Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lew Redman.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Today's meditation is on exploring and cultivating our gifts.
I'm a believer that we were born with gifts that we were made to share with others.
That,
As indigenous cultures would call it,
Original medicine,
That our gifts,
Our work,
However it unfolds in our life,
That when expressed,
That it is helping the world heal in our own way.
And I want to start by just sharing a little acronym,
Exploring the qualities of your gifts.
And we're going to move through this in a visualization as we get into the meditation.
But first in gift is gratitude,
Meaning that when we are sharing our gifts,
There's an immense thank you.
Thank you for this opportunity to give and we feel that sense of gratitude.
The next is I,
Inspiration.
Our gifts are inspired,
Meaning they come from somewhere else,
That we are simply the channel or the conduit that inspiration comes through.
And then we listen and we bring forth what we are attuning to.
Genius in Latin means attendant spirit that's been present from birth.
And we all have our own genius.
We all have our own spirit that when cultivated,
When given to the world,
Is how we share our genius.
The next is F,
Free,
Meaning we would happily give our gifts for free.
That's the essence of a gift is that it is given without expectation to receive anything.
Now,
If you are like me and you are the intersection of your gifts and building a business,
Then yes,
That we need to bring in revenue and do all those things.
But in the essence of some of my gifts,
I know that I would do them for free.
I know when I started on this meditation app,
I had no concern about getting paid.
It was just about sharing.
And I still share things for free all the time.
And I have so much joy in doing that and offering this.
And then lastly,
T,
Transformation,
Meaning that when we are pursuing,
Giving our gifts,
We are transformed in the process that it is helping us become more of who we are.
And when we give our gift,
The others,
The world,
The people that receive it are transformed in their own way,
That it is supporting the harmony of the world.
And so there's a beautiful poem by the poet David White called What to Remember When Waking.
And there's a line in this poem that I want to share with you because it speaks to the essence of gifts and we'll tune into it as we get into the meditation.
And the verse in the poem goes like this,
To be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
To remember the other world in this world is to live in your true inheritance.
And just this verse speaks to everything that I just shared around the gift coming to us when we were born,
That we were inspired with it,
That it's coming from the other world and to live it,
To bring it into existence is what we are here for.
And in that process,
We become more human,
We become visible,
We step into our leadership and there's a hidden quality to our gifts that we carry and we share them as we go along this journey of being more human,
Transforming ourselves and ultimately how that transforms the world.
One last thing to note on gifts is that it needs to find the right soil to blossom.
If we have a gift in working with our hands,
But our time is being spent on a computer doing more mental work,
Then that's not really the best soil for that gift to blossom.
And so in this practice,
We're going to be exploring and noticing what the soil is for you that your gifts can truly grow and flourish.
So go ahead and close your eyes,
Relax into your body,
Feeling the breath moving in and out.
As you explore this concept of your gift,
Noticing if that feels already like super clear,
Or you're like,
I really am not sure.
To be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.
And so connecting here with your heart,
That is ultimately where your gift lies.
Feeling into how your heart feels right now.
Is there an openness?
Is there energy?
Or maybe there's a constriction.
So just taking a few breaths into your heart.
And asking this question to your heart,
Receiving it from your heart,
How are you being asked to become more human by becoming more visible?
You might have an answer,
You might not,
It's okay.
And explore a little visualization.
So imagine that you are walking in a field right up to a garden.
So noticing the flowers,
The plants,
However you imagine this garden to be.
And you notice that there is an empty garden bed.
And go ahead and stand in front of it.
The soil in this garden bed represents where your gifts can flourish.
So what is this soil?
Some of you maybe it's in writing,
Recording,
Teaching,
Participating in live events.
And of course many of us will do a mix of all these things,
But just noticing where your gifts can most flourish.
What is this soil?
And you might not know,
So if no answers are coming,
Totally okay.
You notice over to the right in the distance,
There's people gathering,
Sitting down,
Almost like there's like a wedding outside happening.
And in whatever way you'd like,
Take some of this soil with your seed,
The seed of your gift in it.
Maybe you put in a little mason jar and hold it,
And bring it close to your heart.
And start to walk over towards these people.
And as you do,
Feel this seed growing,
And this flower starting to blossom.
This is your gift that you're going to offer to these people.
Those people that are gathering,
They might not even know that they need your gift.
Some of them are looking,
Some of them don't even realize it.
So see if you can stand in front of them,
Feel this flower growing in your jar,
The seed of your gift growing.
And you might even just feel it actually in your chest,
So you can let go of the jar and just feel almost like a flower blossoming in your heart.
And see if there's gratitude for the opportunity to share this.
And then looking at these people that are gathered and offering your gift to them.
Maybe imagine petals going to each one,
Maybe it's just this felt sense of an energy,
A transmission happening.
With this energy of the more that you give,
The more that you have.
There's a freedom,
Like you're giving it away for free.
And see it being received.
Again,
Some are going to receive it,
Many won't.
Joseph Campbell would say at the end of the hero's journey,
That you come back with a gift for the community,
But sometimes the community is not ready for it.
And so maybe you're having that happen in your actual life.
Sometimes that's the case.
And still we keep giving.
And know that those people that are ready will receive it,
And that they are transformed as you let this transform you.
And know as you give this away,
You might have a new flower emerge eventually,
Your gifts might start to shift and change.
And so thanking these people for allowing you to do and offer this.
Holding that seed still in your heart.
Taking one last breath together.
Coming back.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
The invitation for you is to go forth in your day and carry that seed to notice how it shows up and how you can nurture it.
To make sure that you're spending time in the right soil so that your gift can grow,
Can blossom,
And can flourish.
Know that I am rooting for you and I look forward to hopefully practicing with you again very soon.
Take care.
