Hello,
Good morning.
My name is Lou Redmond.
Thank you so much for choosing to start your day with me.
Today's practice is going to help you focus,
Help you create an anchor that you can use to stay focused as you go throughout your day.
We're going to also help you visualize the day that you'd like to have and also learn how to navigate whatever the day has in store for you.
The mantra that I want you to think about as far as what a successful day is,
Is a present day.
Is a successful day.
A present day.
Is.
A successful day.
And for a few reasons,
Really,
A present day,
Being present,
That's the only way that we can actually feel all the qualities that we may want to feel,
Whether it's joy,
Love,
Gratitude.
It comes from present.
It doesn't come from being in our head or thinking about it.
So learning to be present allows us to feel the ways that we want to feel.
And then being present allows us to navigate whatever does end up happening.
Because we know that we might have the best intentions for our day,
But someone's going to say something.
Someone's going to cut us off.
Things aren't going to go how we had hoped they might go.
And it's from presence that we're able to respond.
And navigate and stay connected to ourselves no matter what happens.
And so let's go ahead and begin.
Wherever you are,
Find yourself.
Relaxing into your body,
Closing the eyes if that feels okay.
And letting the shoulders relax.
Feeling the weight of your body moving into your cushion or your chair.
Allow the thighs and legs to get heavy.
And let's take a few breaths with the intention of.
Breathing in the cool fresh air of the morning.
Breathing out the stale energy in your body.
With this energy as you breathe that you're refreshing your body for the day ahead.
Few rounds just like that,
Breathing in and out.
And breathing out.
Continuing to relax your face,
Muscles in your face,
The jaw.
And any other area of your body that you might be noticing some tension.
Maybe you bring that breath to that area.
And then to continue this.
Practice of focusing.
And to be able to use focus not just in a meditation,
But for you to come back to throughout your day.
I invite you to find.
.
.
A place in your body that feels really safe,
Grounded.
And secure.
And often for many this might be Add your seat.
Where you notice yourself sitting on the ground and you can come back and feel that groundedness.
It might be your feet.
These are places where you might find yourself throughout the day standing or sitting and it's just simple to come back to the thing that's connecting you to the ground or to something solid.
But if that doesn't resonate for you,
You might find anywhere in your body that has a sense of connection.
Just bring your awareness to that body,
Whether it's your root,
Whether it's your feet,
Whether it's your chest.
Wherever it might be for you.
Bring your attention to that area.
Maybe feel the breath as if it's moving in and out of that area.
And let this be a focus point.
Or all you're doing.
Is just noticing the breath.
Coming in and out.
Add this place in your body that feels grounded.
And secure.
Continuing to relax this area and your whole body as you do this.
And then.
.
.
From this area.
I'd like you to imagine.
A way that you want to feel today.
So a state that you want to cultivate as you go through your day.
Remember the states we want to feel.
They can only emerge from presence.
And so part of just slowing down is to practice getting really present.
And then noticing what is.
What is the feeling?
And there might be many feelings and beautiful states that can unfold in your day,
But just for now,
Connecting to one,
It might be gratitude.
It might be love.
Joy,
Peace.
And so connect to one quality.
And as you breathe,
As you stay focused on that anchor point.
Imagine that quality just starting to emerge.
You can almost imagine if you have an essential oil diffuser like I have behind me,
You might notice it like a mist.
You ever see the mist that comes out of a diffuser?
And so imagine this mist of joy or gratitude is just starting to bubble out from this anchor point.
And it's starting to grow.
And letting that flow.
Quality,
Letting that feeling start to encompass.
Your whole body.
And take a few moments to breathe.
Cultivate and enjoy this feeling.
And so feeling that quality.
Emerging within you.
And then if you'd like,
If this resonates,
You're also welcome to welcome it in,
To connect with whatever higher power that you might connect with and invite that energy in.
So you're cultivating it from within and you're calling it from without.
Inviting the joy,
The love to pour in maybe from the sky into your body.
Growing this mist.
And then you might just affirm that feeling.
I am joyful,
I am grateful,
I am love.
Whatever you're connecting with,
Just taking a few moments to affirm it if that resonates.
And feeling it grow stronger as you do.
And then let's now take this presence,
This anchor,
This feeling,
And begin to visualize the day that you have coming up.
And as you visualize,
As you see the meeting that you have,
Commute that you might have.
The opportunities,
The parenting,
Whatever is going to come in your day.
See if you can visualize how it's unfolding from this space.
Where you are bringing this energy and this feeling in.
And this presence into your day.
Take a moment to really start to see and feel.
Yourself moving through your day with this feeling.
Breathing as you do this.
And one of the biggest things that takes us away from being focused and staying focused is all the distractions.
So our phone being a big one of those.
Checking constant emails.
And so see if you can bring into your visualization.
You not checking your phone as much.
Maybe you don't bring it everywhere into every room that you go into.
And see yourself having some space and having that mental space so that you can stay present as you can stay and connecting to this quality.
Remember that that place in your body,
That anchor to that you're connected to and feel yourself maybe noticing you did get distracted.
Visualize yourself getting distracted and being,
Oh,
Okay,
Coming back,
Feeling that anchor in your body,
Connecting to that feeling or whatever feeling might be present at that time.
Present.
And coming back to focus.
And feel and imagine how much more gets done.
From this place.
And then this one might seem a little strained,
But I think it's important,
Because remember,
The day is not going to always go how we want it to go.
This is almost like a stoic practice in a way to Visualize something not going as planned.
Maybe something that you've reacted to in the past or something that's taken you out of presence or yourself where you could act in ways that aren't true to you or aren't in ways that you want to be acting.
And see something happening,
Maybe someone cutting you off.
Someone that you have a conflict with saying something and imagine you responding from presence.
Responding and that thing happening and you're not reacting to it.
It's not triggering you.
See yourself finding your anchor point.
And then imagine how you would respond to that situation.
What does that feel like?
What does that look like?
And then you move through your whole day.
Having a beautiful dinner evening.
Whatever you have planned or whatever life has in store for you today.
And imagine now it's 16 hours later,
You're about to tuck in for bed.
And as your future self.
Imagine you're looking back at your current self.
And offering some gratitude,
Some thanks.
From your future self to your current self for taking this time for how you showed up today.
For how you stayed present,
How you stayed open,
How you engaged with people,
With your work,
With the world in a way that was nourishing.
And that was.
.
.
All that you could do,
That you did your best for today.
And you handled.
Whatever situation came up with grace.
And with a maturity.
And so really just take a moment from that future self to thank your current self.
And then coming back to your anchor point in your body one last time.
Taking a final breath together here.
Letting that go.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
And welcome yourself to the day.
And start to live the day that you just visualized.
And so thank you so much for practicing with me.
I hope that you come back to that anchor as you go through your day,
Just as your own practice as a way to stay focused,
To notice that feeling,
See if you can cultivate those qualities or whatever quality that you connected with as you go along.
And Remember.
Presence.
Presence is what makes a successful day.
A successful day is a present day.
I'll leave you with a beautiful.
.
.
Quote from Maria Popova.
That says,
Presence.
Is far more intricate and rewarding of an art than productivity.
Presence is far more intricate and rewarding of an art than productivity.
And so use this practice,
Use this anchor.
And make your intention for a successful day to be present,
To practice the art of presence,
And to be able to navigate whatever life brings you.
Thank you so much.
If you like morning practices,
I actually have a 21 day audio course called 21 Days of Mourning,
Motivation and Inspiration.
So if you'd like to start your day with me,
I'd love to invite you to check out that course and I look forward.
Have a great day and take care.
