Welcome.
I'm Lisa McGrowan.
And today I'd love to guide you through this visualization of imagining a world where you and our communities and the planet are truly flourishing.
So we're going to begin with a simple three-part breath.
Then we'll move into getting you grounded and then expanding your awareness and opening your heart to the possibilities.
That you want to help create.
So let's get started by finding a comfortable way to be.
That could be lying down.
Or sitting down.
Take some time to just let the body find what is supportive today.
And what allows you to come into presence.
And as you are settling,
You might soften or close your eyes.
Begin just to take a few breaths in and out.
And feeling yourself soften and arrive here.
Making space for the body to settle.
So first we'll start with breathing,
Then we'll go into imagining and noticing what can become possible.
Let's start with this three-part breath.
So take your hands and place them on the belly.
Just notice how your next inhale,
Your hands are pushed away,
Gently move away.
And then on exhale.
The hands come back and the belly button goes back toward the spine.
Take a few breaths like this,
Just feeling the breath go down into the pelvis and into the belly.
Just grounding yourself here.
Feel yourself here,
Feel the support beneath you.
And then now taking your index finger and thumb.
And placing them around your ribcage.
Now taking a slow breath in and feeling your ribs expand your hands.
In every direction.
Out to the sides,
Toward the back and the front.
And then there's this full exhale,
Releasing,
Letting go.
And breathe like this for a few moments,
Feeling the breath go down into the belly and then into expanding the lobes of the lungs so that each rib,
There's space between each rib.
There's this full exhale.
You might imagine on your inhale that you're expanding,
Expanding your ribs,
Your vision,
What's possible,
Opening up to this sense of expansion.
And then there's this releasing,
Letting go.
And then now.
.
.
Lay your hands on your chest just right beneath your collarbones.
And then on your next breath,
On your next inhale,
Inhale into the belly,
Feel the ribs expanding in every direction,
And then feel how the breath goes up into the upper lobes of the lungs.
And then there's that full exhale here.
Breathe like this for a few breaths.
Imagining the heart opening.
As we begin to connect with what really matters to you,
What you really care about.
With what wants what you want more of in this world.
And then just release the hands.
Let the hands rest on the legs or where they'd like to,
What's comfortable for you.
You are getting grounded.
You are opening.
And you're ready to imagine.
So now we'll begin to imagine life flourishing.
Imagine waking up into a world where human beings and this living planet are flourishing.
It's a world that has made room for life.
We've started to choose differently.
We've learned some things and we've expanded and evolved and grown.
And begin close to home.
Imagine stepping outside into your neighborhood.
And we're going to evoke the senses.
What do you see as you look around?
In this world that is flourishing.
Some questions to consider is like,
What do you notice people doing?
What's growing.
Are there people gathering?
What does your neighborhood look like?
What kinds of places exist for people to just simply be together?
And then bringing in the sense of hearing.
What do you hear?
Maybe it's birds,
Children,
Conversation,
Music.
Maybe it's the sounds of people making things.
What sounds fill this place in your neighborhood?
What does the air feel like?
What do you smell?
Maybe even taste.
Of these images.
And these experiences come to you.
What do you touch?
And then energetically,
What's the vibe?
Do you feel rushed or do you feel like you have time?
Do you feel like you belong?
Are you content?
And now imagine your wider community.
Your town or your city maybe.
And imagine for a moment.
There are places designed not just for productivity and consumption,
But really,
Actually,
The emphasis has now been on human life and our world flourishing,
Living beings flourishing.
There's regard for one another.
And our planet.
What places do you imagine that you'd like to see where people gather?
To learn,
Create,
Play,
Rest.
Or to care for one another.
What do you imagine in your town or your city?
From the buildings,
The way they're constructed,
To the roads,
To fields,
To nature,
How nature is weaved into your city or town.
Notice what people are doing.
And what the vibe is.
That there's a sense of belonging.
That we regard one another and nature.
How would homes be constructed?
What would playgrounds look like?
And gathering places?
Now take a breath into your belly,
Into your heart.
And exhale that out.
And widen your vision again.
Imagine your state,
Your country.
What does your state and country value?
What does it regard?
And then based on that,
What then do they prioritize?
What are like the policies?
That help life to flourish.
Maybe there's a particular interest that you have in education or healthcare.
Work or public life.
Begin to imagine,
What is your image?
Of your state and your country flourishing.
What does leadership look like?
Now.
Imagine humanity evolved.
Imagine that we've become more capable of cooperation and we recognize the value of cooperation instead of competition,
Competing.
Imagine that we're capable of living with differences and those differences are actually even celebrated and honored and regarded.
Imagine that we're more capable of repairing harm.
And we think beyond our own immediate interests.
What are the qualities?
That have become stronger in us.
What have we finally learned?
Take some time and imagine humanity has evolved.
And flourishing.
And now let's imagine the earth flourishing.
You might have already visited some of this by imagining your community and your state and country and humanity evolved and shifting and flourishing.
But let's bring some attention specifically to the earth.
The forests and rivers,
The oceans and soil.
Animal life,
Plant life,
The air.
Imagine that humanity flourishing and the flourishing of the living world are deeply understood as inseparable.
What does it look like for our planet?
What does it feel like for our planet to be flourishing?
Evoke your senses,
What you see.
What you hear,
Smell,
Taste,
Touch.
And spend some time here imagining the Earth.
And all it contains.
Flourishing.
And now take a breath into your belly,
Into your heart.
And exhale out.
Notice one thing,
One thing that feels especially beautiful.
And as you continue to breathe in and out,
Maybe you place your hands on your heart.
Notice one thing that feels really important.
That you have noticed now out of this meditation to your vision of the world flourishing.
And then now bring your attention back to yourself.
And notice what's happening in your body right now.
What's your vibration?
Notice your breath.
The state of your nervous system.
Your heart.
Notice what this vision has stirred in you.
What has this stirred in you?
Maybe it's hope.
Maybe it's longing and grief.
Maybe it's excitement.
Maybe it's a sense of possibility.
Whatever is here,
Let yourself notice that.
And OK it.
And then as you breathe into your belly,
Into your heart.
And exhale out.
What's one quality of this role that you imagined?
Do you want to carry with you?
Is it this?
Sense of belonging.
Is it beauty?
A sense of connection or generosity.
Let one quality come forward.
And then ask yourself this question.
See what your intuition tells you.
Tells you.
How can I practice a little more of this quality today?
How can I practice a little more of beauty,
Reverence,
Hope?
Whatever it is that stirred something in you that resonated deeply with you.
From your vision.
How can you specifically practice this today?
Just in one small way.
Maybe it's in a conversation.
Or a choice you make.
Maybe it's just in how you hold your body and regard your body or what you do with your body.
Maybe it's going and noticing something outside and appreciating it.
Maybe it's a way of being with another person at work or in your family or in your community.
This is how we begin to create the world that we want,
A world that is flourishing.
By taking this time to envision.
To imagine.
And then dropping into that.
And asking ourselves,
What is one quality that I love,
That I see in this,
And then beginning to embody it in a really specific,
Simple,
Not complicated way.
We begin to live it.
And so let's take a few cleansing breaths together.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Maybe through the mouth.
With this next breath in and out,
Imagine yourself grounding yourself.
And with the next breath,
Expanding your vision.
And then with the next breath,
Opening your heart.
Together,
Let's place our hands together so palm meets palm at the center of your chest.
And with your eyes softened or closed.
Let's say these few lines of loving kindness.
May all living beings be safe.
May all living beings be happy.
May all living beings be healthy.
And may all living beings live with ease.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
