Fix your life in five gentle steps.
While you fall asleep.
A guided meditation with Lauren,
Myself.
Hello Lovely Lauren here.
You've done enough for today.
And you are exactly where you need to be right now.
Exactly as you are right now.
This,
My friend,
Is where your journey begins.
You don't need to be different.
You don't need to be better.
Or more.
You are already enough to rest.
You are already enough to know your way.
As you settle in,
Find a comfortable position.
Seated or lying down.
Sit down or lie down comfortably.
Allow your body to feel supported.
To be supported.
If it feels okay for you right now,
Softly close your eyes.
Let this be your time to simply be.
No performance,
No pressure.
No fixing.
It is in these times,
In these moments,
That we truly accept.
That we find our way.
To fixing.
Our life.
To clarifying.
Our life.
To finding.
Our way.
Starting exactly where you are right now.
Breathe.
Just breathe.
If you choose to do so,
Breathe in through your nose,
And breathe out through your mouth.
If this isn't straightforward for you,
Breathe anyway which suits you.
Notice how the air feels as it moves in and out.
And.
.
.
Out!
There is nothing to achieve here.
Only noticing,
Being the witness.
Right now.
At this moment.
Your life doesn't have to be miraculously fixed.
For you to deserve pace.
For you to experience joy.
In fact,
Right now,
Fixing your life begins with accepting.
That it may not need fixing at all.
It might just need understanding.
Kindness.
And spice.
Allow any feelings to be here.
Possibly tiredness.
Possibly frustration.
Maybe loneliness.
Hope,
Numbness,
Possibly confusion.
All feelings are okay here.
You don't have to push any of them away.
You can silently say to yourself,
I'm allowed to feel exactly how I feel right now.
Let that sentence move through you like a warm wave.
As you do so,
Relax.
Release your body.
Your whole body.
Your complete body.
If your mind says to you,
I should be different.
Gently acknowledge that voice.
You might mindfully respond within your mind.
Thank you,
Mind.
I hear you.
For now,
I choose to rest.
For now,
I choose to meditate.
Let your inner critic soften.
Quieten your inner voice.
Body scan for deep relaxation.
We'll now move through a slow,
Comforting body scan.
Inviting relaxation into every part of you.
There is no right way to do this.
Just listen.
Wishness.
Notice and allow.
You can do that.
Bring your attention to the top of your head.
Imagine a soft,
Warm light resting.
Gently melting tension.
Melting,
Melting tension.
Let the top of your head relax.
Release your forehead.
Smooth.
Relax the muscles around your eyes.
Soften.
Allow your cheeks to loosen.
Your jaw to unclench.
You might part your teeth ever so slightly and feel your tongue rest.
Heavy and relaxed.
Let your face feel soft.
Soft.
Soft.
Now let this wave of relaxation move down towards your neck.
Feel the weight of your head supported.
Whether you are seated or lying down,
Feel that sense of physical support.
Being supported by whatever is beneath you right now.
If there is any tightness,
Any tightness at all.
Simply notice it.
And breathe around it.
As if you are sending kindness directly into that space.
Send kindness.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears.
As though someone has gently lifted a heavy backpack.
From you.
Across your chest,
Feel the gentle rhythm of your breathing.
Each inhale is like a small invitation to ease.
Each exhale is a quiet release.
Continue to breathe.
Notice each breath as the gift that it is.
Breathe,
Relax.
Allow relaxation to spread down your arms.
Through your elbows into your forearms,
Wrists,
Hands,
All the way to your fingers.
Finger tips.
Notice any tingling,
Warmth or heaviness.
Your arms are allowed to feel pleasantly heavy.
And still.
Allow yourself.
To be.
Still.
Now bring awareness down through your ribs,
Ribcage and into your belly.
Let your belly soften.
Notice as you breathe,
Your belly rises slightly and falls slightly.
Almost like waves.
On a calm shore.
Imagine the waves coming in from ocean to ocean.
And.
.
.
Back out to shore.
Let your organs rest.
Soften your organs.
Let your belly loosen.
Breathe in and out.
Guide your attention into your hips and pelvis.
If your hips.
Are carrying the weight of the day.
Imagine you're placing that weight down beside you.
Right now.
Your hips,
Legs and pelvis are supported.
They don't need to hold anything up.
Fixing your life is about listening to your body.
Your body keeps score.
Your body knows the answers.
Listen.
Gently and patiently.
Give yourself the sacred space to listen.
Be curious.
Inquire,
Ask.
Simply ask.
Without needing,
Without needing the answer.
Relax,
Release your body.
Feel that ambience of curiosity.
When we are truly curious,
And always curious,
We invite change.
We invite ourselves to see life differently.
And when we see life differently,
Life becomes different.
Relax your upper legs,
Your knees,
Calves,
Ankles,
And all the way into your feet.
Feel your heels,
The arches of your feet,
Your toes.
Allow them to be soft.
Heavy and completely relaxed.
The answers you seek are held within your body.
Give yourself the sacred space to listen.
Your body holds memory.
Your body holds your goals.
And your body internalises experience.
Gently,
Lovingly ask.
Ask your body.
Your whole body now can rest head to toe.
Head to toe,
Gently,
So gently.
Supported,
Safe,
Enough to let go.
You are enough.
You are enough.
Let go.
Stoic,
Calm,
What you can and cannot control.
As your body settles,
Your mind may still be busy.
That's okay.
Tonight.
We will borrow a general idea from Stoicism.
There are things you can control and things you simply cannot.
Pace grows.
When you stop fighting what is outside your control and focus.
Upon your response.
Instead of reacting,
Choose to respond.
Relax,
Release your body.
Your whole body,
Head to toe,
Arms,
Legs,
Arms,
Legs.
Silently.
Name one thing in your life that is outside your control right now.
Just one thing.
It might be another person's choices.
It might be a past event.
Or a future outcome.
Which is uncertain.
Breathe in.
Acknowledge.
Acknowledge it.
Breathe out.
Let go of expectation.
Let go of expectation.
Right now,
Just move with what is.
Now name one small thing you can control.
One thing.
Perhaps how kindly you can speak to yourself.
Whether you rest now,
Whether you take just one gentle breath.
Notice how it feels to shift your attention.
From what you cannot change to what you can influence.
Name one small thing you can control.
Notice how it feels to shift your attention from what you cannot change to what you can change.
Notice.
You might say quietly in your mind,
I accept that some things are beyond my control.
I choose to care for myself in the ways that are.
Within my reach.
Consider this statement for several breaths.
Let this stoic,
Calm settle over you like a soft touch.
You are not your circumstances.
You are the way you meet them.
And tonight you choose to meet your circumstances with rest.
With rest.
The answers exist.
The answers will come to you.
When you mindfully focus upon your body.
When you sit in each breath.
When you accept what you cannot change.
And you focus upon what is within your control.
Relax,
Relax and release.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive diffusion.
Noticing thoughts,
Letting them drift.
Thoughts may still arise.
Feelings.
Are filled.
Emotions,
They just are.
That is part of being human.
The what-if stories.
The self-criticism.
It exists.
You don't have to argue with your inner voice at the moment.
Or prove your inner voice wrong.
Not right now.
Instead we will use a simple cognitive diffusion approach.
Relax,
Release your body.
Imagine each thought.
Each thought you may think.
Arriving.
Like a sentence on a small cloud.
Drifting across the sky.
The sky is your mind.
You don't have to erase these clouds,
Just watch them pass.
Upon each cloud is a sentence.
Watch.
The cloud float by.
When a thought appears,
Notice that thought.
Consider the sentence.
I Think.
Whatever you are thinking.
Finish,
Complete the sentence.
Perhaps you may think something like,
I think I always mess things up.
Nothing will change.
Consider that sentence.
Who is doing the thinking?
It is I.
There is separation between the eye and the thought.
You can choose to change.
The concept of I That is you.
The thought is a choice.
A choice you make.
You can make other choices.
Gently,
Lovingly remind yourself.
That you are the thinker.
And you can choose to think differently,
Different thoughts.
Different emotions,
Different feelings.
Human beings have thoughts.
Think thoughts.
Human beings feel.
Human beings feel emotion.
We can choose different emotions,
Different feelings,
Different thoughts.
It's not easy.
It is a practice.
Let us practice.
Relax,
Release your body.
Relax,
Relax,
Release your body.
Notice when you consider the separation between I the concept of think.
I think.
When you separate,
Create space and consider your mind as the sky.
And the thought as the cloud You are the sky,
The thought is just the sky.
Simply.
A cloud?
Floating by.
A cloud floating,
Drifting by.
Notice you develop perspective and as you develop perspective perspective You.
Develop wisdom.
And as you develop wisdom,
You develop clarity.
And a sense of pace.
If it helps,
You can imagine placing each thought on a leaf.
And allowing that leaf to float down a slow,
Peaceful stream.
The leaf lands.
Place the thought upon the leaf.
Allow the live to float.
Float away.
You don't force it,
You just allow movement.
Simple movement.
Relax,
Release your body.
Let go.
You might softly,
Silently say to yourself,
Thoughts can come and go.
I am allowed to rest.
Even when my mind is noisy.
Breathe.
Thoughts can come and go.
I am allowed to rest even when my mind is noisy.
Let this be your new relationship with your inner dialogue.
Less fighting.
Less demanding.
More observing.
More wish-nessing!
More general permission.
To relax.
Just relax,
It's okay,
And you are okay.
You are.
You are.
Acceptance.
You don't need to be fixed.
Now let's deepen into acceptance.
Acceptance doesn't mean You like everything about your life.
It means you stop fighting.
The simple fact of where you are right now.
Let go of the fighting.
Let go of the needing.
Let go of the attachment.
Because you can.
Relax.
Relax your body.
Silently repeat.
This is where I am.
These are my emotions.
These are my feelings.
For this moment.
They are allowed.
I am human.
Ponder this statement and.
.
.
Feel the relief in not having to solve everything before you can fall asleep.
You are not a problem to be fixed.
You are a human.
Allow yourself to care for yourself.
If there are parts of you that feel broken.
Or wounded.
Imagine wrapping these parts in a gentle Warm Blanket.
No demands,
No deadlines.
Just a quiet promise.
To yourself.
Say to yourself silently,
I see you.
I won't abandon you.
I am here.
I am listening.
I'm curious.
I am resting.
Breathe,
Let go,
Relax.
Legs,
Arms,
Hands,
Fingers,
Toes,
Feet,
Back,
Neck,
Eyes,
Face.
Sometimes,
My friend,
Fixing your life is precisely realizing that nothing about you needs fixing.
You deserve love and rest.
Changes,
They will come.
Later.
From a place of mindfulness from a place of kindness.
From a place of tolerance and empathy.
Let any panic go.
Let any needing go.
Soften your mind.
For tonight,
Right now.
Acceptance.
Is enough.
Relax,
Release your body.
Choice theory.
Small,
Gentle choices that shape your path.
Even as you accept yourself as you are.
You still have choices.
Choice theory reminds us that our lives are shaped by the small decisions we make.
Especially for how we care for ourselves.
Right now you are making one powerful choice.
The choice to rest instead of ruminating,
Instead of overthinking.
The choice to be kind instead of harsh.
The choice to be present with yourself.
Just as you are.
Relax,
Relax,
Let go.
Allowing the process of relaxation you are experiencing.
Picture your future self.
Perhaps days away,
Perhaps weeks or months from now.
Picture your future self looking back at this moment,
At this moment right now.
Your future self sees you lying here choosing rest.
Choosing meditation.
Choosing to separate the concept of I from the emotion,
Feeling and thought.
Choosing rest over self-criticism.
Acceptance over urgency,
Response over reaction.
Feel grateful.
As your future self feel grateful for the way you are caring for yourself right now.
You might silently say to yourself right now,
I choose rest.
I choose kindness.
I choose to start where I am right now.
Not from where I think I should be.
Relax Relax.
Release.
Let this sense of choice be solved.
Not demanding.
You don't have to plan everything tonight.
You are simply planting.
A seed.
A life built on gentle,
Conscious choices.
Instead of self-attack.
Drifting into sleep,
Relax,
Release and receive.
Your body is heavy now and supported.
Your breath,
It is slow,
Slow.
And comfortable.
Your mind has more space around its thoughts,
Around its emotions,
Around its feelings.
You look down upon feelings,
Thoughts and emotions.
You are held in acceptance,
Calm and choice.
Allow yourself to sink.
Deeply.
Into this moment.
Feel the weight of your body,
The softness of your breath.
The quietness around you.
You might repeat to yourself,
Silently,
I am safe to rest.
I am safe to rest.
I am safe to rest.
Rest Let your muscles unwind,
Your thoughts slow.
Your emotions nestle into a gentle stillness.
There is nothing you need to fix before you fall asleep.
Allowing you to rest.
Will give you the presence of mind.
To choose wisely.
The answers are there.
The answers to your life,
They are there.
You can fix your life by letting go.
By pause.
By taking stock,
By allowing sacred space.
You are allowed to relax right now to release and to receive the healing stillness of this night.
As you drift,
Know this,
You can start exactly where you are.
Right now.
And that is always enough.
Your life can gently change over time.
Not because you are broken or wounded.
But because you are evolving,
Growing.
For now,
Lovely one,
Rest.
Let sleep come.
Because you can.
You have that choice.
That choice is yours.
Let your whole being soften.
Into pace.
Relax,
Relax,
Release your body,
Head,
Shoulders,
Arms.
Hands,
Fingers,
Back,
Hips,
Legs,
Knees,
Feet,
Soles of each foot.
Whole body relax.
Release.
