Exploring The Future

This guided practice explores our thinking about the future with openness awareness and kindness; noticing and gaining insight into any limiting patterns that are no longer useful. We live in the moment but think a lot about the future. Becoming more aware of and noticing the thoughts we have about the future determines our relationship with it, which directly affects our health happiness, and well-being.

Transcript

Let's begin this guided practice by bringing our attention and awareness to our body and breath allowing your body to relax a little and then focusing on your breath for a few moments to settle any movement and now you're feeling settled asking yourself what's going on for me in the near future maybe something coming up in the next week or month picking some event or situation and observing any thoughts that emerge particularly aware of thoughts about the future and as you observe these thoughts about the future notice ones that are not helpful or limiting favoring thoughts about the situation or event that are more useful and open and asking your mind to provide more thoughts about the future that are more expansive and nurturing and fewer that are limiting and depleting open to new possibilities acknowledging the thoughts as thoughts fragments of mental content knowing that they are not who you are becoming aware of any tightness or tension in your body about this future event or situation as you acknowledge any feelings and emotions that are anticipating this future event maybe there's some excitement some anxiety aware of any judgment or self-criticism resistance or avoidance pushing away or hiding from reality encouraging your feelings to be open to possibilities and now that they've been acknowledged allowing any feelings about the future to dissolve and take their natural course knowing that you are not your emotions then bringing your attention and awareness back to your body from the soles of your feet to the top of your head down to the tips of your fingers feeling fully embodied aware of all the sensations that are already here the space of your body begin to expand your awareness to the space in the room noticing sounds in the room and sounds outside as you reach right out to the most distant sound you can hear and holding your attention right out as far as it will go to the limit of the most distant sounds as you rest in the space and stillness of that expansive soundscape for a few moments that includes all sounds thoughts and emotions that come and go feeling open and aware stable and balanced and as we come to the end of this practice maybe setting the intention to notice to notice thinking about the future and whether the thoughts are negative and depleting or positive and expanding and see what difference that makes so when you're ready you can open your eyes