Hello and welcome.
My name is Carrie Lovins and I'm a meditation teacher here on Insight Timer.
If you enjoy my meditation offerings,
Please be sure to follow me here on Insight Timer and you can also support these offerings through a donation.
Thank you for joining me today.
Whether it's your first meditation or you're rejoining me and continuing this journey together,
As we become more familiar with life,
We begin to notice we go through cycles.
Whether it's yearly cycles,
Monthly,
Daily,
We're surrounded by new beginnings and endings.
Each day we're greeted with a sunrise,
An opportunity to start anew,
And each day we're able to rest into a sunset with the conclusion of a day and what we've accomplished.
The same feeling of beginnings and endings occurs within a new year too.
We're able to reflect on what we accomplished and we feel enthusiasm for what a new year will bring.
It's like a blank journal at the beginning of a new year,
Say with 500 pages in it,
Because if we had a journal with 10,
000 pages,
We might feel overwhelmed.
We may have a big picture idea for our life that would easily fill 10,
000 pages and more,
But we know that to avoid feeling overwhelmed,
Sometimes it's best to start with steps that we're comfortable with and maybe just on the edge of discomfort to push us a little further.
At the beginning of a new year,
We're filled with possibilities of what's to come and what we dream of.
If you considered this new day,
Today,
As a chapter in your book,
What would you name it?
Where do you want to put your attention and how would that support you?
What parts of you do you want to reclaim,
Let go of,
Discover?
We have the opportunity right now to create.
This meditation can be a starting point.
You may find this meditation to be like a sunrise,
Lighting up your spirit with beautiful colors so you can see clearly the potential of this moment and the beauty of your presence.
Let's honor our meditation practice.
It offers us the gift of resetting ourselves,
Of creating an open doorway to the truth that we each hold within us.
Meditation allows you access to your creativity and to your potential.
Just as rest and sleep allow you to reset your body,
Meditation lets you reset your mind,
Allowing you to move forward in a more awakened state.
Let's begin our meditation.
Please find a comfortable place to sit or lay down if it's more comfortable.
Imagine if you will for a moment,
Setting down the thoughts that may be preoccupying your mind.
You may have a to-do list,
Projects,
Demands,
But we're going to close those books that we write in all the time for just a moment and we're going to set it aside,
Allowing ourselves to open up a new book.
This new book offers you an indescribable journey and within it holds the keys to better understanding yourself.
This awareness you find within effortlessly paints a portrait of the loveliness of your soul and teaches you of the light you hold within.
By opening your eyes through meditation,
It may feel like seeing for the first time the sunrise of your soul,
The beauty of your new beginning,
The blank page that longs to hear your story.
If you'd like,
Let your eyes close and rest.
Allow yourself a moment to hear the rhythm of your breath.
Listen for a moment.
What does it feel like?
Sound like?
Now let the air in your lungs completely out,
Exhaling it all out as if you're squeezing the last bit of air out of your lungs.
And with your next breath,
Take a full breath in as deeply as you can,
Feeling your lungs fill.
This breath invites you into the meditation and as you let the breath go,
Let it teach you about giving and receiving.
The art of opening up and letting go as your body begins to relax and listen once again to the natural flow of your breath.
How does it make your chest feel?
Do you hear any gentle sounds?
Allow your breath to be effortless,
But yet you are attentive of it.
You may feel a little lighter as you rest here,
Allowing your breath to be like the waves of the ocean or the rustling of the trees,
Creating gentle movement through your body,
Cleansing your lungs,
Your body,
Your spirit.
Envision before you the dawn,
Before a sunrise,
With a slight color peeking out.
Perhaps you can still see some stars in the distance.
Take a moment to visualize the beauty of your breath.
Visualize the beauty of the dawn just before the sunrise.
Now,
As the sun begins to rise above the horizon,
Shining like a beautiful diamond with rays of light,
Opening to the possibility of all colors,
What do you see as the sun rises?
What colors stand out to you?
Allow yourself a moment to enjoy the beauty of the sunrise,
Taking notice.
As your vision becomes more clear and you see the potential,
The beauty of new beginnings and new possibilities,
What comes to your mind?
If you were to imagine writing the first chapter of this new day,
What would you write?
Play with the idea that all potential is available to you.
Sit peacefully within your awareness and this beautiful light.
So you this is a new chapter in your book of life.
Honor it.
Allow it to be what it's meant to be.
A beautiful dream,
A creation,
A new avenue,
Or maybe a new understanding.
Allow yourself to sit for another moment with courage,
Love,
Honor.
Whatever supports your development in this new cycle,
Allow yourself to receive what you need in this moment to support your new beginning.
As we prepare to return,
Know that you can always come back to this space.
It starts with a breath.
As you begin to take notice of your calm breath,
Feeling once again your chest naturally rising and falling,
You begin to notice the beauty of your body holding life within.
You honor the cycles that exist,
Beginnings and endings,
And the power you hold to create your story,
To create new beginnings where they are needed,
And to continue stories that need more development,
That bring you joy,
That fill your pages with laughter.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Honor your sunrise,
Your ability to start fresh,
Your light shines bright and illuminates your way.
Honor this new day with a knowingness that you hold light within you.
You hold potential and your meditation practice creates an open door to know yourself more fully.
Thank you for meditating today.
I hope you have a beautiful day.
