by Toby Gant
When the waves of life toss us around we can feel like we are stuck on a rudderless ship. This meditation will help you rise above any temporary storm you may be facing and help you reconnect with your own empowering big picture. Use this track to shift from "little picture" frustrations to "big picture" focus.
Transcript
Today I want to share some insights and reflections and even a meditation that's going to help you zoom out of this little picture mindset that might be stuck or obsessed with something minor and small in the big scheme of things and zoom out to that bigger picture understanding of what really matters, What's really important. Things aren't nearly as bad as they might seem in a single moment and that the big picture is actually quite good. So if you would like to join me in this meditation today I want to give you some options for aromatherapy. I'm gonna be working with a little bit of frankincense but you can also work with lavender or any kind of aromatherapy that helps you go deep within to your heart and soul. So one of the things I like to do in my own personal growth is I like to check in with my own soul. I pull out my journal and I say soul what do you want me to know? Today I did that and I actually started by closing my eyes to just see if I could sense or feel anything and I got an image right away in my mind's eye. I had this image of a rickety old wooden ship and I felt like I was on this ship in the middle of a storm and the waves were huge the wind was blowing and there was this sense of fear like am I gonna drown? And so I kind of reflected on that for a moment and I was reminded there is a story in the Bible where Jesus and his disciples go out on a boat on a lake I might have been late Galilee I'm not sure but was on a lake it said they're out on the water and he falls asleep in the hold of the boat and the disciples are terrified because a huge storm comes up winds howling waves are you know bouncing them around they're afraid they're gonna drown and they wake him up and he's kind of annoyed with them he says something like oh you of little faith and then he goes and rebukes the storm and tells the wind and waves to calm down and they do. So I sat with that story and I was like okay how does this tie in with what I saw when I closed my eyes? And the message was simple the message was Jesus was one who saw and lived in the big picture realized that things like weather and emotions are temporary they pass and they don't need to interfere with the fulfillment of the deeper purposes and mission in life. So something like a big storm didn't really scare him because he thought well I have things to do and fulfill this isn't going to stop me why am I afraid? Whereas the disciples like me and probably many of you can relate to are stuck in these little picture mindsets like oh my gosh this thing has come up it's gonna ruin my life I might drown I might die something terrible is going to happen and we go to that doomsday fear mindset. What I did after that is I went back closed my eyes and I said okay I realized that in my life I get like that and this year in particular has been one of those years where it just feels like getting tossed about battered about by waves on a rickety old ship in a storm even if there were a rudder on this ship the rudder is not working I can't steer it kind of lost on direction and just feeling tossed about without a lot of direction. And what I did is I closed my eyes I said show me the big picture help me to zoom out from this storm and see the big picture and I did it was like my perspective ascended above the clouds I was able to look down from high high up above the storm and what I saw was Hawaii which of course is a wonderful beautiful place but to me it has very special spiritual significance. When I'm there I feel like it's home I feel overflowing with purpose and and meaning when I'm there it's a beautiful place for me. And I could see that in the big picture there was this little storm off the coast of Hawaii it was very near Hawaii. When I was down in that ship in the waves I couldn't see that Hawaii is right there just right beyond the storm it's right there. But when I zoomed out and saw the big picture I could see well there's a little temporary little storm passing but Hawaii is in the clear in the sun and it's right there. I want to share that experience with you you're gonna sense and feel different things than I did but I want to help you to zoom out from a little pesky things that are temporary and passing that might be bogging you down into a little picture mindset so that you can expand into that big picture mindset that helps you be really focused where you need to be focused. So if you have any optional aromatherapy whether it's frankincense or anything else I invite you to put a generous amount on your left palm maybe two or three drops and then we're just gonna swipe across the forehead starting right in the center of the forehead pressing right into the center at the third eye swiping to the left slowly massaging into the left temple swiping back across the center of the forehead all the way to the right temple massaging it in at the right temple and then right back to the center of the forehead and I invite you to join me for three deep breaths if you have some aromatherapy on your hands you can breathe in from your hands if not just join me for the breaths breathing deeply in to the mind emotions thoughts beliefs everything mental a clearing breath out the mouth a deep breath into the body everything physical about you a clearing breath to release tension from the body a deep breath into your energy body spine meridians energy feel all around you and a big clearing breath out the mouth beautiful with your eyes closed to join me on a little meditative journey I know we can all relate to that feeling of being in a storm feeling like we are getting battered by a storm maybe like being on a rudderless ship unable to sense the direction or even steer in a particular direction maybe that's something you're facing right now in your life and when you're in the middle of an experience like that the human experience can make it seem like this could ruin me this could be the end of me this could destroy all the good things I've worked for this could really be catastrophic and we can go to that dark mindset and there can also be a sense of is this ever going to end is this ever going to get better just for a moment we're not going to dwell in the negative but I want you to acknowledge that feeling of loss of hope loss of direction fixation on the unpleasant present and loss of vision for the big picture and whatever that may look like in your life now and then imagine that on an inhale it's as if you could lift your consciousness in your mind's eye up above that storm high high high up into the sky and when you get up very high you can look down and you see the storm there but you see so much more than the storm there's a bigger picture that your heart and soul wants you to sense and see and feel if you are visual perhaps you see it very clearly there's something bright and good and beautiful even if there is a storm in the field of vision if you're less visual it's the feeling of the big picture the feeling that things like weather and emotions are temporary but there's so much good so much powerful so much purpose that will be fulfilled and is already in process of being fulfilled feel that bigger picture sense it in your mind's eye and notice any of the details or reminders that emerge from that big picture for you and breathe into your solar plexus between your navel and your sternum that place of courage confidence belief in ourselves belief in our path our purposes what we're here for a deep breath in there to tap into that inner strength inner fire inner courage that the little temporary things are really inconsequential in comparison to this full powerful beautiful big picture of life feel the energy of that big picture and even if your human experience is going to go through that storm it's very temporary like the blink of an eye you will very soon emerge into a place that's much more empowering but if we can keep our inner vision and focus on that big picture we reduce so much suffering maybe even eliminate our suffering and just feel like suffering fear doubt worry or just falling off of you now just falling off melting off one last little inward gaze even focusing your awareness in the center of your center of your brain as if you could turn your eyes up and inward inside of your brain to see that big picture to feel that big picture one last time when you are ready I invite you to open your eyes big picture people have always been the visionaries the world changers and if you're listening to this message maybe you're not going to be famous but that does not mean that you are not a big picture powerful world changer let's do this together
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Marcus
September 2, 2024
very grateful to practice with the ocean and in the energy of the new moon this morning. this meditation on returning to awareness reminded of an insight I received during vipassana yesterday morning: “joy requires imagination”. in order for us to experience true happiness, we must first be able to adapt the mind, the great translator of all between the realm of the seen and the realm of the unseen. thank you for such a grounding and realigning meditation, Toby 😌🙏🏾.
