Guided By Your Past To Create A New Future

Take time to reflect on where you've been on your path. Listen to your heart and what it wants to share. Be guided by the present moment. Connect with your future and the wisdom it offers to you. In this guided journey, we will connect with three Guides: the Guide of the Past, the Guide of the Present and the Guide of the Future. Taking time to honor where we've traveled allows us to see where we are headed and what shifts we need to make along the way. Join me in this gentle guided practice.

Transcript

Hi,

And thank you so much for joining me today.

I'm grateful that you're here with me.

I'm Shannon Sullivan,

And happy to go on this journey with you.

Today we'll be doing a guided meditation that takes us into the past,

Into the here and now,

And into the future.

The intention today is to review where you're at on your journey,

Where you've come from,

Where you stand now,

And where you'd like to see yourself in the future.

It's always good to take stock of the things that you've gone through,

Where you've come from,

What you've learned,

Before moving forward into something new.

When we take time to stop and listen to ourselves,

To see where we've come from,

To look at those places that we've had success and gratitude,

Those places where we've made mistakes,

Those places where we still need to grow,

It's nice to honor all of those spaces,

So that we know how to move forward.

Just like on any journey that you might take,

A road trip,

Where you've made plans about where you want to go and see,

Sometimes it doesn't always turn out just the way you planned.

There might be detours on that trip.

You might get turned around,

Go back where you came from,

Make some course adjustments,

And then head back out again.

Sometimes trips that we take might even get cancelled or delayed.

Just like in life,

If we take that as a metaphor for any type of road trip that we might venture on,

Our life can be just like that,

Unexpected twists and turns.

My hope is that with this guided practice today,

That it gives you time to spend with yourself on your own life journey,

About where you've come from,

The things that you want to keep in your life,

Those places where you might want to make adjustments,

And how your future self might give you a perspective about how to step into new places in your life.

Now to set the intention for our journey,

I'd like to start with this poem by Mary Oliver.

The poem is titled,

How Would You Live Then?

What if a hundred rose-breasted grossbeaks flew in a circle around your head?

What if the mockingbird came into the house with you and became your advisor?

What if the bees filled your walls with honey,

And all you needed to do was ask them,

And they would fill your bowl?

What if the brook slid downhill just past your bedroom window,

So you could listen to its slow prayers as you fell asleep?

What if the stars began to shout their names,

Or to run this way and that way above the clouds?

What if you painted a picture of a tree,

And the leaves began to rustle,

And a bird cheerfully sang from its painted branches?

What if you suddenly saw that the silver of water was brighter than the silver of money?

What if you finally saw that the sunflowers turning toward the sun all day,

Every day,

And who knows how but they do it,

Were more precious,

More meaningful,

Than gold?

May this poem by Mary Oliver inspire your journey today in our guided practice,

Venturing into the past,

The present moment,

And the future.

Let's walk together now.

Take this time now to close your eyes,

Moving into a comfortable space in which to take this guided journey.

Closing your eyes when you're ready,

Allow your body to connect with the earth beneath you,

Mother Earth holding you in this time,

And allowing your body to completely relax in her arms.

From this place of connection,

Take a deep breath in,

Moving the breath all the way through your body,

And exhaling fully.

Now in your imagination,

I'll have you find yourself standing in front of a doorway that represents your third eye.

This space within you that lets you see all that you need to.

As you stand in front of this doorway,

You connect with it and feel its pulse moving through your body.

When you're ready,

I'll have you imagine reaching out and touching that doorway.

As you make connection with this third eye doorway,

A beautiful indigo doorway of light opens before you,

Glowing and bright.

You take a deep breath in,

And when you're ready,

You step through this indigo doorway of light,

Into the space that is your third eye.

When you step through that doorway,

You find yourself standing in your third eye,

This room that represents the inside of you,

Of your higher mind.

How is this space decorated?

What does it look like?

Allow yourself to connect with it now.

Now as you look around the room,

You see that there are three doors inside this space.

The first door has the word,

Past,

Written on it.

The second door has the word,

Present,

Written upon it.

And the third door has the word,

Future,

Written on the door.

You feel yourself called over to that first door,

And as you walk over,

You stand in front of it.

What does the doorway to the past look like?

What shape is it?

What texture?

What does the handle look like?

Connect with this doorway now,

Taking a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

You reach out,

Opening that doorway of the past,

And stepping through.

As you step through that doorway,

There is a guide waiting for you.

This guide represents the past.

Your guide greets you,

Grateful that you are here in this moment.

What does your guide of the past look like?

What colors is he or she?

What kind of energy does he or she have?

Allow yourself to connect with this guide now.

This guide of your past now takes your hand and guides you to a place that is from a memory of yours.

This memory from the past is something your guide wants to show you,

That is a memory of a moment where you are proud of yourself.

What memory now comes up that reminds you of this achievement,

Something that you faced or accomplished.

Allow this memory to come forward.

What do you see,

Feel,

Hear?

Connect with this memory now.

Take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

Now as the memory begins to fade,

And you feel the warmth in your chest of that connection with the past,

In this moment where you are proud of yourself,

Your guide from the past now touches your chest,

Feeling that warmth.

The memory now begins to fade.

You take another deep breath in,

And exhale.

Now your guide gently touches your third eye,

Bringing into your memory an event that occurred where you may have experienced disappointment.

As the memory comes to the surface of your mind,

Through your heart,

Your third eye,

This image projected,

Your guide stands with you as you face this memory of a time where you felt disappointment with something that you faced.

Allow yourself to connect with this memory now and what it wants to share with you.

Take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

Your guide from this past moment is able to experience all that you experience and sees that you have faced this memory of disappointment where there might be heartache.

Your guide now touches your chest,

Your heart,

With his or her hand,

And allows the energy of compassion to move through you,

To bring gentleness and softness,

So you don't have to bring this into the future.

Receive this healing energy now.

Now take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

Your body feels lighter.

Your guide from the past hugs you,

Grateful that you have spent time here.

He or she brings you back to doorway number one.

You thank him or her for being present with you.

As you turn and step back through that doorway,

Back into the third eye space,

Closing that doorway behind you.

As you close it,

You see that that doorway slowly disappears.

Now you see that you are called to the second doorway,

Walking over to where it is in this third eye space.

Standing in front of this doorway,

You see that written on the door is the word present.

What does this doorway look like?

What are its textures and colors?

What is the shape of this doorway?

How is it similar or different from the doorway of the past?

Connect with this door now.

Take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

You reach out and open the doorway of the present.

As it opens,

You see a beautiful light streaming through,

Inviting you into the present moment.

You feel its warmth as you step through the doorway.

Here there is another guide,

This guide of the present moment.

What does he or she look like?

What colors emanate from your guide?

What does it feel like to stand in his or her presence?

Allow yourself to connect with this guide from the present,

Now.

Your guide of the present moment would like to show you now a memory of a moment that represents something in your life currently that is going really well for you.

A place in your life where you feel encouragement,

Light,

Uplifted.

Your guide of the present takes your hand,

And as he or she does,

A beautiful,

Streaming yellow-gold light moves through your whole body,

Lighting up your chest,

Your heart,

Your mind.

When you see this moment from the present,

You feel that your whole body smiles.

What is this memory?

Allow yourself to connect with it now.

Take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

Your guide from this present moment is grateful that you have shared what feels like you're on the right path in your life in the present.

Now as that memory begins to fade,

Your guide of the present moment now takes both hands,

Brings them together in prayer position,

Placing both of your hands gently resting at your heart.

With your hands at your heart,

This guide of the present now reaches up and gently touches the top of your head,

The crown,

Illuminating your whole body.

This flood of light as it moves through your body now opens a doorway inside of you to show you a place in your life where you still need to do some work for as we take this journey through life,

There are always places in which we can improve in our life,

Whether around career,

Friendships,

Family,

Spiritual growth,

Love,

Money,

Our relationship to all of these things,

We're always constantly improving ourselves on the journey.

So as this light from your guide of the present moves through you,

What memory comes up in your current life showing you where you need more help,

More work,

More assistance,

Allow yourself to see what comes forward now.

Connect with this information in a loving way.

With this connection to a place in your life where you might need more work,

Your guide now shares with you how to approach this place in your life.

In what new way can you illuminate this space in your life?

Allow yourself to receive guidance and wisdom from your guide of the present moment.

What words,

Images,

What advice does he or she share with you now that can help you with this part of your journey?

Listen,

Take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

You thank your guide of this present moment for being with you,

For showing you both of these memories that illuminate the places in your life that are going well,

The spaces that need some work.

Grateful to have this knowledge and information,

Your guide thanks you for being here as well.

He or she now leads you back to that second doorway.

You step back through the second door back into that third eye space.

The door closes slowly behind you,

And as you turn around you see the second doorway slowly disappearing.

You see now that there is one more doorway for you to walk through today.

You walk towards that third doorway,

And as you approach the door you see the word FUTURE written upon it.

What does this door look like?

What textures is it made out of?

What colors is it?

What does the handle of the future look like on this door?

Connect with the doorway now.

Take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale you reach out and opening the door,

You feel a beautiful wind from the future moving through that smells of the outdoors,

That smells of mother nature,

That welcomes you into the future.

Step through this doorway now.

Your guide of the future who greets you is actually a future version of yourself.

What does he or she look like as they step forward now to greet you?

This future you.

How does your future self look in this moment?

The future you now takes your hand and walks you through this space in time.

He or she takes you into a space to show you what they are doing that makes them happy and fully connected to their inner and outer self.

What is it that your future self is doing in this moment that brings them happiness,

Joy,

Connection,

Where they feel fully embodied in who they are?

Allow yourself to see the image that your future self is showing you.

Connect with this image now.

You feel the joy that your future self is experiencing at being in this life.

You ask your future self,

What are one or two steps that he or she took that helped lead them in this direction,

Toward this path?

What is it that you can do in the present that will lead you to this future version of yourself?

Listen to what your future self tells you now.

Take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

You'll hold this information from your future self within you.

You and your future self hug one another,

Grateful to have met in this space and to bring joy to one another.

The future you now walks you back to that third door.

You thank him or her for spending this time with you today.

And when you're ready,

You step through that third doorway,

Back into the third eye space.

The third door now closes behind you and slowly disappears until you stand in this third eye space,

Back where you started this journey.

You carry with you the memories from the past,

From the present,

From the future,

These spaces in which to heal,

To find success,

To understand yourself,

To grow,

To step brightly into the future.

Take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

You see that that indigo doorway of light from which you first began opens up once more.

You walk back over to that doorway,

And when you're ready,

Stepping through,

You find yourself standing once more in front of that third eye doorway.

You turn around and reach your hand out,

Touching the third eye doorway,

And as you do,

It closes.

Now in your imagination,

Closing your eyes and allowing the energy of all that you've experienced from the past,

Present,

And future to integrate into your physical body.

Allow yourself to see where the energy flows.

Now take a deep breath in,

And exhale.

And with the next deep breath,

I'll have you breathe in,

Coming back to this present moment with me,

And upon the exhale,

Coming back into your physical body,

And when you're ready,

Opening your eyes and beginning to gently stretch your body,

Wiggling your fingers and toes,

Shrugging your shoulders,

Gently stretching your head and neck.

You can reconnect with this energy,

These memories,

These guides,

Any time by closing your eyes and gently touching the third eye space between your eyes,

And asking any of those guides to come forward for you.

Thank you so much for joining me on this guided journey as we take time to review where we've come from,

Where we stand now,

And as we move into the future.

These moments of reflection allow us the place to discern the shifts we might need to make in order to bring to life our dreams or our hopes.

I also highly recommend taking the spaces of memories that you've had today during this journey,

And sitting down with them,

And in some way,

Journaling what came up for you.

By writing down that which we connected with,

It helps us to stay connected to the information that comes up from our bodies,

From our minds,

From our heart.

It helps us to see on the page that which we have traveled through,

And in what ways we can make the changes that we need to in order to step into those future versions of ourselves.

I'd like to close our practice today with a beautiful poem by Mary Oliver.

As we begin our journey today with Mary Oliver,

We come full circle and close our practice with her wisdom to guide us.

This poem is called,

Sweet Grass,

Number 7.

What I loved in the beginning,

I think,

Was mostly myself.

Never mind that I had to,

Since somebody had to.

That was many years ago.

Since then I have gone out from my confinements,

Though with difficulty.

I mean the ones that thought to rule my heart.

I cast them out,

I put them on a mush pile.

They will be nourishment somehow,

For everything is nourishment,

Somehow or another.

And I have become the child of the clouds and of hope.

I have become the friend of the enemy,

Whoever that is.

I have become older and cherishing what I have learned.

I have become younger.

And what do I risk to tell you this?

Which is all I know.

Love yourself,

Then forget it,

Then love the world.

Through this journey as you learn to love yourself,

Connect with yourself,

Whether in places of successes or disappointment.

Just like Mary Oliver speaks of,

She learned to love herself even when there was nobody that did.

And as she moved into the world,

She found that she could love herself more for it,

And then give back to the world by loving it in return.

May this journey help remind you that the spaces within you,

Although difficult sometimes,

Are lovable.

And in learning to love who you are,

From the past and the present and into the future,

You also bring this hope into our world.

I wish you a beautiful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

This was wonderful. Thank you for sharing. It helped me to connect with emotions I have been unwilling to deal with in my past. It was presented beautifully and I look forward to hearing it again. 🙏

This put me right to sleep as I had hoped! I will play it again when I can pay more attention for more than five minutes! I loved her voice and and followed her right away!

I felt the compassion coming through! Fingers crossed that my future will come true!

Amazing. I found you on the summer solstice, and a full moon. What a beautiful opportunity to reconnect with all the parts of me that lead to my purpose. You have a gift. I’m gray that I found you. Thank you. 🙏🏻

Shannon’s work really resonates with me. Everything about her is very comforting, and I love how she incorporates poetry into many of her sessions. Thank you, Susan

So intriguing that I must revisit my ghosts of past-present-future soon to see if same or different guides appear and what other lessons I can draw from.
Thank you for this perspective as I am attempting to rewrite my experiences by looking through a different pane of the window. What if... eh?

A wonderful journey, beautifully guided - rich and imaginative. An extra-special experience! Thank you Shannon 🙏🫶☮️

Shannon’s done it again. A Beautiful, peaceful and thoughtful guided meditation blended with music, poetry and Shannon’s creative genius. Thank you!