The following meditation is a future self visualization.
You may have used a visualization before,
Or you might be a little skeptical.
Let me first explain why visualizations can be so effective and illuminating.
See,
Visualizations help you to believe that you have the capacity for change.
When your mind can see it,
There is a shift in possibility.
Our thoughts influence our narrative,
Which trickles down into our actions.
In essence,
What you believe about yourself is what you can achieve.
So during this visualization,
You will let your mind show you your future self,
And therefore identify the destination in which you would like to travel.
No,
Not every turn will be in detail or mapped out,
But you will gain clarity around some of the major steps ahead.
Why is visualization a little challenging at first?
Well,
Because we don't use our imagination as often or in the same ways that we did when we were young.
Nowadays,
We often use our imagination to borrow trouble or to think about something in the future that is causing us stress.
But when was the last time you used your imagination for good?
So if you find that this is hard at first,
Don't worry.
It is just a muscle that will strengthen with time and with practice.
Now let us begin.
To start off the process,
Carve out 10 minutes where you will not be disturbed and you can really commit to it.
Put your phone on do not disturb and give yourself the mental permission to be here.
You will be entering into the world of your imagination,
And this could feel a little silly or unnatural at first,
But try your best to remember why this is so important.
Remind yourself that you can't fail at this.
The skills that you need are already built within your brain.
Your job is simply to get familiar with what is already going on inside of your head so that you can direct it.
Once you are in the right environment,
Either comfortably seated or lying down,
Allow yourself to take some steady breaths,
Taking an easy inhale through the nose and an easy exhale out of the mouth.
Let's do that again.
An easy breath in through the nose and an easy breath out of the mouth.
One more time like that.
Deep breath in through the nose and exhale,
Let it out.
Go ahead and gently seal your lips and begin to breathe exclusively in and out through the nose.
Let the breath flow out of your nose.
Allow this breath to feel easy and natural.
Let one breath follow the other.
And as you are ready,
Begin to soften your eyes.
By closing your eyes,
You can free up brain power for imaging.
So allow yourself to gently flutter the eyes closed.
Start to notice the dark of your eyelids.
Begin a quick scan of your body,
Starting at the crown of your head and working down your body.
Notice if you are holding any tension in your jaw or any tightness in your shoulders.
You notice any heaviness through your hips or any tightness in your stomach.
Allow with your next easy breath out for all of that to slacken,
To release,
And to relax.
Come back to the space of darkness with your eyes closed.
Become fully present in this space.
Remind yourself that you are safe in this space.
Allow the darkness to fully wrap around and engulf you.
As you sit in the darkness,
You begin to notice a small white light.
It's only the size of a pinhole.
But as your focus sharpens on this little white light,
You begin to move towards it.
As you move towards this small white light,
You notice that it starts to become bigger.
The size of a ball.
The size of a car.
It starts to get bigger and bigger,
And as you come up and you are walking right up to this white light,
Your focus sharpens,
And you step towards a door.
You notice that this door is illuminated on all four sides.
There is a bright place on the other side of this door.
The other side of this door is calling to you.
You step towards this door and place your hand on the handle.
As soon as you open the door,
This white light becomes all that you see.
You are fully wrapped up in it.
It is blinding.
Slowly,
Your eyes begin to adjust and you find yourself in a new place.
You've walked through a portal,
And you have found yourself in a new place.
And you have found yourself 10 years down the road.
Take a few more steps into this scene and start to explore where you are.
What do you see?
What do you hear?
What do you smell?
What do you sense?
Your curiosity gets the better of you,
And you begin to explore this space further.
Depending on where you are,
You may turn down another alleyway.
You may take a turn in a trail.
Or you may enter into a building.
Really allow yourself to take in your surroundings.
Try to notice even the smallest details.
As you continue to explore this space and feel more comfortable in it,
You start to notice that there is a place where you can catch your reflection and that you're really curious.
Maybe it's a mirror or the stillness of water.
Maybe it's a reflection in a window or through the eyes of another person.
Allow yourself to take a peek at that person that resides within you 10 years from now.
Who do you see?
What do you notice about yourself?
How do you carry yourself?
Take a few more moments with your reflection,
And once again,
Try your best to commit this to memory.
Noticing the small details.
Find gratitude for what this reflection had to show you about yourself and continue to explore your surroundings.
And as you explore your surroundings,
You come across a book.
And you notice that this is not just any ordinary book,
But this is an album with pictures from your life and from the past 10 years.
As you start to flip through this album or this scrapbook,
You start to take in what your life has looked like and the steps that you have taken to get to this place 10 years in the future.
What is your life like?
How did you get here?
What is it that you enjoy?
Where do you find your passion?
Who do you surround yourself with?
You find gratitude for this book and all that it has shown you.
You set it down,
And as you turn around,
You notice that that door is back.
It's calling to you.
It's time to come back to the present.
Take one more look around and start to walk towards the door.
Walk through the door and shut it.
Allow yourself to be surrounded by darkness once again.
And as you do this,
Take a moment to seal in all that you saw,
Who you were,
What you were doing,
And who you were surrounded with.
But most of all,
I want you to notice how you felt in this future space as this future self.
If you're able to,
Maybe try to narrow it down to a word or a phrase,
Something that can remind you,
Almost as if it's a touchstone,
As to who this future self is and who you are seeking to become.
As you're ready,
You can invite some gentle movement back into the fingers and toes.
Maybe roll out your shoulders or your neck.
And as you're ready to come back into the present space,
Gently flutter your eyes open.
And I invite you from here to take a moment to jot down or write down what you saw with as much detail as you can.
And give yourself permission to use this as a roadmap for your future.
Your future self is calling.
