I'd like to invite you to take a mindful moment to pause with me,
Reflect on the year that is coming to a close,
And look forward to the year ahead.
Finding a position that feels supportive,
Where you can be alert yet at ease,
Allowing yourself to arrive and settle in this moment.
Nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to do,
Just this moment.
Maybe taking a few deep breaths to help settle the nervous system,
In through the nose and out through the mouth,
Deep breath in through the nose,
And out through the mouth.
One more time,
Deep breath in and exhale.
If it feels supportive to you,
Closing the eyes or perhaps lowering the gaze.
Noticing the position of your body in this moment,
Making any adjustments necessary so that you are alert and at ease.
I'd like to invite you now to look back at the past year,
Whatever occurred,
Whatever happened,
Seeing if you can acknowledge where you are in this moment.
Perhaps there were great challenges,
Big sorrows,
Huge accomplishments,
Joys,
Celebrations,
Or perhaps it was more neutral and low-key.
Whatever is bubbling up in your mind right now,
I invite you to not get caught up in the story about those things,
But rather noticing impressions or sensations.
Even in this question of,
How was this past year for me?
You might notice some judgment,
Some disappointment.
Maybe you're not where you are today where you had hoped you would be in a year's time.
Seeing if you can allow yourself to offer compassion to whatever experience that you are in in this moment.
You might even put hand to heart center and gently say,
It's okay,
I love you.
Just offering yourself compassion for whatever is arising.
Trying not to judge,
Trying not to get into the coulda,
Woulda,
Shouldas,
Just noticing what's here and meeting it openly with curiosity,
Kindness,
Maybe even a little humor.
Perhaps you had some great accomplishments this past year,
But you rushed right past them.
Maybe you were just like,
Okay great,
On to the next,
And in this moment I invite you to appreciate or celebrate or even acknowledge the things that were accomplished in this past year.
The growth,
Resilience,
Achievement,
Commitment,
Really allowing yourself to bask in the warmth of that.
We often don't take time to appreciate where we've been or what we've been through to get to this moment.
I invite you to do that now.
If you'd like,
You can pause the recording and maybe even journal or dive into this past year a little bit more,
But if you feel ready,
I invite you now to bring the attention to the upcoming year,
This blank slate.
We don't know what will occur.
Heck,
We don't know what will occur day to day,
But there's something powerful at looking ahead.
I'd like you to think now,
What intention would you like to set for this next year,
Knowing again that anything can change at any moment,
But in this moment,
What would you like to invite in for the upcoming year?
Noticing if there's shoulds or woulds or have-tos in there,
And that's okay,
But just noticing where are these thoughts or intentions coming from?
Is it coming from a desire to support the life that you are living,
To support the person that you are,
Or is it coming from some sense of the society expects X,
Y,
And Z from me?
And whatever is bubbling up,
Taking note of that.
You don't have to start planning it right now.
You don't have to start executing it now.
Just notice when you're thinking of the upcoming year,
Is there something that you would like to step into,
To grow,
To create,
To invite in to your experience?
If you'd like,
You can pause here and journal about what you'd like to call in or invite in for the upcoming year.
Or if it feels complete,
Please join me as we close this meditation,
Thanking yourself for getting to this point of the past year,
Holding space and curiosity for what the upcoming year might hold,
Knowing that things change,
Knowing that we don't have control over them,
But we can set intentions,
We can hold with an open hand,
An open heart,
Those things that we want to invite in to our experience.
Bringing your attention to the body in this moment,
Noticing air temperature,
Noticing points of contact,
Bringing the attention to the body,
Breathing,
Breathing in,
Knowing you're breathing in,
Breathing out,
Knowing you're breathing out,
Maybe bringing some movement to the body,
Wiggling the fingers and toes,
Taking a stretch,
Opening the eyes if they've been closed.
Thank you so much for pausing and taking this mindful moment with me.
Many blessings.
