Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today,
I want to talk a little bit about helping yourself to cope in today's world by using meditation.
So many people are struggling and stressed,
And with good reason.
First,
We are faced with things that everyone has to deal with.
We have this pandemic that's been going on for three years.
Concerns about inflation and the economy.
Concerns about global warming and climate change.
There are areas with terrible droughts,
While others are dealing with devastating floods.
There are extreme heat waves and powerful storms and damaging winds,
Tornadoes and hurricanes and volcanic eruptions.
And then,
Each of us is faced with more personal concerns.
Perhaps health concerns like diabetes or hypertension.
Perhaps mental health concerns like depression or anxiety or other worries.
Each of us may have financial difficulties,
Problems where we live or work,
Problems with those we love like children or partners or aging parents.
With all these varying circumstances weighing on us,
We have to find a good way to cope.
What I know from history,
And what I know from my own experience,
Is that all of these things will pass.
They always have,
And they always will.
What I also know is that often we are the biggest factor in our own anxiety and stress.
We ramp ourselves up with our words and our thoughts.
I've said it before,
Our words have power.
Our thoughts have power.
And what we need to do is harness,
Harness that power so that it benefits us.
What we all need to do is believe,
Believe in ourselves.
And a solid meditation practice is the perfect way to cope with everything that happens to us and around us.
Renowned life coach Tony Robbins said,
The power of positive thinking is the ability to generate a feeling of certainty in yourself when nothing in the environment supports you.
I've said it many times before,
And I'm going to say it again,
But getting in touch with your breath multiple times a day is the best way to change your life.
And you don't have to sit and be mindful for 20 minutes at a time.
Just two or three minutes,
Multiple times a day,
Will work wonders in your life.
Even if you just pause for a moment,
Close your eyes and take a few breaths before returning to what you were doing.
It will energize you,
But at the same time,
It will make you more calm,
More centered,
More grounded.
And I know that at first it may seem daunting,
This idea of getting in touch with your breath multiple times a day,
But all you can do is try it.
Trust me,
Try it.
And at first,
You can use technology to help remind you to take a pause or to get in touch with your breath.
Two or three minutes,
And you can resume your day feeling more relaxed and more confident.
Close your eyes now,
And let's get in touch with our breath.
And it doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Lying down,
Or standing.
What matters is that you're comfortable and alert.
If laying on your bed or sitting in your recliner works for you,
Then that is what you should do.
Take in a deep breath,
And slowly let it go.
Just breathe normally,
And don't force anything.
You're not trying to breathe like me,
You're trying to breathe like you.
Let's scan our body as we begin to relax.
Relax your face,
Unfurrow your brows,
And unclench your jaw.
Relax your neck and your shoulders.
It's a common place for tension in our world today.
Relax your arms and hands.
Let go of any tension in your chest or in your belly.
And feel yourself getting a little heavier with each breath.
Let your legs and feet relax.
And as you begin to relax,
Let's start to really focus on our breath.
Our breath is like a river as it flows in and flows out.
Inhale slowly,
And then gently exhale.
Notice your breath as it flows in.
Notice where you feel it in your body,
The cool sensations that comes in through your nose,
Or the movement of your chest and belly as the breath flows in and flows out,
One breath at a time.
Just continue to breathe at your normal pace,
And don't force it.
Just let your breath move in and move out.
Let your breath flow like a river,
Sure and tranquil and calm.
Thoughts are a part of us.
They're a constant part of our world,
But you needn't concern yourself with them when you meditate.
Just let them go.
Just continue to follow your breath and listen to the sound of my voice.
Words are powerful,
And by the same token,
Thoughts are powerful.
The power of your thoughts and the power of your words can shape your life.
Let me say that again.
The power of your thoughts and your words can shape your life.
By altering your thoughts and altering your words,
You can have a dramatic effect on your life.
It takes work,
And it takes time,
But I know you can do it.
Each one of you has that power just idling inside you.
You just have to tap into it.
First of all,
You have to ignore what other people say about you or think about you.
They don't know you.
To become more positive,
You have to ignore negative comments and negative elements in your life.
That means negative people,
Too.
Look at the way you interact with others and with yourself.
Your words mean something.
They are powerful,
So stop using negative words.
Stop talking about how stressed you are,
Or how fat you are,
Or how stupid you are,
Or how broke you are.
You have to get rid of negativity because it only makes things worse.
Negativity only makes things worse.
Negative words and negative thoughts only serve to drag you down.
And if you're going to cope with everything that's in your life,
You need to be positive.
Positive that you are enough.
Positive that you can conquer your difficulties.
Positive that everything will be alright.
As an example,
If you're always saying that you're too fat,
That your clothes don't fit,
That you're just a blimp,
And on and on,
You make it very difficult for anything to change.
Your own words defeat you because you look at yourself in a negative light.
In order to better cope with the world around you,
You need to get in touch with your breath more often,
And you need to approach life with a positive attitude.
Start out using positive words when talking with yourself or with others.
Use positive words like joy,
Or inspiration,
Or satisfaction,
And try to start putting affirmative phrases in your language.
Say them out loud,
I can do this,
I will make it,
I know I can accomplish this,
I'm making positive strides,
And the like.
Thoughts carry weight.
Thoughts create your reality.
When you fill your mind with negative thoughts,
It affects your mind and your brain releases chemicals that cause all the symptoms of anxiety.
Rapid heart rate,
Problems concentrating,
Restlessness,
Feeling fatigued,
Trouble sleeping,
And many more.
If you teach yourself to put a positive spin on things,
That's a plus.
If you begin to use positive words and positive phrases in your language,
That's a plus.
If you do your best to remove negativity from your thoughts and words,
That's also a plus.
And all of these pluses add up.
For the most part,
We can't change all the distressing things going on in the world.
But we can control how we react to those things.
By keeping a positive attitude and keeping our words and thoughts positive,
We can change our world.
We can change our perspective.
We can make our lives better and more free from stress and anxiety.
We only have to try.
I'll give you an example from my own life.
When I had my third stroke,
I was 30 years old and the left side of my body was paralyzed.
The doctors came to me and said that I would never walk again.
They also told me that I only had about five years to live.
They told me to go home and get my affairs in order and spend time with my children.
Now if I had only focused on the negative things,
I would probably just be in a wheelchair.
I wouldn't have done anything with my life because I would have given in to my doctor's predictions.
But at that point,
I had been meditating for 10 years.
I told my doctors that they might be right,
But I at least had to try to walk.
So I went to physical therapy three or four days a week for two years,
And I dragged myself around with a cane for 20 years.
But today I walk six or seven miles a day,
And I walk fast.
And what helped me to cope with all of that was getting in touch with my breath multiple times a day and maintaining a positive attitude.
I believed in myself,
And you need to believe in you.
I believe in you.
Life is hard,
But it's also beautiful and amazing and precious.
And each and every day is meant to be lived.
Commit to having a positive attitude.
Commit to getting in touch with your breath multiple times a day,
And it will change your life.
It changed mine,
And you can do it too.
Now,
As we come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and feel how good it is to be alive.
Take in a deep breath through your nose and let it out through your mouth,
Letting out a sigh.
You are ready to move back into your day a little calmer and a little more joyful than before.
I hope that this has been a beneficial and calming session,
And I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me in this moment.
Till next time.
