for you.
Just observe the time and place that memory takes you,
Perhaps outdoors or indoors,
Alone or among friends or animals.
Observe what you are uniquely doing and how,
Or what you're uniquely not doing.
Just observe how you feel.
With appreciation and compassion,
Observe that young genius.
What are the three adjectives that describe that young genius,
That part of you that is most you at its best?
You might wish to open your eyes and write down those strengths and traits.
And then center yourself again,
Bringing your attention back to this breathing body and ask yourself,
What am I devoted to today?
What impactful work am I devoted to today?
You might observe a word,
Phrase,
Or even a simple statement that completes this sentence.
Today,
I am devoted to blank.
You might want to write down how you complete that sentence today.
Finally,
Ask yourself,
What am I curious about today?
Is there something I want to know,
A new piece of knowledge?
Is there a hard-to-answer question I want to live my way into today?
Is there somebody I'm curious about today?
You might respond in your notebook,
Today,
I'm curious about.
Okay.
The writer Annie Dillard once wrote,
Quote,
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.
That's true.
I encourage you to spend time each morning this week replaying this recording and responding to these three key tracking wonder prompts.
One,
My three young genius strengths are,
Two,
Today,
I am devoted to,
And three,
Today,
I'm curious about.
See what happens.
Well,
It's an honor to practice with you,
And I hope this practice elevates you to spend your days this week and this month with a little more openness and curiosity.
And I'll see you soon.
Thanks for running with me.
