It Starts With Self-Acceptance

In today's session with Justin Michael Williams, you are tapping into the topics of acceptance and inclusivity. Through this mindfulness practice, Justin is guiding you with gentleness and compassion, inviting you to embrace your strengths, acknowledge your shadows, and foster a genuine acceptance of your own humanity.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to day one of Insight Timer's Building Healthy Habits Challenge.

Let's take a moment to get settled,

Close your eyes,

Take a deep breath in and exhale out.

Let's dive into today's healthy habit.

Hello and welcome to the Building Healthy Habits Challenge here on Insight Timer.

And during this challenge,

You're going to get to know a wide range of different wellness techniques and some self-care practices that will help you craft a routine that works perfectly for you.

Did you know that more than 40% of our daily actions are not conscious decisions,

But habits?

Habits make up for a big part of our day.

They dictate how we live,

How we perform,

And what we can achieve in our lives.

Swapping your bad habits with good ones is the best and a proven way to improve your overall well-being and boost your performance.

Maybe you need to craft a better morning routine or move your body more or sleep better or improve how you handle stress.

Or maybe it's just that you need to shift how you show up in all of the relationships in your life.

Either way,

If focusing on your well-being was one of your resolutions this year,

You're in the right place.

My name is Justin Michael Williams,

And I'm excited to welcome you to Day 1 of the Building Healthy Habits Challenge here on Insight Timer.

And today,

I'm going to teach you about the power of intention setting.

Now,

Most of us,

When we hear the words intention setting,

What we really think of is just picking a few pretty words that sound really nice in the moment that will get us through whatever the person is asking us to set an intention for.

But what I want to teach you today is how to set an intention that actually takes you toward your life purpose.

That is more than just a pretty word,

But that takes you forward in your life to what really matters to you.

And what is next for the evolution of your life.

This is the power of intention setting,

Of real intention setting.

And that's what we're going to do in this practice.

Let's begin.

Go ahead and start by finding a comfortable way to sit.

And then place one hand over the center of your chest and the other hand on top of that.

So both hands are just touching right over your heart center.

Take a deep,

Full breath in and a deep breath out.

And if it feels comfortable to you,

I invite you to close your eyes.

You can always keep your eyes open for this practice.

But if you choose to do so,

Just drop your gaze down so you don't get too distracted.

Take another deep breath in.

And out.

And with me to the count of three.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three.

And exhale one,

Two,

Three.

Great.

Let's do that a couple more times.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three.

And exhale for one,

Two,

Three.

Exhale for one,

Two,

Three.

Last time.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three.

Exhale for one,

Two,

Three.

Great.

Now just breathe normally and see if you can soften your body just 5% more.

And now I will invite you into a short visualization practice with me.

But please remember that some of us don't visualize by seeing images in our heads that easily.

Some of us visualize by hearing sounds in our minds,

Or by feeling sensations in our bodies,

Or even by tasting or smelling.

So as we go through this practice,

If what's coming to you is a little fuzzy or blurry or incomplete,

Or you're not seeing anything at all,

Or it's obscure or abstract,

Don't worry.

You're doing it right.

Just notice what you do notice instead of focusing on what you're not noticing.

This is a good practice for life.

All right.

Let's begin.

I'd like you to imagine a future version of yourself who is living the life of your dreams.

Everything is exactly as you could always want and dream of.

I want it to feel like if this came true,

It would be a miracle.

What do you notice?

What do you sense?

You're imagining a future version of yourself at any point in the future who is living the life of your dreams.

And if this feels impossible,

Good.

Because if we can't think beyond our current circumstances,

How can we ever expect to live beyond our current circumstances?

So let yourself go there with me.

Like you could rub a magic lamp,

Everything is possible.

Every challenge and circumstance in your life has been overcome.

This is a miracle.

What do you notice?

What do you sense?

And if you have multiple things kind of shuffling around in your mind,

See if you can just land on one for now,

Trusting what arises.

And let's start to dimensionalize this a little bit.

Notice in the vision that's present for you now,

Are you indoor or are you outdoors in the vision?

Notice,

Is there anybody there with you in the vision or are you alone?

Either are okay.

Just notice.

And notice what colors are around you in the vision.

Take a moment now and scan around yourself in the vision and pick up everything you can.

Notice,

Can you hear anything in the vision?

Are there any sounds associated?

Don't force it.

Just see if there's anything there.

Notice,

Are there any smells associated with the vision?

Are there any tastes?

Can you taste anything?

Are there any physical sensations,

Maybe a temperature or something touching your skin?

And most importantly,

Notice how this vision feels.

How does it feel emotionally to be living the life of your dreams?

I'm going to be silent for just a moment now.

And I want you to scan around you and pick up everything that you can in this vision to make it come alive and become more real.

Revel in it now.

Take another few moments now just to really presence yourself in this vision.

And if your mind has wandered,

That's okay.

Just come right in a future version of yourself who is living the life of your dreams.

What do you notice?

What's there for you today?

And now I'm going to ask you a question.

And I want you to answer this question with one,

Two,

Or three words.

Trusting the first words that come to your mind.

One,

Two,

Or three words.

Here we go.

As you look at this future version of yourself who is living the life of your dreams,

What energy do you need to cultivate more of in your life today,

Now to become that person that you're seeing in your vision?

I'll ask it again.

Don't worry.

Here's your question.

What energy do you need to cultivate more of in your life now,

Today,

So that you can become that person that you're seeing in your vision?

One,

Two,

Or three words.

Trust whatever arises.

Now,

Take a moment and just think about your words.

Repeat them in your mind a few times.

And as you repeat these words,

Imagine the energy of these words bathing you and soothing you and covering every crevice of your inner and outer body.

It's like you're taking a shower in these words or a bath in these words,

Like they're dripping through your body like liquid light or honey.

And the words can turn into any color or texture that you need.

And just let these words bathe you and heal you and soothe you.

Repeat your words just a few more times and go ahead and take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

And when you're ready,

I invite you to open your eyes as we transition back into your day.

What we just did is incredibly powerful.

This is real intention setting,

Because we didn't just pick some random word that felt good in the moment.

What we did may seem simple,

But it's incredibly profound.

On the one hand,

We said,

Here's who you are now.

And on the other hand,

We said,

Here's who you want to become in your life.

And notice that we said there's a gap.

There's a gap between who you are now and who you want to be in your vision.

And I didn't ask you,

What do you need to do to fill that gap?

I said,

Who do you need to become?

What is the energy you need to cultivate?

Who do you need to be?

And that is the most important intention you could set for your day.

So what are your words?

What are the words that came up for you today?

And I would love for you to share those in the comments.

This is an incredibly powerful practice that you can do every single day.

One that helps you start your day with power and purpose.

And that doesn't just fill you up with a pretty word,

But that takes you in the energy and in the direction of your dreams.

Thank you so much for practicing with me.

This is Justin Michael Williams signing out.

And I'll meet you right here in this special place the next time we practice together.

Don't forget to share your words in the comments.

Bye for now.

Reviews

Once again, you’ve been a calming guide within my storm! I asked what I needed today and “inspiration” came up, so naturally you were my first choice. Today was powerful!

My old negative thought/thoughts came running in quickly “you’re lazy, you’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re not good at anything.”

So my wiser, older self-around 60 years old sitting in a shack on a beach on a cloudy day with the smell of nag champa flowing and a huge smile on my face, said with such a calm and reassuring voice “live your life fully without the expectation of belonging because the self acceptance that you’re building will be more than enough. You’re enough!”

So when you announced the surprise I obviously cried tears of recognized synchronization and truth ❤️✨

I am old and my body is decrepit.

I am beautiful and whole just as I Am.

So perfect and I love the pace.
My self love mantra: I am my best cheerleader. Until recently, I did not know how negative my thoughts were to myself! Thank you for sharing your experience & love!🫶🏼

Thank you for your love and guidance. Truly amazing 🥰
I went from “you are too old” to “you are love and your purpose is to share it with the world”
All the love ❤️, all the power 💪

So good and helpful as always. Released tears and replaced with big love and self acceptance.

Wow.. My older self speaking to myself now made me cry. When I opened my eyes, the tears were just flowing down. My face very impactful, thank you.

This helped me so much!
My old thought: I’m too fat
My new thought: I’m a beautiful human
Thank you so much!

Thank you! Words are so powerful. Reframing negative thoughts is empowering.

Thank you for your meditation time. Really helpful❤️

Thank you so much Justin, I really enjoyed this session. My internal negative thoughts went from “I am not competent and confident in my abilities” to “I am a beautiful person no matter what happens.” 🙏

thank you for your guidance 🙏💙🩵🦋🙏💙🩵🦋🙏💙🩵🦋🙏💙 (self love self acceptance mantra from older self)

I have been struggling with the concept of “worthiness” so this challenge came into my life at the perfect time. I’m excited to continue, and strengthen my internal foundation, built on the grounds of self love and acceptance, and not a clawing for external validation.

Great session! Nice balance of breathing, guidance and insight. Thank you 🙏🏼

I went from "I'm a train wreck" to "I am absolutely perfect just the way I am". Thank you so much for this beautiful mantra and self love experience. Acknowledging where these negative labels come from is something I hadn't fully explored before. You're helping me and all of us rise.

Thank you so much for the kindness you share through your meditation. ❤️

Thank you so much for this practice! I started with tears in my eyes, and ended with a smile on my face and a great feeling of release! Thank you for this experience!

Thank 🙇 love 💕 m my old mantra was lm useless but my new mantra is I AM Kind, Loving, Genuine, Caring and Gentle with myself and others!!!☺️🙏😮❤️🙂🙃😉😘🤔😶

I greatly appreciate this meditation for the wisdom and wonderful practice in it—both are very much needed for me, thank you!

Powerful practice to shift our beliefs. Beautiful thank you so much for this!

This meditation was kind of life changing for me, I want to revisit it again once some time has passed. What really resonated with me was when he said, “accepting others, starts with accepting yourself.” And when he said, “Self-love is our natural state of being, we learn from others how to hate ourselves.”