Welcome.
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today I'm going to talk a little bit about going from chaos to calm.
And that really captures one of the most fundamental human desires.
The shift from feeling overwhelmed and reactive and scattered to feeling grounded and clear and intentional and calm.
And I know sometimes it's marketed as dramatic,
One-time transformation,
Like a complete overhaul of your life.
But in reality it's usually much quieter and more practical.
Chaos is rarely just external.
We usually think of chaos as a chaotic schedule.
Or a messy workspace,
Or endless notifications.
But chaos is internal.
The mental noise of unfinished tasks.
Unclear priorities,
Or constant emotional reactivity.
The majority of chaos is within you,
Not outside.
But that makes it easier to find count.
If you're trying to fix external clutter without addressing the internal overload,
It's like trying to tidy up a room during a hurricane.
This doesn't work.
And you have to always remember.
Always.
That while we can't control most of the things that happen in our lives,
We can absolutely control how we respond to those things.
Because calm isn't the absence of noise.
Is the presence of space.
We have to stand above and apart from the noise and that's where you find calm.
True calm doesn't mean living in a pristine,
Perfectly ordered bubble where nothing ever goes wrong.
It's the buffer that you build between a stressor and your response.
Think about that.
That space allows you to choose how you react rather than automatically spiraling into panic or stress.
Micro shifts beat a massive overhaul.
It's so small positive changes that ultimately bring calm to your day.
Moving toward calm doesn't require moving to a quiet cabin in the mountains or adopting a two-hour morning routine.
It usually comes down to some small friction-reducing habits,
Like externalizing your thoughts,
Getting your mental cholera out of your head and onto a list on paper,
So your brain doesn't have to keep holding on to it.
Another calming habit is what I call single-tasking.
Giving full focus to one thing at a time.
Instead of scattering your energy across multiple things.
In today's world,
It seems that many people talk proudly about how good they are at multitasking,
When that's precisely what's causing so much chaos in their lives.
Scale back your expectations.
Try to be more present with the task you're working on.
And build some buffers into your life.
Allow five minutes between tasks or meetings to give yourself time to reset.
Rather than rushing directly from one thing to the next.
And maybe most importantly is acceptance.
Recognizing what is actually within your control.
And letting go of the rest.
I've talked before about the circle of control and I'm going to do another live session on that.
Because it's a mechanism for recognizing what is in our control and what isn't.
And that's really the key.
Letting go of what doesn't serve you.
Clearing out the clutter of your life,
And that makes you more calm.
Close your eyes now and let's get in touch with our breath.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing,
Lying down,
Or kicked back in your favorite recliner.
The only thing that truly matters when you meditate is that you're comfortable and alert.
So let's start to settle in.
Start to relax yourself.
We're just breathing in and breathing out one breath at a time.
And then the next.
And then the next.
That is the present moment.
One breath,
One inhale,
One exhale.
Relax your face,
Unfurl your brow,
And unclench your jaw.
You're way too tense.
Relax your neck.
It's a common place of tension in today's world.
Relax your shoulders.
That's another place of tension because we're always hunched over phones and tablets and laptops.
Relax your arms and your hands.
Maybe just shake them out and let them drop.
Look for any tension in your chest and belly.
Relax your legs and your feet.
And as you begin to relax,
Let's focus even more on our breath.
Our breath is our anchor.
It's there for us in all moments.
When we're happy,
When we're sad,
When we're calm,
And when we're chaotic.
We breathe constantly,
But when you meditate,
Notice your breath.
Notice the cool sensation in your nose as the breath flows in,
Or the movement of your chest and belly as the breath flows in and flows out.
Just let your body settle.
Into whatever shape it's in right now.
A soft inhale,
And a slow,
Unhurried exhale.
There's nothing to fix,
Nothing to improve.
We're just landing here in this present moment.
Feel the weight of your body.
Notice your breath moving in and out like a tide that has been here long before this moment.
And as you breathe.
Imagine the breath as a gentle current.
Something steady.
Something trustworthy.
Now,
In your mind's eye,
Picture a river.
Not a perfect river,
A real one.
A river that moves through seasons,
Through storms and sunlight and shadows.
A river that knows both chaos and calm.
And you're standing at its edge.
Watching the water move.
Notice the upper part of the river,
The rapids.
The water is loud,
Tumbling over rocks and churning and foaming and bubbling.
This is the part of the river that feels like your busy mind.
You're crowded day.
You're overwhelmed.
Let yourself acknowledge the rapids without trying to change them.
They are not a mistake.
They are part of the river's nature.
Shield and to the body.
Where do the rapids live in you today?
Maybe your chest?
Maybe your throat.
Maybe in your mind itself spinning.
As you breathe,
Imagine you're stepping into a small sturdy boat.
Nothing fancy,
Just enough to hold you.
And you're not fighting the rapids.
You're simply letting the boat carry you.
With each breath the boat drifts.
The rocks begin to thin out,
And the noise softens.
The water,
Still moving quickly,
Begins to smooth.
Feel the shift.
Not forced.
Not dramatic.
Just a natural easing.
Your breath becomes the ore.
Inhale.
And the boat steadies.
Exhale,
And the river widens.
You're moving downstream,
Carried by something larger than your effort.
Now the river opens into a broad,
Quiet stretch.
The surface is glassy.
The reflections are clear.
And the sound is gentle.
A soft hush instead of a roar.
This is the calm that was always downstream of the chaos.
It was waiting for you.
Let your breath match this part of the river.
Slow.
And wide.
And unhurried.
And feel your body responding.
The shoulders dropping.
Belly softening.
The mind unclenching.
You are floating now.
Held.
Supported.
Notice how the calm doesn't require perfection.
The river still moves,
Life still happens,
But the quality of the movement has changed.
Let yourself rest in this spaciousness.
Let the nervous system take a long exhale.
If thoughts arise,
Imagine them as small leaves drifting across the surface,
Carried and not clung to.
If emotions arise,
Imagine them as ripples temporary,
Natural.
Part of the water's language.
You don't need to change anything.
Just float.
Slowly bring awareness back to your physical body.
Feel your breath again.
Feel the support beneath you.
And know that the river is still with you,
The rapids,
The calm,
The movement between them.
You can return to this place anytime.
Now as we get ready to come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch.
And see how good it is to be alive,
How good it is to be in this river of your life.
If you follow my meditations or my live sessions,
You know that I like quotes,
And I have some for you today.
Self-help author Karen Salmonson said,
Just because life is full of craziness doesn't mean you must go crazy.
You can experience outer chaos and still find inner peace.
Nothing even needs to change outside of you for you to find calm inside you.
This inner calm is available at all times.
Just breathe.
Wise,
Wise words,
And I agree.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session for each and every one of you.
I hope you'll come back and join me again.
Till next time.
