Please join me in sitting comfortably upright with the soles of your feet flat on the floor and parallel to each other.
Rest your hands,
Palms down,
On your thighs.
Lightly close your eyes.
Take a couple slow,
Deep breaths,
Feeling the subtle sensations of breathing inside your body.
Smile.
Allow the feeling of smiling to relax your face,
Your neck and arms,
Your chest and back,
Your abdomen,
And your legs all the way down to your toes.
Smile into your whole body,
Relaxing and nurturing every cell.
Enjoy this natural state of peace and well-being.
Really soak it in.
Allow it to saturate every cell.
This is your home state,
Your core,
The natural state of life energy from your source.
Smile with gratitude for this moment of connection to who you are,
A part of one life we all share.
Now call to mind a recent time when you felt emotionally challenged,
Threatened,
Stressed or on edge.
We're going to practice on what happened then as a model for how you can handle these challenging situations in the future.
So if you will,
Remember where you were,
What was happening,
Who you were with,
What you did,
And how all of that felt in your body.
Recall any first reactions you had in that situation,
Perhaps fear,
Anger,
Worry,
Or wanting to protect yourself and what is yours.
Is it possible to accept these as natural reactions to feeling threatened?
In those moments,
It's easy to feel isolated and alone or defensive and protective of yourself and maybe of others too.
Can you accept any ways that you may have reacted or felt like reacting but didn't?
It's okay.
Those reactions and feelings are wired in our DNA,
And you have other possibilities as well.
Can you imagine calming yourself in that moment by noticing that you're really okay?
You are alive.
You are breathing.
You have resources.
Perhaps you have someone you can call or somewhere safe to go.
Perhaps there is unseen help available and watching over you.
Is it possible that you are really safer than you might think?
Sometimes we make threats seem huge and our resources seem small.
Is it possible that it's the other way around?
Is it possible the challenge isn't as great as it seems?
Is it possible that you have more resources than you believe?
Is it possible everything really is okay in this situation?
Now,
Given what you know and the resources you have,
What can you do to move this situation in a positive direction?
How can you respond consciously?
How can you bring peace into this situation?
How can you bring love here?
How can you care for yourself and others?
Finally,
Consider that you can reshape your consciousness by asking,
Why am I at peace here?
Why am I at peace here?
Allow life to form around this question.
Slowly open your eyes and take in the space around you.
Take peace with you into the world and bring it to others.
Ask the question,
Why am I at peace here?
And see what possibilities life reveals.
