Welcome,
This is a guided meditation for conscious leadership.
I'm Lynn,
And I'm glad you're here.
Take a moment to really arrive.
If you haven't taken a deep breath yet today,
Let's take one together.
Inhale through the nose,
Exhale,
Let something go.
Settle in to whatever position you've chosen,
Whether it be sitting on a chair,
Or on a cushion,
Or lying down.
And notice what's supporting you.
Take a moment to set down whatever you're carrying mentally,
Emotionally,
Physically.
Let it go.
Even if you only do that for the next few minutes that we are together,
Trust me,
You'll notice a change.
And now,
Maybe if it feels okay,
You gently close your eyes,
Or soften your gaze,
Allowing your attention to draw inward,
Letting go of that busy,
External world.
It will be there when you're done.
Take another great big inhale through your nose,
And exhale slowly through your mouth,
Allowing this breath to send a signal to your brain.
You are safe.
You are supported.
You can pause.
J Krishnamurti says,
In the stillness of the mind,
I see myself as I am.
I hope this meditation serves to offer you that stillness,
So you can find clarity,
Have a moment to see,
And a moment to be.
And now bring attention to your breath.
We won't be controlling our breath in this practice,
Simply allowing our bodies to breathe on their own.
And,
Focusing on your breath is a very powerful and simple way to become present,
Meaning right here,
Right now.
So when your mind wanders,
And it will,
Come back to your breath.
Saying out loud,
Or maybe just in your head,
I am inhaling,
I am exhaling.
And return to this breath again and again.
Not only in the next few minutes that we're together,
But whenever you need grounding during your day.
I am inhaling,
I am exhaling.
And notice,
How does it feel to be here?
The mind of a leader is often full.
Full of ideas,
Full of responsibilities,
Full of future thinking.
That is what I call mind-full-ness.
Today,
This meditation will help you practice mind-full-ness,
The intentional awareness of what is right now.
If your mind starts to wander to your next meeting,
Or conversation,
Or decision,
Gently,
And I do mean gently,
Invite your attention back with the phrase,
Come back to now.
And breathe.
Take a great big inhale through the nose.
Hold it at the top.
Open your mouth,
And let it go.
Ahhhh.
Come back to now.
And maybe your mantra is stillness supports my leadership.
And if you notice some resistance coming up,
Maybe it's a yes,
Yeah but,
Or I should,
Or something similar,
That feels like it's in support of being a good leader.
And if you examine it closer,
It's more mind-full-ness,
And less presence.
Then maybe what I can offer to you is that mindfulness creates space for innovation.
Have you ever noticed that some of your best ideas come to you in moments you least expect them?
Maybe it's when you're in the shower,
Or when you're on a long drive,
Or when you're doing some,
What I will call,
Low-thinking,
Low-mental-energy task.
It's because you've created space.
It's because you are present to the task at hand.
But you still have some capacity in your brain.
It's not often that we can sit down and say to ourselves,
Now I'd like to become innovative in my thinking.
And all of these amazing ideas come to us.
Quite the contrary.
It's when we slow down and create space.
Take a great big inhale through the nose.
Open your mouth and slowly let it go.
Come back to now.
Your mantra might be,
Slowing down creates space for more.
Viktor Frankl was the first one to notice that between stimulus and response,
There is space.
And it was Stephen Covey who noted that between the stimulus and the response is that space that makes us human.
It's in that space where there is imagination,
Self-awareness,
Conscience,
And independent will.
It's in that space that we can become better leaders,
Better parents,
Better partners,
Better humans.
My friend,
That space is only available when you're mindful.
95% of what we do is autopilot.
It's important that we have that autopilot.
It's what gets us through our day.
There's so much coming at us.
Stop signs,
Red lights,
Other cars,
Other people,
Other people.
The list goes on and on.
And if we didn't have this autopilot,
We would be completely mentally fatigued.
However,
We do want to make the most of the moments between the stimulus and the response that matter.
Imagine that you are a car,
And the being that's driving you is a car that's driving you.
The car is literally your subconscious,
Your autopilot.
It's always sitting in the front seat behind the steering wheel.
When you have a mindfulness practice,
You put yourself not as just a passenger in this car,
Passive to what's going on.
But you put yourself in that front seat next to that autopilot subconscious brain,
And you actually put a hand on the wheel.
You use your imagination,
Your self-awareness,
Your conscience,
And your independent will.
Take a great big breath in through the nose.
Exhale,
Let it go slowly.
Come back to now.
And your mantra might be,
Clarity arises when I pause and intentionally put my hand on the wheel.
Conscious leadership begins with self-awareness.
And self-awareness begins with mindfulness and presence.
Notice how you're feeling right now,
In this moment,
Free from urgency,
Free from proving,
Free from anything but simply being.
Leadership will call you back,
But for now,
Savor this calm,
And know that this is available to you anytime,
Anywhere.
Using your breath,
Slowing down,
And creating space.
What are you feeling right now?
What's shifted for you?
Maybe you are feeling not just more energy,
But more clarity.
Maybe you feel like you can now return and lead from presence.
Maybe you now understand that you can choose mindfulness over mindfulness.
Take a great big breath in through your nose.
Exhale,
Let it go.
And bring your awareness back to your body now.
Maybe wiggling the fingers and the toes.
Once again,
Noticing the support of your body from the earth,
Or a pillow,
Or a chair.
You begin to hear the noises that are around you again.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Fully aware,
Fully awake,
Fully present.
I hope for you that you carry this message with you,
Stillness,
Into your next decision,
Your next meeting,
Your next moment.
Until next time,
I hope you have an amazing,
Mindful day.
