Hello friends,
This is Marian.
Today we're working on perspective.
When we have self-efficacy,
When we believe in ourselves,
It's as if we have wings.
We are ready to take on the world.
When we have doubt,
We tether ourselves,
We struggle,
And we see only black and white.
Our options appear limited.
Our perspective,
How we see the world,
Is so powerful,
And yet we often undervalue our ability to reframe how we make sense of the world around us.
When we are able to shift our perspective from a place of fear and or judgment,
When we can see what is happening outside of ourselves,
We gain more power,
More agency.
Life is no longer happening to us.
We become less constricted and more optimistic.
We are going to play with this today.
We will experiment with shifting our perspective.
There's no pressure,
No expectation.
We'll simply relax into this and notice what happens.
As with any visualization,
Be gentle with yourself as we go through this exercise.
If at any time the experience feels unsafe,
Please stop and get the support you need.
We begin by getting centered.
We'll breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth,
And as you breathe in,
You will feel your body expanding,
Your lungs filling up,
Your spine extending,
And as you breathe out,
You'll feel the gentle relaxing of your body.
I'll walk you through.
So take in a deep and energizing breath.
Now hold,
And then slowly release out through the mouth.
Another deep,
Energizing breath in,
Hold,
And now release.
One more deep breath in,
Feel your shoulders rise,
Hold,
And now let it go.
Anything you're holding onto,
See if you can just let this go,
And allow your breath to return to normal,
And find the natural pace and rhythm of your breath,
And just breathe.
Feel your face soften.
See if you can unwrinkle those little creases in the forehead.
Notice the tiny little muscles all around your eyes,
And just feel your face relax.
Loosen your jaw,
Your throat,
And let your shoulders drop,
And now take a quick scan of the body,
And see if you sense any tension or discomfort,
Perhaps a tightness in the neck,
Or stiffness in the shoulders,
Maybe some achiness,
And if this is the case,
Try gently breathing into this area,
And just see if you can loosen it up a little bit,
And just breathe,
Just breathe.
Bring to mind a memory of an experience that at the time was a struggle.
Perhaps it felt overwhelming,
Something that at the time made no sense to you.
Now that you have this memory in mind,
Draw your attention to the area behind your eyes,
And take a few breaths,
And see if it's possible for you to picture this scenario,
This memory,
Playing out in your mind.
What do you see as you focus on the image of this memory?
What emotions do you notice?
And simply make note of this.
Try not to judge or react.
See if you can label the emotions as if you're watching,
Observing yourself,
And now see if it's possible to sense these emotions in the body.
Where do you feel them?
Pay attention to tightness,
Tingling,
Temperature.
Maybe there are other sensations,
Such as a lump in the throat,
An ache in the belly,
Or the heart,
Or maybe you feel at peace.
Notice what is here.
You don't need to do anything.
There's nothing to fix.
Your emotions are neither right nor wrong.
They're simply the body's way of communicating.
See if you can be gentle with whatever is here.
Notice your body breathing.
Notice the natural rhythm of the breath,
The rising and falling of your shoulders,
The natural rhythm,
The air coming in and out of your nostrils,
The natural rhythm.
If your mind is busy,
Allow yourself some deep breaths and try elongating the exhales.
And just breathe.
Just breathe.
Now again,
Reflect on the experience,
Only this time,
Not on the challenge,
Not on what might have felt wrong.
With the gift of a little distance between you and the event,
Ask yourself,
How did this experience benefit you?
What was the gift?
Perhaps the gift was in learning.
What did you learn?
Maybe a gift of self-awareness.
What do you know about yourself now that you were not able to see before?
How did this event impact who you are and how has this helped you?
Sometimes the gift comes in terms of an opportunity.
Perhaps one chapter of your life ended so another could begin.
How might this have been the case for you?
As overwhelming as life is in the moment,
When we pause and look back,
When we release the judgment,
Our expectation of how things are supposed to be,
How people are supposed to behave,
When we release the judgment,
This allows us to see how a difficult experience was actually preparing us for something else.
How did this time in your life prepare you?
What did it prepare you for?
When we allow ourselves to look back,
Not with judgment,
But with unconditional love,
We see the many accomplishments of our lives.
We see how time and time again we have been able to overcome obstacles and hardships.
Bring your attention to your heart and open your chest and see if you can for a moment rest in knowing and accepting how beautiful you are.
Rest in this for a moment,
The beauty and wonder of you.
Take a moment and remind yourself of a few of the many positive qualities that you possess.
Remind yourself of where you come from,
Of how you have grown.
All of life's experiences are like stars in the sky,
Rarely in a straight line.
It may be hard to connect them.
When we pull away,
It can be easier to see how all of the individual events are part of the extraordinary constellation of your life.
So take a moment and reflect as far back as you can remember.
Can you see how all of these different pieces are part of your story?
Your story so far.
Now bring to mind a current challenge.
What is making this hard?
What do you fear?
Try to stay grounded and centered as you ask yourself this next question.
What is the worst thing that could happen?
Even though our rational mind knows that the probability of the worst thing happening is very small,
It can still feel very real.
So we calm our mind.
We let our mind know that we are okay so that it can relax.
When the mind relaxes,
We're able to see that no matter what happens,
We will be able to turn this into a gift or an opportunity.
If the worst thing does happen,
How will you turn this into a gift or into an opportunity?
If this is challenging,
Try placing your hand on your heart and again remind yourself of how beautiful you are deep inside and send yourself a little unconditional love.
Find it in your heart to know that you will make it through.
This is part of the journey.
No matter what happens,
Something positive will come from this.
What might that be?
Sometimes it can be hard to see the gift in the moment.
And we remind ourselves that we will figure this out.
The more love and self-compassion we show ourselves,
The easier it becomes to see.
So let's give ourselves a little self-compassion.
Remind yourself gently of how amazing you are.
Give yourself a little hug and know that you are not alone.
We are here with you.
Loved ones that have gone before you,
Others dealing with difficult situations are here with you.
Picture in your mind others all around the world working through change,
Moving in and out of relationships,
Dealing with loss,
With loneliness.
See them.
See if you can make some connection here.
Let them know you are here.
Now notice your posture.
Pull up your shoulders and straighten your spine and open your chest and allow yourself to accept how amazing you are.
And take a deep breath and feel the energy.
Feel the energy flowing up through your body.
Pause and smile.
And now let it go.
Let it go.
Beautiful.
When you are able to own your strengths and your imperfections,
When you accept yourself with love,
When you treat yourself well,
And when you believe in your ability to flow with the challenges that life brings you,
The fear diminishes.
You will rise,
You will stumble,
And you will rise again.
Knowing this,
This is how we change our perspective.
This is where we get our power,
Our agency.
We close with some affirmations.
Today,
Give me the strength and the courage to embrace life's challenges with optimism.
Today,
Allow me to accept that each stumble is not a failure.
It is simply a part of the process that enables my growth.
Today,
Give me the strength and the courage to accept that my burdens are not meant to be carried alone.
Give me the strength and the courage to ask for what I need.
And today,
Give me the strength and the courage to believe in myself and to love myself unconditionally.
This is the end of today's session.
Thank you for joining me.
I am very grateful for your presence.
