A warm welcome.
Today's practice is about joy and why choosing to feel it,
Even amidst everything difficult,
Can be its own quiet act of rebellion.
So in your own time settling in.
Allowing the eyes to close if it suits you or softening your gaze.
And beginning by allowing your awareness to land on your breath.
And what would it feel like to allow your breath to feel joyful?
Each inhale.
An opportunity to fill your body with fresh oxygen and life force.
Each exhale an invitation to let go of carbon dioxide.
And all that no longer serves you.
And perhaps noticing how your breath naturally slows or deepens through gentle awareness.
And now for the next minute,
Really allowing your exhale to be long and smooth.
To use your outbreath as a natural vehicle for letting go.
Letting go of stress or tension held within the body.
Letting go of all the old stories and beliefs that stand between you and more joy in your everyday life.
That joy is childlike,
Selfish or inappropriate in these challenging times.
With each long smooth exhale,
Feeling lighter and more spacious in the body.
Now bringing your hands together and gently rubbing your palms.
Feeling warm.
Energy,
Aliveness building within the palms of your hands.
And when you're ready,
Placing one hand on top of the other over the centre of your chest.
Feeling the warmth of your own hands resting here.
Now allowing awareness to travel inward.
Beneath the skin.
Beneath the muscles and bones.
Into the centre of your chest.
And imagining,
Sensing or feeling that within the heart space there is a room.
A room where you feel safe.
Comfortable.
At ease.
Take a moment to notice the details of this room.
Perhaps there's a chair.
A window,
Bookshelves,
Soft light.
Music,
Fresh air.
There's no right way for this room to appear.
Maybe it's less about an image and more about a feeling.
Taking a few slow breaths here.
Allowing this feeling of coming home to land.
And as you rest in this room within your heart,
Noticing someone else is here with you.
A younger version of yourself.
You're not surprised,
It feels natural somehow.
Taking in their age.
The clothes they're wearing.
Their expression.
The energy they carry.
And noticing what it feels like to share this room together.
Perhaps they remind you of things that once brought you joy.
Maybe it feels more energetic.
Perhaps you simply sit together in silence.
Trusting whatever unfolds.
And breathing gently into the heart.
Letting the younger self remind you that joy was once natural.
That delight didn't need to be earned.
That presence was enough.
And now noticing someone else entering the room.
A future version of you,
Slightly older than you are now.
You sense immediately that they are wise.
Hold.
Deeply themselves.
Taking in their presence.
The way they stand or sit.
The softness in their face.
The kindness in their eyes.
And sensing that this future self knows something about joy that you are still learning.
So in your own way,
Asking them gently.
When it comes to joy,
What would you have me know?
Listening not only with the mind.
But with the body.
The heart.
Your whole being.
Here in this space of your meditation practice,
Allowing yourself to feel the presence of all three versions of you together.
The younger self who knew joy instinctively.
The present self who's learning to receive joy again.
The wiser self who trusts in joy fully.
Making one gentle commitment to yourself.
One way you'll welcome more joy into your everyday life.
Let that commitment settle into your heart.
And now knowing it's almost time to leave this inner room.
Thanking your younger self.
Your wiser self.
Your own heart for receiving you here.
Watching the room slowly fade like the setting sun.
Bringing awareness back to the body as it sits or lies here.
To the support beneath you.
When you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
Thanks for practicing with me today.
You might like to save this audio and come back to it anytime you need to reconnect with the joy that lives within you.
