Hello and welcome to the Artist's Morning Podcast.
My name is Darius and I am so grateful that you and I get this time together.
On today's podcast,
I got three parts for you.
Part one is a story and a lesson.
Part two is a guided meditation experience intended to help bring the lesson deeper from your headspace into your body and heart space.
And for those curious explorers that want to go even deeper,
Part three will be found below.
There is a writing exercise that brings the whole thing together.
And so let's dive in.
Today,
I want to talk to you about how to be a niche of one,
How to be an instrument of love and mostly how to get out of your own way so that you can share your gifts with the world.
All right,
Let's start things off with a story,
A story that will bring us to our lesson now.
Now,
Some of you already know this,
I am a creativity,
Confidence,
And consistency coach.
I help humans that have gifts that they can feel on the inside,
Bring those gifts into the world in a way that is regenerative,
That is joyful,
That is healthy,
That is profitable,
That is aligned with their true voice.
And despite being the support,
The coach,
The mentor to so many people.
I also fall privy to resistance and the many ways resistance gets us to mute our voices,
Dim our lights and play small.
You know,
It's not like you can go to the gym one time and have the best workout and then never need to go to the gym.
Just like everybody else is an ongoing thing I need to maintain and keep up with.
And so I'm going to tell you a real life life story about how I started to get in my own way and what I did about it so that I could stop playing this small game and get back to the work I'm here to do.
Sharing your gifts.
Just need to get it right I need to feel like I'm ready I need to you know make sure that I'm I'm fully understood and like all those things are decoys for perfection which is a manifestation of resistance and boy oh boy was I in it The second big manifestation of resistance is comparison.
Oh,
Comparison.
Oh my gosh,
The robber of our joy.
You look what everyone else is doing,
You compare your step three to their step 300,
And then you immediately kill your energy and get out of the game.
And so I was in a combo of perfectionism and comparison.
And specifically,
The scene of the crime insight timer has this incredible new feature called videos.
They've got their teachers sharing video practices,
Right?
Whoa.
Game changer.
And I'm so excited to be making videos.
You know,
In the beginning,
I wasn't sure,
Is this going to be like social media?
And it's not.
It's actually just an amazing opportunity for the incredible teachers on this platform.
In case you don't know what Insight Timer is,
You should Google it right now and get that app on your phone,
Because it is my favorite place to create for.
It's like a close number one.
You know,
Number two is I'd say Substack.
I love Substack.
Sub stack,
The combo of insight,
Timer,
Sub stack,
Forget about it.
And so I saw the launch,
I got a video in and yes,
I've been moving and I've been busy and all this stuff.
And I saw all these teachers and,
And I just started like,
Ah,
I got to like up my game.
I got to get a better set.
I got to get a better location.
I got all these excuses.
All these excuses,
Excuses,
Comparing,
Comparing excuses.
I'm not ready.
I need to get this right and get that right.
And then today,
Something really amazing happened.
Two things amazing happened.
1 I did a meditation and I got this transmission of You're in it.
You're in resistance.
You're in comparison.
You're in perfection.
And you know the way out,
D.
You know the way out.
The way out is a teeny tiny step.
You get clarity by taking action.
And so it's like,
Take the step,
Make your first video,
Technically your second,
Because I already put one up,
And get out of your own way.
Stop thinking about what other people are doing,
How they're doing,
Comparing yourself.
All that robs your energy.
And just get something out there.
So in my cohort that I'm in for my coaching program,
There's a weekly video challenge.
You know,
The challenge this week was ask for support.
Nobody can make it on their own.
You know,
Everyone thinks we got to do it on our own.
But you need community.
And so ask for support,
Take up some space in the weekly video challenge.
It's a thing we do every week.
And I always template it as,
You know,
The,
The teacher,
The coach in the program by putting my own video up and demonstrating,
You know,
Honesty and vulnerability.
And I'm like,
Guys,
I'm in it.
I'm stuck.
All the things that we're working on are happening to me now,
And I'm taking action and naming it out loud and not letting resistance,
Eat up the airwaves,
And monopolize the conversation and convince me of all these things that aren't true,
Meanwhile robbing my energy.
And all I did is I said,
Hey,
Here's my ask.
Can you check in on me in seven days and ask,
Hey D,
How'd that insight timer video go?
Did you ship it?
Did you share it?
That's it.
And immediately,
I always say this,
When you name resistance out loud with your voice,
You take 50% of its power away,
Because it's no longer monopolize the conversation.
And so immediately,
I felt a shift in energy,
One,
Two,
Because I asked for accountability,
It triggered my people pleaser.
I'm a recovering people pleaser,
But there is a virtuous side of people pleasing.
Sometimes it can get you to do good things.
And this is the virtuous side.
I'm like,
I don't want to let these people down.
I told them I'm going to ship,
And now I need to ship.
And so that gave me.
A deadline.
And I know people have different feelings of deadline,
But any professional creator I know knows it's crucial.
It's how we ensure we can focus and get things done.
It's the structure that's needed for the creative flow to manifest into something meaningful.
And so immediately resistance has less power.
Immediately,
I feel more energized,
Start making plans,
Start putting things in my calendar.
And then this other incredible thing happened during a coaching call,
Speaking with my dear friend and incredible writer,
Storyteller,
Student of the Creative Sanctuary,
Janie Marie.
And she reflected something back to me.
That just got through in a way that is continuing to work through me.
And I was so grateful.
You know,
She asked,
Like,
Can I share something that I heard in the video?
Like,
Yeah,
I'm open.
And she said that it has nothing to do with the practice you're going to share on InsightTimer.
And she's probably listened to like a hundred of my meditations.
Like,
You know,
So I was listening very carefully when she was sharing her perspective.
It's like it has nothing to do with the actual content or the practice.
Your true abilities are in the energy you transmit through the creation.
It's not the words,
It's not the music,
It's not the strategy.
There is a channel that you somehow are able to tap into.
You open that channel,
Capture the transmission in a recording,
And then you share that transmission.
And that's what I'm here for.
Paraphrasing but that was generally the essence of what she was sharing and I just like,
I just listened.
I could tell she was saying something important.
And then I went for a walk today and sometimes these walks are so magical.
It's like that channel opens up again.
And almost like affirmations or chants come through.
You know,
They defy sometimes my logical human brain,
But my soul and my infinite heart get it.
And I just kept repeating over and over again,
Everything is energy and energy is everything.
Everything is energy and energy is everything.
Everything is energy and energy is everything.
I can feel it now too.
Everything is energy and energy is everything.
So yes,
Spell the words right in your substack post.
Yes,
Pick music that you like.
Yes,
Do your very best to execute and strategize.
And what matters most is the energy,
The frequency,
The vibration that you are taking tapping into that you are a container of,
That you are sharing with your community.
And so in that moment,
I understood that I am not competing against anyone.
These are my peers,
These are my friends,
These are other instruments of love and peace and God.
We're all doing the same work.
It's God's work we are doing,
We are attempting to do at least.
And so the only thing.
.
.
That I need to be cautious of.
The only true competition I have is anything that attempts to close my channel.
Anything that attempts to take the spaciousness that is available between me and universe,
Me and God,
Me and soul,
Me and my heart,
And attempts to close those channels.
That is the only competition I have because the game becomes.
How can I keep my heart open?
Despite the pain,
Despite the fear,
Despite the rejection,
Because all of that has happened and will happen.
That's how it works on planet Earth.
How can you keep your heart open?
How can you keep your channel open?
How can you Remember.
That your source material comes from the highest source in the universe?
How can you keep that channel open and clear and step into being an instrument of love,
An instrument of God's love?
I know that G word is triggering for some people,
It bothers you.
Swap it with whatever you like.
Nevertheless,
It's an opportunity to be of service,
To share your gifts,
And to stop getting in your own way.
Okay,
I always feel so much joy after these transmissions.
It's time for part two,
Our meditation.
I've said many things,
Take a moment.
You can close your eyes,
Close your eyes.
That guide us through meditation practice intended to help you open your channel.
Taking a nice deep breath here.
Letting go with your exhale.
Are you open to this concept?
Is it possible?
That you dear one.
You are a channel to something divine.
Something sacred.
You are an incredible vessel.
That is able to receive.
Receive the guidance,
The wisdom,
The confidence.
The gifts from the universe.
Even if your brain,
Your mind does not understand,
That's okay.
We love you,
Dear mind.
And some things are beyond our human minds.
Take a nice deep breath here.
Big exhale out.
I'm going to repeat a simple mantra.
You can repeat it with me if you'd like.
Everything is energy.
And energy is everything.
Everything is energy.
And energy is everything.
I want you to imagine your channel is opening every time we say this mantra.
Everything is energy,
And energy is everything.
Allowing the universe to pour into you now from the top of your head,
Your crown,
Imagine A golden light is pouring from the sky down,
Down,
Down,
Down,
Down into your body.
It feels warm.
It feels loving.
It feels powerful and inspiring.
Everything is energy.
And energy is everything.
And let's take a nice deep breath here together.
Big exhale out.
We are calling in this next frequency.
This elevated state.
Where we become magnets to our dreams,
Where we access new levels of confidence.
In this place we remember.
That we are never competing against anyone.
We are a niche of one.
So feel that energy.
Continue taking long,
Deep breaths with each inhale,
Allowing new creative energy to pour into you from the top of your head.
Each exhale we are letting go.
You are getting lighter.
Just take a moment to feel that place where your heart is smiling.
Feel into that moment.
Where you did the thing.
You shared your posts,
You shared your writing,
You shared your meditation,
You shared your practice.
You did the thing.
You took tiny steps.
You found structure and accountability for yourself and you did the thing.
Let me see and feel your heart smiling.
Wow,
You did it.
It's our last song.
I'm gonna leave some space for you just to be in the energy of wow.
I did it.
Wow.
You did it.
It's okay if resistance is doing what resistance does.
It's okay if your mind is doing what minds do sometimes.
Even if you could feel it one percent,
That is huge.
That is a powerful seed that will grow.
And so let's take a deep breath here together to bring the meditation component of our podcast to an end.
Breathing in.
Big exhale out.
Bravo,
Dear artist,
Made it to the end of this part of the podcast.
For those interested in going deeper,
You can read the writing exercise below and take this lesson,
Take this story,
Take this practice and use your own creativity and self-expression to integrate it at an even deeper level.
Thank you once again for joining me for this podcast.
My name is Darius and I will see you next time.