In order to kickstart 2021 with a place of really being able to move forward,
Having processed and learned the lessons that came up for us during 2021,
I want to bring you into a little mindset shift to create just awareness of what it is that we tend to do.
So whenever somebody invites us over to their home to share a meal that they've prepared,
We come,
We're excited,
We are excited to share conversation with them,
Laughter with them,
Enjoy a meal,
Enjoy a beverage,
Enjoy just the camaraderie of being with that person.
And we might not know what to expect.
Maybe they've asked us what our favorite meal is,
Or they want to share something that's traditional for them.
So maybe they got takeout,
Right?
There's all these different options of meals.
And what happens is we show up and we have this energy of we're ready to receive and we're ready to just have a nice time.
So in turn,
We enjoy a meal.
And what happens to us in correlation to getting stuck on things that we cannot change is that that is what our days are.
We don't necessarily know exactly what is going to go down when you wake up in the morning and you're ready to take on your day.
You have an idea of what you're going to be doing,
What you're not going to be doing,
What things you would like to do,
What things you'd like to not do,
But life happens,
Right?
And there's all these different moving pieces that come up.
So what's really important is to find the relationship between these two things and bringing it all together is how do we move past the things that go on in our day that we don't necessarily like?
And I want you to visualize after you've shared the meal with these friends,
Visualize yourself staring at this empty plate and obsessing and going over and over every bite that you took.
Maybe the chicken was a little dry.
Maybe the vegetables weren't cooked all the way through.
Maybe the soup was really hot.
Whatever it is,
Whatever the little detail of what was on the plate was,
Maybe you notice it at the time,
But you are so wrapped into having the nice time and being present that you're not going to sit there and complain about the meal.
So whenever the meal is over,
We don't sit there and go over every single bite that we took.
And that is exactly what we end up doing in our minds.
We go over and over and over all the little possibilities of different things that we could have done differently,
Of conversations that we could have said that could have gone in a different direction,
Of things that we wanted to do but we didn't get to do,
Of things that other people did to us that hurt,
That we felt very deeply in our hearts,
That made us feel sad.
All of those things we tend to obsess over,
Therefore generating more of that same energy.
So what I want to do today is guide you through a very short meditation of how to let this go.
So I invite you to close your eyes,
Sitting up in a nice comfortable position so that you don't fall asleep lying down.
Taking a couple of deep breaths into the belly,
Expanding the abdomen as you breathe in,
Letting the navel come back in towards the spine as you breathe out.
Taking three deep breaths that way,
Centering,
Grounding your energy and putting yourself into a mental place,
Focusing and being in January 2021.
Noticing how you felt that month.
Where were you both physically and energetically?
What was your mental state in?
Were you worried?
Were you excited?
Were you calm,
Anxious?
Noticing as as you put yourself in this month,
In this time of your timeline.
Anything comes up for you physically,
Just observe it,
Stepping into the space of observing.
Noticing if there were any lessons that you learned,
Anything that stood out to you as a lesson learned.
Maybe somebody did something,
Said something that hurt you.
Maybe something happened that was really difficult for you to get through.
Simply observe it as though you can see it playing out on a movie screen.
Trying not to get too attached to the details.
Notice what comes up to help you digest and process anything that might be weighing you down from this month.
Imagine yourself the last time you went over to somebody's house to share the meal.
Imagine if you were to force yourself to stare at your empty used plate,
Your empty used cup.
Imagine you were forcing yourself to think about every single bite that you took,
Whether you liked it,
Whether you didn't.
That's what we do with our minds.
We force ourselves to obsess when instead what we really want to feel inner peace and happiness is to be able to live in the present moment.
Without judging yourself,
Just observe,
Notice what it would feel like to stare at that empty plate for days,
For weeks,
For months.
Begin to scan through your year doing the same practice for the month of February,
March,
April.
Maybe there was a month that really stood out for you in May.
Was there something big,
A big shift that happened?
Not necessarily focused on the positive aspects of it or the negative aspects of it.
But just looking at it from a neutral perspective.
What are some of those things that you might still be obsessing over subconsciously or consciously?
Scanning through to June,
July.
What did the summer months feel like?
What did you feel like in the summer months?
August.
September.
October.
November.
December.
Here we go.
April.
November.
December.
Spending extra time in any month that might have been more challenging for you.
Looking at those challenges,
Asking yourself,
What lesson can I take from this so that I can leave this month with gratitude?
Seeing the response come to you rather than searching for it in your mind.
What is the lesson?
How can I leave this month with gratitude,
Same way I would leave my home,
My friend or family member who invites me over for dinner?
Allow yourself to spend as much time as you need in this practice.
Looking through,
Scanning through those tough months,
Those tough moments.
Seeing energy of gratitude through acceptance.
Those are things that cannot be changed.
But you can take them with you in an area or from a space of gratitude.
As you move forward into 2022.
Spend as much time with your eyes closed as you need.
Remembering that the decision to have a different energy for your new year has to come from you.
We cannot accomplish that without an energy of gratitude.
Not having these difficult things weigh us down.
Give yourself the space to transform.
You completed the visualization.
You can visualize yourself closing out each month,
Same way you would leave a friend's house having put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Having given them a rinse.
Having helped them clean up.
Reach that point.
You can take a deep breath in,
Reaching the arms up overhead.
Open the throat,
Look up.
And exhale to bring the hands down towards the heart.
Oh,
Peace,
Peace,
Peace.
Peace,
Peace,
Peace.
