Welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Julian Lacay.
I'm a teacher here on Insight Timer.
In today's meditation,
We're going to explore your values.
Values are your heart's deepest desire for how you want to treat others and yourself on an ongoing basis.
They point to the kind of person that you want to be,
And they can act as a compass to give you direction in life.
You can begin by settling the body in a comfortable position,
In a place where you won't be interrupted for the next 10 minutes.
As you settle the body,
Taking a few deep exhalations or sighs as an invitation to release the unnecessary tensions around the eyes,
The jaw,
The shoulders,
The hands,
And the rest of the body.
And if you're comfortable doing so,
Gently closing the eyes,
Bringing your attention inwards,
And noticing the sensations of breathing in the abdomen.
And now,
Gathering your attention in the area surrounding the heart.
Perhaps placing a hand over the heart.
As you keep this area as an anchor for your attention,
We'll now travel through a series of reflections that may point you to some of your values.
First,
Bringing up the people who matter the most to you in your life.
Who are they?
Take some time to imagine one or a few of them.
With these people in mind,
Think about how you'd want to treat them if anything was possible and you were at your best.
What kind of qualities do you want to bring to your actions and to your words when you're around them?
Take a few moments to imagine bringing your best self to these relationships.
As you do,
Notice what you feel in your body.
When you think of people that matter to you,
Do you include yourself?
If you find that you are important to you,
See if you can imagine looking at yourself the same way you might look at someone else you care about.
And as you do,
Think of how it is that you'd want to treat yourself if anything was possible and you were at your best.
What qualities do you want to adopt as you become aware of yourself as a worthwhile human being?
Taking some time now to practice embodying these qualities.
As you reflect on how you want to treat others and yourself,
See if you can recall a specific moment in your life when these qualities came to life.
A moment when you felt you were really present,
Where time stood still,
Where it seemed like nothing was missing and you were fully aligned with your values.
Perhaps a sweet moment with a loved one,
Or smiling as you see your children playing,
Taking a peaceful walk in nature,
Or caring for someone in pain.
See if you can transport yourself back to this moment as though it was happening now,
Bringing your attention to where you are,
What you can see around you,
And hear,
And touch,
And taste,
And smell.
Who's there?
What's happening?
Slow it down so that you can really appreciate this special moment when you're fully living your values.
Notice what qualities you bring to your actions,
How this affects your body language and your facial expression.
Notice how it feels like in your body to be connected with your values.
What emotions are here?
Standing up to these feelings,
Perhaps around the heart,
And breathing with them.
And now imagine coming back to the present moment,
Exactly right where you are in your life right now.
And imagine you somehow knew that you only had 24 hours left to live,
But you can't tell anyone about this.
Who would you spend time with?
Who would you visit or call?
And what would you say or do with this person?
And how would you treat yourself during this precious time that you have left?
Bringing your attention to your body now and allowing what you're feeling to be here as you open your attention to your entire body.
Just resting here for a few moments and noticing what is alive in you as you journey through your values.
Not looking for any particular answers,
Conclusions,
Or special states to feel,
But just being with what is here for now after these reflections.
And as this meditation comes to an end,
Making an intention for how you want to treat others and yourself as you go about your day.
And if this is the end of the day,
What intention do you want to cultivate for tomorrow?
See if you can commit to a specific quality that you want to bring to your relationship with yourself and with others.
Perhaps writing this quality down in your journal or on a piece of paper that you can bring along with you as you go about your day.
Wishing you well as you practice being the person that you want to be.
