Hi,
This is Padma Gordon.
And I want to talk to you about personal integrity.
And what it means to be in personal integrity.
How do you know that you're lined up with yourself?
How do we know when we are allowing ourselves to cross a boundary?
Or how do we know when we are following a desire,
We're following our pleasure body,
Instead of listening to a deeper knowing?
And there's not necessarily a right or wrong at all.
There's simply,
I'm in integrity with myself on the deepest level.
And I'm out of integrity with myself.
And in my experience,
They feel very different.
In my experience,
When I'm in integrity with myself,
Something relaxes,
Something settles.
And when I'm stretching and I'm out of my comfort zone,
Which is not necessarily being out of integrity,
I might start to contract feeling tension or some shakiness in different parts of my body.
And then I know that it's a good idea for me to slow down and perhaps pause.
So this is what I want to work with you on today is how to know how to be able to sense into your body into your whole system,
Body,
Mind,
Emotions,
We are so many layers as beings.
So I invite you to take some time to learn about your own body mind complex,
To discover the nuances of your own system,
And how to really read it,
Really listen and know what's true.
Because only you know what's true for you.
It doesn't matter what your friends say,
Or your counselor therapist,
Advisor says.
Doesn't matter what your grandmother says,
You know what you know.
And that's the blessing of it is that we all are responsible for living in alignment with ourselves.
And honing our ability to do that takes practice,
Which is what this meditation is about.
So I invite you to settle yourself down.
Just take some time in a quiet place.
Lay down.
Allow yourself to get comfortable making any adjustments so that you are comfortable resting,
Resting into yourself.
Slowing down.
Perhaps taking some generous breaths.
Generous breathing opens us up.
Allows for the body and the mind to settle.
And I know that you know just what's needed for your body to settle,
To relax.
Perhaps it's listening to the spaces between my words.
Just letting yourself settle down,
Drop down,
So that there's a deeper part of you that is hearing what's being spoken.
And it's that same deeper part of you that will respond to the invitations coming through in this meditative practice.
So slowing down and just noticing if there are any sensations that you're feeling in the soles of your feet.
Perhaps tingling or pulsing.
Perhaps coolness or warmth.
Whatever you're feeling,
Just noticing it.
And each time you notice yourself,
You notice your own body.
You're opening the channels of communication between your body and a deeper knowing,
A deeper listening.
That's right.
Taking another big breath in your own time.
Letting it go.
And this time,
On your next inhale,
Just notice how the chest cavity expands.
And then on the exhale,
How it contracts,
Sinks back down.
Just noticing the rising and the falling that naturally accompany your breath.
Slowing everything down so you can pay attention to yourself.
And the more you pay attention to yourself,
The more responsive your whole system becomes.
You begin to notice very subtle signals as you're interacting with people in your life.
Perhaps you can imagine a situation where you were interacting with someone and the situation became a little bit charged.
Just noticing what happens in the body as you sense into this charge.
Listening to the body.
Noticing specific sensations.
This is the practice that you're learning right now.
To notice specific sensations.
Receive them.
And from a relaxed place,
Respond.
Responding to what is occurring.
That's right.
Responding to what is occurring.
Being in integrity with yourself.
And perhaps there's a situation that can come into your mind,
Come into your awareness,
Where you are absolutely in integrity with yourself.
Aligned.
And you can feel it.
What does it feel like to respond when you're in alignment with yourself?
In alignment with yourself and communicating directly,
Gracefully,
Skillfully.
And if there isn't a time that you can imagine,
Just see yourself.
Sense yourself.
Maybe you feel your feet on the ground.
A certain quality of uprightness while being relaxed at ease in your system.
Responding from integrity feels good.
It's enlivening and relaxing at the same time.
So just by hearing these words and running these visions through your mind,
You're building new pathways,
New neural networks.
So that as and when situations arise in your life,
And they will,
You will have a newly expanded capacity for responding with integrity.
Responding from alignment and personal integrity.
So I'm going to let you rest here.
Just rest for a few minutes longer,
Allowing your autonomic nervous system to absorb and integrate everything that's been said and heard.
And when it's time to open the eyes,
You will do so feeling refreshed,
Centered,
Calm,
Seeing through fresh eyes,
Seeing through fresh eyes,
Confident in your ability to respond and to be in alignment with yourself,
Living from personal integrity.
And you'll notice how your relationships change as you change,
Responding in new ways,
Creating harmonious connections as you feel more and more connected and aligned with yourself.
And every time you listen to this process,
Your ability expands,
Evolves,
And deepens.
So taking this time to rest and integrate,
Rest and integrate,
Rest and integrate.
Thank you.
