From Chez Piñata,
I'm Colleen Thomas.
This is Everyday Magic for Ukraine.
Today we find inner strength.
Welcome to the circle.
So as we begin today,
I remind you that we are actually all in the same circle,
No matter when we listen and no matter where we are on the planet.
We are creating one big circle where we share an intention of showing up for ourselves and showing up for Ukraine.
So I'm really glad you're here today.
Since our topic is inner strength,
I'd like to focus with you first on finding ourselves inside all of the noise that goes on around us on a daily basis.
So to begin,
Let's drop into this moment.
What colors do you see around you?
What sounds do you hear?
And where is your body making contact with the earth or the representative of the earth,
Which might be a chair or the floor or perhaps a mattress or a bed?
Notice this representative of the earth,
If you will,
Pressing up against your body,
Holding you.
Can you feel the energy of the earth from below coming up to you,
Up through this object,
Through this chair or this mattress?
So the earth is holding you through this item.
And what might it feel like to trust this item just a little bit more,
To release into gravity,
To give into gravity just a little more in this moment?
And now,
Even though you may be feeling a little more calm and a little more quiet than you were a few minutes ago,
There may still be sort of thoughts,
Worries,
Things of that nature floating around in your space.
So I invite you now,
If you'd like to,
Begin to notice what else is here with you.
Just notice if there are thoughts or are worries,
You don't have to engage with them,
But just get a felt sense of how full is your space right now?
How many of these little helpers are floating around you?
They are not bad.
They are not a problem.
They are here to help.
They are here as representatives of the millions of things we juggle every single day.
And yet maybe there's a way that they could land for a second.
Maybe they could come down out of the air,
Swimming around us and land,
Just maybe just around us on the floor,
Just kind of rest and just notice how that feels to even engage with that idea,
That idea of letting these worries and stresses and thoughts just rest.
And now maybe your space is a little calmer.
Remember about gravity.
Remember about the earth.
Trust in gravity in this moment.
From this wonderfully quiet place we've entered together,
We're going to play with this idea of inner strength.
And I'm going to invite you to do something we've never done before on this podcast,
Which is to,
If you have the use of both of your hands,
To hold the pinky finger of one of your hands inside the other hand.
So you're kind of hugging your pinky finger by wrapping the other fingers of your hand around it.
Kind of like if you offered your pinky to a child you were walking with and they grabbed onto it.
And the idea here is honoring the meridians that run through our body,
And specifically honoring the meridian that ends with the pinky finger.
Holding the pinky finger is a very subtle,
But very interesting way to support any part of ourselves that maybe feels a little bit like we maybe can't do it.
We don't have the self-esteem that we want to have in this moment.
So I invite you,
If it feels okay,
You can do this very subtly in your lap if you're in public,
Just wrap your fingers around your pinky and just notice how it feels.
You may find quickly or slowly over time that your nervous system begins to shift.
You might begin to feel more calm,
And you might not.
This might not be a practice that works for you,
But I appreciate you giving it a go with me.
So now in this quiet place,
Sitting in this position,
What I'd like to ask you to do next is think of somebody that is a strong person to you.
Someone who comes to mind when I say,
She is awesome,
Or he is awesome,
I wish I was as strong as them,
Who comes to mind?
And what I'd like to invite you to do now is to imagine that that person comes right here to sit with you.
This could be anybody from history,
Or your family,
Or your ancestry,
Even a celebrity.
Imagine them coming to sit in front of you,
Just very straight in front of you,
Beginning to gaze into your eyes,
And allow yourself to connect with this person at the heart level.
This person has come to mind for you for a particular reason,
And it's okay if you don't know why.
It's okay if somebody came to mind you've never thought of before.
Just allow yourself on the inner to connect with this person and to really feel how they are strong.
Feel their spirit,
Feel their strength.
Can you mirror that strength?
Can you reflect that strength back to them?
They might have some wisdom for you,
Some guidance,
Just see what is there for you.
We're going to spend just another minute with this person,
Really take in how they're looking at you,
And the wishes that they're sending you.
Think of the gratitude that you have for them,
For being a role model in your life.
If it feels right,
When you're ready,
You can take a breath and let them go.
Now,
In their absence,
Notice inside yourself how you feel strong.
Do you feel a unique strength that is yours,
Perhaps inspired by theirs,
But this strength is actually yours?
Is it something that you can feel?
What does it feel like?
What does it feel like to acknowledge this inner strength and to know that it's yours?
Nobody waved a magic wand and did anything to you.
You just connected with it yourself,
So it's always there and it's always yours.
May we always remember that we are amazing.
May it be so.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Your presence,
Your energy,
And your heart make all the difference in healing our world.
Remember to breathe today,
Breathe and expand,
And I hope you join us again next time.
Please consider inviting a friend.
