Hello,
And welcome to the session,
I invite you to take a seat or lay down and get yourself comfortable.
You can close down the eyes if you wish,
And take three slow and deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
As we settle into this session,
I would like you to scan your body for any points of tension,
Relax the jaw,
Drop the shoulders,
Release any tension you might be holding in your belly or your legs or anywhere else.
As you settle into the session and begin to open your mind to possibility,
For the next few minutes or so,
We are going to allow ourselves to think,
To ponder,
To question,
To wonder.
We are going to be open to possibility,
To potential,
And we are going to consider what would happen were we to make changes or to accept certain truths,
And we are going to do so with an open mind,
One that is flexible and positive,
One that welcomes potential.
We are going to invite the wisdom of our ancestors,
Of our pasts,
Of our intuition,
Of the universe,
Of God,
Of the Muse,
Of whatever higher force or deeper force we hold true.
We are opening ourselves up to that space,
And just allowing it to sit within us for the next few minutes.
Soon,
I'm going to ask you a question,
And I'm going to repeat that question twice,
And then we are going to sit in contemplation of that question for a minute in silence together.
And in that minute,
I want you to let the thought open and grow in your mind,
Considering,
Allowing,
Welcoming,
And encouraging that thought to offer the potential for change,
The potential for discovery of your true and divine purpose in this world.
Let's take another deep,
Slow breath in through the nose and out through the mouth,
And welcome the following question to grow.
What would it mean to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?
What would it mean to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?
This question speaks to gratitude.
Many contemplative practices and religions have a basis in a gratitude practice.
Looking at what you've got and giving thanks,
Being grateful for the small joys,
The large wins,
The smiles,
The appreciation,
The simple things like food and water and shelter,
Or the big things like opportunities and possibilities and expressions.
But this question,
What would it mean to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen,
Causes us to extend that gratitude practice into the future.
It causes us to become immediately aware that good things can and will happen in our future.
And were we in that future state right now,
We'd be grateful for the fact that we have those things.
It allows us to let go of some of the anxiety and the trepidations and the worries of the future.
The future is infinite.
There are an infinite number of future possibilities,
And with each choice we make,
Different possible futures open up and close down.
One choice might lead to five different options,
And each of those options lead to many more options.
And in this way,
The potential futures that we can inhabit are limitless.
But with limitless opportunity comes limitless potential for danger,
For anxiety,
For things to worry about.
And us being human,
We tend to dwell on those,
We tend to worry about those,
We tend to sit with those things to the exclusion of all else.
But this question,
What would it mean to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?
It acknowledges that in whatever future we inhabit,
There'll be things to give thanks for.
And that's a beautiful thing.
It's something that,
If we really sit with it,
It can reduce or even eliminate our anxiety.
Because we know that there is something to hope for.
It is guaranteed that there'll be things in our future to give thanks for,
Just like there are things in our life now to give thanks for.
And if you're struggling to connect the dots here,
I would encourage you to undertake a gratefulness practice,
To sit and to just look at every aspect of your life,
Even the things you've taken for granted,
Or especially those things,
And be grateful for it.
Be grateful for the fact that you're alive,
That you've eaten today,
That you have the opportunity to sit and contemplate for 10 minutes in this session.
Be grateful for the feeling of the sun on your skin,
Or the smile of a stranger,
Or the taste of the food,
Or how the coffee has woken you up,
And even consider being grateful for the silver linings in the things that you're not 100% happy about.
You might not like every aspect of your job,
But you have a job,
And that job gives you money,
And that money can be exchanged for things you need to survive,
To thrive,
To enjoy life.
If you have a relationship with someone,
Be grateful for that relationship,
Because yes,
There are troubles,
But there are also good things.
If you turn your attention towards those good things,
Towards the joy that that relationship gives you,
That's something to be grateful of.
In this way,
You can go through every aspect of your life,
And just highlight to yourself what you're grateful about.
You could list it,
You could think it,
You could speak it,
But just take a moment to consider what you're grateful for,
And from that place of gratitude,
Extend it forwards.
What would it mean to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?
Because wonderful things are going to happen.
So,
I invite you,
Once more,
To sit,
Open,
And in contemplation of the question,
What would it mean to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?
Well done.
This brings us to the end of the session.
At the bottom of your screen,
You'll see the option to view the classroom,
Or to ask a question.
Before moving on,
I invite you to take a moment to click through and share your insights,
To read the answers from other students,
And to hear my replies.
Remember to start your responses with Session 1,
Or to restate the question,
So we all know what you're referring to.
This is an opportunity for deep learning,
Further introspection,
And insight,
So please don't miss out.
I look forward to seeing you in the next session.
This track was taken from the course,
Discover Your Divine Purpose.
It's out now on InsightTimer,
And available via my profile.
I invite you to join in.
