Live Life with Ease - LIVE recording 9 June 2023

Welcome everyone!

If you don't know who I am,

My name is Femke Bakker.

I'm one of the meditation teachers here on Inside Timer and once a month,

At least,

I'm here with a live.

And what am I doing at these lives?

Well,

I speak a lot.

I tell you about a specific topic and those topics are always about you.

How you can be kind to yourself,

How you can be gentle to yourself and we use meditation as a tool to help you to become self-gentle.

Because I am a teacher of self-gentleness.

My name is Femke Bakker.

I'm residing in the Netherlands,

As you might hear from my accent and we're just going to take a few minutes so folks can come in before I start to speak.

What I will do,

I will speak first for mostly it's about 20 minutes.

Sometimes it's a bit longer because I just love to speak and then I will guide you in the meditation.

Because,

You know,

I can tell you a lot about what I think is good for you.

But the best is always to experience it for yourself.

So I'm really happy to hear who you are,

Where you are in the world and while you're at it,

Also tell me what is living life with ease for you.

Because that is the topic of today.

Live life with ease.

So hi Angela,

Welcome back.

Lovely that you are here.

Hi Mary,

Hi Petta,

Good morning to you from Australia.

Hi Mary,

Hi Darcy from Minneapolis.

Hi Garnet,

Aloha.

Must mean that you're at Hawaii,

Am I correct?

Hi Mel,

Lovely that you are here.

I'm so happy to see you and I hope you are better,

That you completely recovered.

And for everyone who doesn't know Mel,

I have a meditation group here on Insight Timer.

It used to be called a circle,

Now it's a group.

And there is a lovely bunch of people.

I communicate there,

I will tell you of all the new things that are happening here on Insight Timer.

And Mel is organizing every Friday at this time,

A joint meditation,

Where she selects one of my meditation tracks or she selects one of my old lives.

And then you can meditate together and communicate together.

And Mel became a meditation teacher not so long ago.

You have to check her out.

Her name is Melinda King,

Melinda V.

King,

A teacher on Insight Timer.

She created a beautiful yoga nidra and it's so good.

You really have to check this out and follow her and help her to become also a meditation teacher here on Insight Timer,

Who has a lot of followers and a lot of work.

I really want to support her in that.

So Mel,

Thank you for everything you do for me and for everyone.

Check out Mel,

Melinda V.

King,

Great meditation teacher.

So hi André,

Good morning to you in New Zealand.

Hi Maureen,

Lovely that you're here.

I'm also grateful that you are here.

Hi.

Hi Debbie from South Shoe,

Massachusetts.

Maureen,

Vancouver in Canada.

And Petta is in far north Queensland.

Hi Al,

Hi Debbie.

Lovely Al that you're going to check out Mel.

Hi Karen from Cornwall,

England.

Victoria,

Good morning.

No,

Good evening to you.

You're from Sweden,

Right?

Yes.

Hi Dishi from India.

Yes,

That's what I asked.

Dishi says,

Ease for me is balance between work,

Family,

Time for myself,

Health and meditation.

That's really,

That sounds really great.

And are you,

Is that something that you can establish in your life or is it sometimes effort to create ease in your life?

Really curious to hear from you.

Yes,

Victoria is from Sweden.

Michelle is from Queensland,

Australia.

So good morning to you.

Mel says,

Living life with ease for me,

Acceptance of all the parts of me and of the current moment as it is.

Thank you.

Feeling better?

Great.

Melinda Vickings.

Second track coming soon.

We cannot wait Mel.

That's beautiful.

Yeah.

Acceptance of all parts of you and of the current moment as it is.

That's of course really important because when you live with ease,

It means that you have to let go of all the worries that you have about your future,

About your past or whatever is going on.

So that's really beautiful set.

Thank you so much.

Hi Janice.

Hi G from California.

I'm also grateful that you are here and this she says sometimes it sometimes takes effort to achieve it.

It takes sometimes effort to achieve the ease.

Yeah.

Well,

That's a really familiar thing.

Everyone has it,

Including me.

Living with ease is not always that easy.

It's a beautiful paradox.

We're going to speak about that.

So let me start.

We're five minutes in already.

You see,

I told you I like to speak a lot.

All right.

Just say Mel adds acceptance as ease to reduce resistance and suffering.

Absolutely.

Yeah,

That's beautiful.

So yeah,

The topic live life with ease.

So I think of these titles sometimes really weeks or even months in advance.

And then when the date of the life approaches,

I start to think of the topic.

And sometimes the topic at that moment is not always so much resonating with me.

Living life with ease,

I have to be honest,

Is sometimes a challenge for me as well.

I love to live life with ease.

Really.

I love,

You know,

What is ease for me?

Ease for me is that I don't feel resistance.

I don't feel resistance for the things that I have to do.

I don't feel resistance for the things that I want to do.

I don't feel resistance when I fantasize about my desires,

When I think about things that I would like to see in my future,

When I feel a flow,

When I feel inspiration,

When I feel love for my loved ones,

When I feel love for myself,

Then I'm living with ease.

But yeah,

Life also happens,

Right?

Like with everyone.

And I think I have a pretty great life,

But still then life happens.

For me,

One of the biggest challenges in living life with ease is the concept of time.

Already for a long time,

I often feel that I don't have enough time,

That I lack time.

Which is really weird,

Because if you think if time doesn't really exist as such,

You know,

We human beings,

Because for the animals also time doesn't exist,

We as human beings have created the concept of time.

And we've based this on physics,

On basically the speed of light over one meter,

The turning of the earth based on the sun.

And I don't know,

I don't remember exactly,

I looked it up once a long time ago,

But I did understand that time is in a sense a construct,

Something that we made.

And it's great,

Because you know,

If we didn't know that I would start today here at 9.

30 Amsterdam time,

3.

30 Eastern Standard Time,

Eastern Summer Time,

Then we wouldn't all be here.

It's good to focus,

You know,

The concept of time.

But when you have to do a lot of things,

And especially when there are deadlines,

Or demands and expectations of others,

Or you so much enjoy doing something,

And then you run out of time,

Then you can have a struggle of time.

Well,

This is for me,

I think for a lot of people,

But not for everyone.

So time is something that sometimes stands in my way of living with ease.

So other things is when I have to-do lists that are too long,

Or even when they're short,

And when there are things on it that I really don't like to do so much.

And that has to do with the concept of time,

Because one of the things that I learned in living life with ease,

Is that if I create my life in such a way that I follow my own rhythm,

Follow my own flow,

Then there's always a moment where I just feel like doing something,

Even if it's on my to-do list and it's not one of my favorite things.

Like,

You know,

Cleaning my house.

If I do it in a moment that I think I have to do it,

I have a lot of resistance,

And I can do it,

But it's not a pleasant thing.

While I know that when I wait for the inspiration,

The moment to come,

Then,

You know,

I can do it really,

Really quick.

And it's maybe not the most pleasant thing,

But I'm really satisfied that I'm doing it,

And I'm really happy with the result after that.

But for creating that flow,

Allowing myself that rhythm,

I need ease.

So that's kind of the paradox,

Right?

Like Dishi just said,

I need to make effort to create ease in my life.

So that is a difficult thing.

When I think of it,

I'm,

Yeah.

Okay,

So how can we help ourselves?

So I come at this concept of self-gentleness.

As you might know,

I'm a teacher of self-gentleness.

And what is that self-gentleness?

Well,

I've defined it as such.

Radically accepting yourself as the most important person to consistently deserve your own gentleness.

Shall I say it again?

Yeah,

Okay.

So radically,

So basically,

Always,

Always,

Even in the face of expectations of others,

Your own expectations,

Radically accepting yourself as the most important person,

So most important person,

Number one,

To consistently,

Also when you fail,

Also when you feel not so good,

Even when you feel guilty,

Even when you feel angry,

Even when you think that you are a loser,

Which we all do from time to time,

To consistently deserve your own gentleness.

And what is that gentleness?

Gentleness that is a soft approach,

A kind approach,

A loving approach to yourself.

Knowing that when you fail,

It's just part of life,

Part of the challenges that you are facing,

And that it is okay to fail.

We are not perfect.

We are not even meant to be perfect.

If we were perfect,

Life would be so boring.

It is through failing,

It is through acknowledging who we are,

Where we are,

How we are,

Whenever we are,

If we are down,

Or if we are up,

If we are sad,

Or if we are happy,

If we are in the middle of our shadows,

Or in the middle of our sun,

That we are kind to ourselves.

And that is easy when you think that you are achieving something.

It's easy when you're proud of yourself.

It's easy when you hear from others that you are loved,

When you hear from others that you're doing things well.

But it's not so easy if you are already in that place where you have that critical voice going on,

When you have those thoughts going on about yourself,

When you are feeling physically not good,

When you're feeling emotionally not good,

Or whatever's going on with you,

Then it's really hard.

So to teach yourself self-gentleness,

That's a process.

And I often say it is a lifelong work in progress process.

And it sounds like,

Oh,

Can't I just learn this and then be done with all the suffering and all the pain?

Well,

Basically no,

Because life happens.

And as human beings,

We are going to suffer defeat,

We're going to suffer loss,

We're going to suffer disappointment,

We are going to encounter things that are not going exactly as we like it.

But we can be kind to ourselves in those moments and help ourselves to be okay with it,

Or become okay with it,

To see little pearls there,

See the opportunities there,

Letting go of that problem and being open for the solution.

And that is exactly where that ease comes in.

For me,

Being self-gentle is very much connected to living with ease.

The more I allow ease in my life,

The more I can flow,

The more I am self-gentle,

And the more self-gentle I am,

The more ease exists.

So for instance,

The example I started with,

That my big challenge is time,

Lack of time,

The idea of lack of time,

Because I do not have lack of time.

It's an idea in my head,

Which was constituted over the 51 years that I'm already on this planet Earth,

That there is not enough time.

Which is crazy,

Because as a kid,

I was often bored,

And I thought that the time went way too slow.

And now I'm sometimes remembering that I'm thinking,

I wish I was still a kid,

Thinking that time was going way too slow,

Because now it's like running so fast.

So allowing myself to be gentle about that,

So in the moment that I realize that I'm fighting with the concept of time,

To then acknowledge that this is a fight that is within me for whatever reason there is.

And you can always think of reasons that make it valid that you are afraid,

But there are always also reasons that can help you to understand that you can relax in this.

And that is self-gentleness.

Self-gentleness is about finding the thoughts that give you a sense of relief,

Finding the thoughts that give you a sense of relaxation.

And then in the end,

Finding the thoughts that give you a sense of ease.

And when you have a sense of ease,

Then all those worries,

All those moments,

They basically drop away.

So how can we achieve a sense of ease?

Well,

I think the best thing is to bring ourselves,

Our awareness,

To the here and now.

So you might have heard in one of my tracks,

In the free tracklist on Insight Timer,

Start Your Morning Without Worries,

There is a sentence there that I say that I get a lot of feedback on from people who really like that insight,

And that's why I'm telling you.

That is,

If you start to understand that you have the power to bring yourself to the here and now,

In the here and now,

When basically you're just sitting,

Observing your breath,

Or observing your thoughts,

Or observing how you're feeling,

Or just reciting a mantra,

Or whatever meditation technique you're using,

If you start to understand that you have this ability to bring yourself,

Whatever the circumstances are,

To the here and now,

Where everything is okay,

You will never have to worry about the future anymore.

Why?

Because when the future arrives,

It's going to be now.

And when you have the power,

When you know that you can bring yourself to the here and now,

Being okay with whatever's going on right now,

When the future arrives as now,

You will be okay.

That's something to think about,

Right?

I remember that,

I think it's about eight years ago,

I was walking on the street,

And this understanding,

Like an epiphany,

Suddenly I understood this.

It just dropped in my head,

Understanding that if I can be in the here and now,

My future is going to be okay,

Because it will be now.

And if I know how to deal with now,

It's going to be okay,

It's going to be okay.

Oh,

Even when I say it now,

Just to say the words,

It is going to be okay,

This gives me such a sense of relief.

You know,

I'm feeling pretty good,

I had a few really good days,

I lived with a lot of ease the last days,

And even when I'm saying this sentence,

It's going to be okay.

I feel a sense of release,

I feel a sense of ease.

It might be different for you,

Because we're all different human beings,

We are,

You know,

We're all unique.

Luckily,

We're so very much,

So very,

I was just going to use a word I shouldn't use,

We are so effing special.

Every one of us,

Every being,

Not just human beings,

Every being on this earth,

So unique.

And we all have our own manuals,

We all have our own ways of getting where we want to be.

So,

Getting somewhere,

In a place where you feel ease,

That's something that you'll have to find out for yourself,

What works for you.

And it can be very different,

You know,

Like I said,

For me it's finding those thoughts.

There might be also people who just want to go running a marathon to then find the ease.

There might also be people who just want to sit below a tree and listen to the rustling leaves of the tree,

And you know everything is with ease.

And you know what,

It could be you who's running the marathon one day and sitting under the tree the other day.

There are so many different ways for you to be gentle to yourself and finding that ease.

So,

It's really important that you start to examine this for yourself.

So,

As a start,

After the life,

So if you go to my profile,

Anyway,

Follow my profile on Insight Timer and put on the clock so that whenever a new life is planned or when a new course is there or a new track comes there,

Also the lives,

I generally record them and edit them a little bit and then put them also so you can listen to it later.

So you will,

When you click on the bell,

You will get notified when something is there.

But in my profile you also find a link,

And in that link,

So you go to a website with different links,

Different places to go with a lot of information about me.

But on the top,

You can there download for free a self-gentleness checklist.

And I think this is what I heard from people who are using it.

It's really,

Really helpful to use it.

I think,

Petta,

You've been using it,

Right?

So,

There are different practices that you can start to do to become more self-gentle.

And you can just pick and select the one that you like.

And then you can even,

You know,

Check for every day which one you did.

And maybe you did them every day or you pick another one for another day.

So you can keep track also of the practices that you are doing.

But you don't have to do all of them.

There might be practices there you really dislike,

So don't do them.

That's not self-gentle.

But it might be a good start for you to start to examine,

Experiment with what practices are helpful for you.

So,

I just said here,

Elle is saying nature helps tremendously.

That's really beautiful.

That's also for me.

Whenever I feel that I need to be grounded,

I love to go.

I take my dog,

I go into the woods,

And I just listen to the leaves,

Feel the wind,

Feel the sun or the rain.

Depends a little bit on the weather.

Imagine my feet grounding in the earth.

And that is really,

Really helpful to be in the here and now.

All right.

I'm going to pause this for one moment because I see that Evie is here.

My dear Evie,

I just want to say something to you.

And that is that I'm really happy that you're here.

And I hope that because of everything that is happening in your life,

That you're doing okay.

And I know that's a really hard,

Tremendously hard task for you.

But take good care of yourself.

I love you so much.

And everyone here who knows you,

Who has been with you and me in workshops,

Has been here in lives,

Is here in the group,

Is here for you.

You know,

There are a lot of people who might not know you.

I will not go into more details,

But I just want you to know that.

All right.

So I'm sending you all my love.

Feel free to be here or not be here,

Whatever goes on with you.

All right.

Okay.

That was specially for Evie,

Because I love Evie.

All right.

So let's go back to living with ease.

Ah,

So self gentleness is one of those ways of finding ease.

But I think the core of what I'm saying is that it's important for you to find out what works for you to get there.

Well,

Meditation is a really great tool.

And you are here on Insight Timer,

So you like to meditate or to listen to meditative music or to be guided in visualizations.

Or,

You know,

There are thousands of different techniques of meditation in the world.

And also on Insight Timer,

There are thousands of different ways to meditate with this beautiful group of how many?

I think,

You know,

20,

000 meditation teachers.

So you know that meditation is a great tool for that.

So what I'm just going to do right now is I'm going to guide you in a meditation,

In a visualization,

Basically.

What we're first going to do is to bring our awareness into here and now.

And for this,

We're going to use our body and our senses.

And it's important that when we start that we're going,

I will guide you so that you don't have to remember now,

That we're going to feel first how you are getting there and how your body and your mind is going to feel during the meditation and also afterwards.

Then I will guide you through a meditation to calm your mind.

And then we will get just a fun visualization.

And that fun visualization is to help you to find a sense of flow,

A sense of ease.

And we're going to do that by fantasizing a little bit.

Now,

In this visualization,

In this fantasy,

I'm going to use words of imagery.

But not everyone fantasizes with images.

So just listen to my words.

And if you are a visual person,

Then you can see the images.

You will just follow my words and see the images.

But if you know from yourself that you do not fantasize with images,

Then use your way of fantasizing.

I know there are people who are just feeling something.

I know there are people who are just knowing something.

I know people are just smelling things or just seeing the words.

Whatever your way,

That's great.

You cannot do this wrong.

Why I'm saying this?

Because I know that when I guide visualizations,

There are always people who think,

But I don't see this thing,

So it's not for me.

Yes,

This is also for you.

You just listen to my voice and you use your fantasy to experience that place where we are.

All right.

So after the meditation,

I'll just come back and take a look at the comments if there are any questions.

But I would suggest we just start the meditation right now.

Yeah,

All right.

Let me just take a sip of water.

I'm in the Netherlands.

We have beautiful weather here.

My studio is pretty hot.

It's,

I think,

Now 25 degrees.

So if you see me start sweating,

You know how it comes.

So make sure that you are sitting comfortably.

If you want to lie down,

That's also perfectly fine.

Whatever suits you.

And when you're sitting,

Then really make yourself comfortable.

You don't have to sit up straight and not move or cross your legs,

Unless you really love to sit like that.

And you have also the muscle structure to sit with ease,

But really find ease.

So if you want,

You can just lean against the back of the chair or the back of the sofa or against the wall or the headboards of your bed.

You can lie down.

Just know that when you're lying down,

You might fall asleep.

I hear that a lot when I start to speak.

People tend to fall asleep.

And that's fine because it only means that you're tired.

Your body is tired.

Your body knows,

Oh,

I can relax.

I'm going to sleep.

So that's also perfectly fine.

But if you don't want to fall asleep,

Then it's best to sit up with me.

And let's just start to become aware of how your body feels.

So when your feet are on the ground,

Put your feet on the ground for a moment.

Just feel the touch points,

The soles of your feet.

They're not just resting on the floor.

There are parts of your foot that are on the floor.

There are parts of your sole that are not on the floor or a little bit on the floor.

Just bring your attention there.

You see,

When you bring your attention to your feet on the ground,

That immediately your body gets a sense of relaxation.

I notice this in my body.

I started to have a deep breath.

I didn't do it on purpose.

It was my body who recognized,

Oh,

We are going to relax now.

Putting my feet on the ground,

Becoming aware of the ground that is supporting my feet,

That gives already a sense of relaxation.

And if you don't feel it yet,

That's fine.

It will come.

Don't worry.

You cannot do this wrong.

You're doing it exactly right.

Now feel your bum on the seat of the chair.

Feel how you are resting on the chair or the cushion or whatever you're sitting on.

Just becoming aware of your body,

Touching the ground,

Touching the surface,

Touching whatever supports you.

And there's a powerful knowing in this moment when you make that connection with the support below you.

You know what it is?

You're always carried.

You cannot suddenly drop and fall through the floor,

Fall through your chair.

You're supported.

Let's take it even a step further.

You are supported by planet Earth.

One of these practices on the checklist is that you go with bare feet into the soil.

And yeah,

Some people might find it disgusting.

Maybe it is,

Maybe it isn't.

But to feel your feet in the sand or the soil,

In nature,

That does something with you.

So close your eyes.

Maybe you had them closed already,

Which is fine.

And if not,

Close them now.

And I use your fantasy to imagine that from your feet,

Roots are growing into the ground.

Beautiful roots growing into the ground.

They're growing really deep,

Really wide,

Really wide,

Like the roots of a tree,

Thereby connecting with the Earth.

Beautiful Earth.

It's amazing to think of planet Earth that in this massive,

Massive universe,

We don't even know where it ends,

If it ends.

And we are here on planet Earth that supports us,

That carries us with enormous speeds through space,

Around the sun.

The sun that gives us warmth,

That gives us light,

That makes our crops grow,

That gives our climate,

That gives us all the thermodynamics on our planet.

So we will have rain and we will have all the situations that will help us to grow our crops,

To grow our food.

That supports.

Just to realize that for a moment.

We so often take this for granted.

And now you are growing your roots in planet Earth.

Can you feel how powerful it is?

And if you don't feel it,

That's also okay.

What you can do then is then just imagine that these roots grow to the fiery core within the Earth.

And then you imagine that really strong Earth energy is flowing through these roots all the way up into your feet,

Into your ankles,

Your calves,

Your knees,

Your thighs,

Your buttocks,

Filling your pelvis,

Your belly,

All the way up to your stomach,

Filling your whole chest,

Your shoulders,

Your arms,

Your arms,

Underarms,

Your hands.

This energy is like shooting out of your fingers,

Like you making the Earth energy rain from your fingers.

It's going up into your neck,

Filling your whole of your head.

And then it's like a fountain spritzing out of the ground of your head.

All this beautiful Earth energy.

And you can give it a color that you like.

You can give it this green color or blue,

Which I think is the color that I would associate with our beautiful planet.

You can make it also orange or red from this fiery core.

You can make it white if it feels better to you.

You can even make it black if you like that better.

Whatever color you like,

Whatever color feels good and supportive,

And just feel it flowing through you.

Now,

Bring for a moment your attention back to your body,

How you're sitting,

How your feet are feeling on the ground.

Is it different from when you started?

Feel your buttocks on the seat.

Does it feel different from when you started?

You don't have to answer me,

Just for yourself.

Recognize that there is a relative difference with how you started.

The difference might be small,

The difference might be big.

But just bringing your awareness to your body,

To open it for feeling that support of the Earth,

Feeling this really grounding energy,

Is really,

Really helpful for you to start to relax.

And relaxation,

My dear friends,

Is the number one key to finding that E.

Now,

Let's see if you can take it a step further.

I would like you to bring your attention to your sense of hearing.

What are you hearing?

Well,

Yeah,

My voice,

Of course.

I speak.

It's pretty prevalent,

Pretty dominant.

But when I shut up for a moment,

Can you listen really,

Really far away?

And what do you hear then?

You don't have to tell me,

Just observe it for yourself.

Maybe you hear cars,

Planes,

Birds,

Shouting kids,

Laughing kids.

Can you listen now for the really subtle sounds in your environment?

Really,

Really subtle sounds.

Maybe you hear your belly,

Your breath,

The way your clothes shift on your skin.

Well done.

Now bring your attention to your sense of touch.

Your feet on the ground,

Your bum on the seat.

We just felt it.

Can you feel how your hands are resting on the lap,

Where the hand touches your side?

Can you feel the way your socks are sitting on your ankles,

Your shirt or dress on your skin?

Can you feel the hairs on the back of your neck,

The hairs on your face if you have a beard?

Well done.

Now bring your attention to your sense of sight with your eyes closed.

Yeah,

Even with your eyes closed you can see things.

Maybe you just see black,

Dark blue.

Some people see colored dots or swirling colors or the light shining through your eyelids.

With some the imaginary mind's eye,

Eye of the mind goes on,

You start to see images.

Mind's eye,

That was the word I was looking for.

Whatever it is,

You don't have to change it,

You don't have to judge it,

Just observe.

And if you feel that your body almost consciously starts to relax because you feel this need to have a really long out-breath or to sigh or maybe just to cry or just to soften or to let go of your shoulders or to let go of your belly,

Not pulling your belly in anymore,

Just crouching a little bit because you feel relaxed and let it be.

Feel that ease in your body,

Feel how your body becomes softer.

Now it becomes more aware of the here and now.

We just used part of our senses to listen,

To feel,

To see with eyes closed and our body recognizes what we're doing.

It knows,

Oh,

I can relax.

You know what happens when we let our bodies relax?

We start to communicate with the wisdom of our bodies.

Our bodies are so wise and they never complain.

They are so helpful to let us do whatever we want,

Whenever we're going over our own boundaries,

Whether these are physical or emotional or spiritual or practical.

Our bodies allow us to do so many things.

But when we don't listen to our bodies,

Who are very gently telling us,

Listen,

Sit down,

Your feet hurt,

Put them up,

Listen,

Sit down,

Your back hurts,

This is too heavy,

Be kinder.

We so often ignore these signals because we think we have to do things,

We think we don't have enough time,

We think we have many expectations to fulfill.

We push through and now when you start to relax,

Your body tells you a story and that story is live with ease.

Listen to me,

Listen to the body.

The body knows so much.

Your body remembers everything that ever happened to you,

Every moment of relaxation,

Every moment of love,

Every moment of pain,

Every moment of hurt,

Every moment of trauma.

And it stores it there to communicate with us.

And when we start living a life with more gentleness and more ease,

It's sometimes really hard because our body first starts to tell us what is still going on,

How we can help our bodies to start to relax.

And that is something that is important to take,

Not for granted,

To take seriously.

So many of those self-gentleness practices are about connecting to your body,

Tuning into your body,

Because every emotion is translated in a physiological response in your body.

And we are so good in suppressing emotions during our lifetime,

Sometimes consciously,

Sometimes not even so consciously.

And when we don't live through those emotions,

When we don't let these emotions come like waves through us,

Letting them go out of us,

They get stored in our body and they just need to be released.

So when you start to become self-gentle,

When you start to live with ease,

There is a paradox.

Sometimes you feel more resistance because you become aware of the build-up of things during your lifetime when self-gentleness was not really an issue,

Because of things that happened external to you,

Things that happened internal of you.

And it takes a lot of self-gentleness to start acknowledging that,

Embracing that,

Starting to take care of yourself,

Tuning in more regularly to really feel what is going on and to acknowledge that.

So when we're sitting here,

That's why I'm asking you,

Can you feel a relative difference from how you started and how it is now?

So most of you will probably feel more relaxed than when you started.

But if you feel that there is some more pain or tension,

Then just know that your body is telling you,

This part needs some love,

Needs some gentleness,

Needs some care.

And this is very valuable information.

It might be hard for you to take that step by being gentle for that part of you.

But just awareness is already part one,

Because now you know.

And now you know that there is a spot in your body that you can take care of.

And so often these spots in our bodies are connected with emotions,

Whether these emotions are old or of the present moment.

But when they're in the present moment,

They generally always have to do with thoughts that we have.

And those thoughts are almost never new.

These are thoughts that we carry with us,

If they're connected to that pain.

All right,

Now I'm assuming that your bodies are pretty relaxed right now,

At least relative to how we started.

So let's find some ease together.

I'm going to appeal to your fantasy.

We're going to imagine.

And again,

Use your fantasy in a way that you know that you like to fantasize.

All right,

Now imagine that you're in the middle of a beautiful wood.

There are a lot of trees around you,

But there is light.

The sun breaks through the leaves.

There's enough light.

It's a beautiful day.

It's not too hot.

It's not too cold.

It's exactly like you like it.

And the colors are awesome.

There are like all kinds of green.

I didn't know that there were so many shades of green,

And it's because of the beautiful sun.

When we start to walk the path,

You can walk with me,

You feel that we are going up a little bit.

So apparently this wood is on a hill or a mountain,

Because when we start to walk,

We feel there is a little increase.

We start to go up a little bit.

It's not so heavy,

But we do feel that.

And when you listen,

Can you hear that brook?

Yeah,

A little flooding,

A little stream,

A brook,

Water running over stones.

It sounds gorgeous.

Let's see if we can find this brook.

So we climb a little bit further up through the trees,

And there we see an open place.

There's some grass.

There's more sun,

Although the trees are still surrounding us.

And there is this beautiful brook,

This water flushing over stones,

Running.

Just take a moment to see this water running with ease.

The water is really flexible.

It bumps into rocks and it just goes over it,

Under it,

Alongside it.

It's never stopped.

It's never hampered.

Just find its way with ease.

Oh,

This is beautiful,

How water flows with ease.

So there might be something in your life that you find withholds you from living with ease.

It might be the task at work.

It might be that person in your life that you are fighting with a lot.

It might be a thought that keeps appearing in your head and is really limiting you,

And you know it,

But you cannot let go of it.

It can be a painful part of your body that really limits you and that really is making you feel frustrated that you cannot live life with ease because of that pain.

Whatever it is,

Bring it to mind and now imagine that this thought,

This part,

This thing,

This situation,

This person is something that you can hold in your hands.

Yeah,

You have to use your fantasy,

But you don't have to think about it because you see now something in your hands.

Maybe it's a rock,

Maybe it's a picture,

Maybe it's something that you don't even recognize,

But you know that this limitation of ease,

This limitation of finding ease is now in the palm of your hands.

And you know what we're going to do?

We're going to drop it in the water just like that,

And then we're going to see it float away.

It doesn't sink,

It just floats and a beautiful brook,

This flexible water that runs with ease,

Is going to take this with it.

All right,

Let's just drop it.

Let's really see how it floats away.

It's not going fast,

It's really slowly floating away.

That gives such a sense of relief.

Just the notion that if there's something bugging you,

Something standing in the way of living with ease,

That you can just imagine that you can put it down,

Where it can flow away with ease.

Let's just do it again because maybe there's some residue,

Maybe of something else.

It doesn't matter what it is,

Just put it in your hands and drop it.

See how it is flushed away.

How beautiful,

What a relief,

What an ease.

This is such a good feeling.

Is there more that you want to release?

I think I have some.

Yeah,

There it is in my hands.

Join me if you like,

Just drop it in water and there it goes.

And I know some problems you cannot let go of that easily,

I know.

But be playful,

Help yourself to be playful.

Even if this just gives a relief for these few minutes of meditation and enjoy that.

Allow yourself that sense of ease.

The more you allow yourself ease,

The more it will show up in your life.

If there's anything else you want to drop,

Then just drop it.

And let's climb a little bit further to the top.

So you see that the trees are now becoming less and less.

When you smell,

They are the most beautiful aromas of beautifully colored flowers.

And oh,

The sun on your face,

The sun on your arms.

It is not too hot,

It's not too cold,

It's perfect.

There's a little breeze.

Life can be so perfect when you fantasize about it.

And you know what?

When you more and more fantasize about how lovely life can be,

Then the more you will see it reflect in your own life.

You will suddenly become aware of the aromas of flowers in the gardens you walk by.

You will suddenly become aware of that breeze on your skin,

That ray of sunlight in your eyes.

Just open up for the ease in your life by fantasizing about it right now.

So we have arrived on top of the mountain.

Can you feel that you are on the top of the mountain?

It's like you are on the top of your world.

This is a powerful feeling and you can feel it.

You can put your feet,

Become aware again of your feet on the ground.

If you want to help yourself,

You can grow those roots again into this mountain like you are this massive tree standing on the top of this beautiful mountain,

On the top of your world.

And it's like you have this big overview of your world,

Of your life in the here and now.

And there is this sense of ease.

You know why?

Because you don't have to do anything right now.

You don't have to worry about tomorrow.

You don't have to worry about your tasks.

You don't have to worry about your to-do list.

You don't have to worry about time.

You're just here overseeing life,

Overseeing your world and feeling the air and the wind on your skin,

Feeling your feet on the ground.

It feels just good.

If you want,

You could even open your arms,

Breathe in and out,

Feel the sun on your face,

Feel how very good life can be.

Nothing is going on right now.

I know.

No,

Everything is right now.

Okay.

You are here,

Connected to the earth,

Carried in support by earth,

Being in this perfect place on top of your world where you have all the power,

All the control,

Because you have your fantasy.

You have your imagination.

You have your senses to bring you here and now.

You are so powerful.

You are so unique,

So lovable.

Can you feel that when you're standing here?

You are,

Every one of you,

You are the best person in this world,

The most lovable,

Worthy person in this world.

Because you are you.

It is as simple as that.

And you can know this.

You can feel this by standing here,

By letting this earth energy flow through you,

Feeling the sun on your body,

Being on top here.

And if you still have some doubts,

Then put your hands in your waist,

Make yourself a superman pose or a supergirl pose.

Feel the wind on your cheeks.

Feel how powerful you are.

Yes,

You can fantasize this,

Even if you feel in your life very often that there is no ease,

There is no power.

Now you are fantasizing this.

Now you're using your imagination and you know why?

Because it's your birthright to feel like this.

It is your birthright to feel awesome,

To feel ease,

To feel flow,

To feel inspiration and to feel love.

Because my friends,

Everything is all about love.

Everything is about love and letting this love flow through you.

You are made of love.

You are love.

And this is a perfect moment to realize that again.

And by helping ourselves to realize this from time to time,

It becomes easier when we are in our lives,

With effort,

We struggle to remember that we are love,

That we have flow,

That ease is our birthright.

You know what?

Stick out your hands in front of you.

Keep your eyes closed.

And now when I click my fingers,

There will be a symbol.

There will be something in your hands that will remind you of this moment.

I don't know what it is.

You don't know what it is.

Don't think of it.

Just when I click my fingers,

You will see something.

It might be a word.

It might be a token.

It might be a flower.

It might be a photo.

It might be that you hear a song or you smell a smell.

Whatever it is,

Don't overthink it.

Just the first thing that bubbles up,

Don't censor yourself.

The first thing that is there,

This is it.

Yes.

What you see right now,

This is going to be your anchor.

Whenever you see this or smell this or know this or feel this in your life,

It will remind you of this powerful moment when you know deeply,

Feel deeply the power of you being love.

All right.

Now,

Remember that brook?

This brook has expanded now and it's like this beautiful river going down from this mountain.

And if you look,

There is a raft.

And on this raft,

Your name is written.

There are no oars.

And you know why?

Because you don't have to do anything.

You are going to experience how it feels to have flow,

How it is to flow through your life with ease.

And believe me,

You are safe.

Nothing can happen to you.

This is your fantasy.

This is our fantasy.

You are going to experience ease and flow.

That is it.

So take your time.

Go sit in this beautiful raft with your name on it.

It will not go before we say it.

Make yourself comfortable.

You can sit up,

You can lie down,

Whatever feels good.

I'm going to count to three.

And when I say three,

This raft is going to descend on the river with such ease,

With such flow.

And it's going at the speed that you like.

So if you don't like a high speed,

It will just float really,

Really,

Really slowly.

And if you like a high speed,

Then it's going to be like a roller coaster,

You know,

And everything in between.

If you want it to be a sailing boat,

Make it a sailing boat also.

No objections there.

And if you feel like,

Well,

I don't like a raft,

I take a parachute to go down,

Then take a parachute.

Also perfectly fine.

Okay,

I'm going to count to three.

One,

Two,

Three,

Go!

And allow yourself to use your imagination to feel this flow.

So I will describe to you what I am feeling.

I have quite some speed.

And this whole river is so beautiful.

This water is so flexible.

It is moving with ease and its coloring is like colors of the rainbow.

I see the most beautiful color surrounding me.

It's like white light shining from under the rocks,

From under the water,

While this raft is basically dancing on the water with such ease.

And it's really safe to be here.

It is like a comfortable,

Comfortable chair where I'm like hanging in and I'm just enjoying sometimes it spins.

And you know what?

I see my problems of just now,

I just see them floating there and I'm just,

I'm just flushing by.

Everything is flowing and feeling with ease.

And the most beautiful thing is that the problems are left behind.

I know that when I will be down at the bottom of this mountain there will be solutions for me.

I just trust it.

I don't have to search for them.

I'm just going to find it when I flow with ease.

Now feel how your body relaxed into this ease and enjoy the environment.

Maybe you really enjoy the wind that comes over your skin or through your hair.

Or maybe it's the environment that you really love,

The nature around you,

The trees or the flowers.

Maybe you see fish in the water.

Maybe you just enjoy that it is a parachute right now and you are flying between these beautiful eagles and other birds with you that are supporting you,

That are guiding you down.

Maybe it's more like a sled going or a slide.

Whatever suits you,

Just feel this flow.

Feel how good it feels.

So just go with such a beautiful speed that suits you.

Can you feel how lovely it is to feel flow and ease and love and joy?

This is why we are here,

To experience this lightness,

This happiness,

This feeling of ease.

And I know things are going on in our lives and maybe already all of our lives and maybe just now in our lives.

And it is really hard sometimes,

But allow yourself to feel this ease even for a few minutes.

This is re-energizing,

This is rejuvenating,

This is refilling ourselves,

Charging ourselves up,

Giving ourselves ease,

Giving ourselves the experience of ease.

Even if our lives are hard,

We can give ourselves the experience of ease even for a few moments.

And the secret is,

The more you allow yourself to find ease in moments like this,

The more you will be open to find that ease in your life.

You're doing it so well.

Can I tell you,

Every one of you,

I applaud you,

I admire you,

I welcome you in this life of ease of you.

You are doing it exactly right.

You are perfect in all your imperfectionism.

You are doing it right.

You are love.

This is ease.

This is your ease.

This is your birthright.

Flow with ease.

In the ease lies the inspiration,

In the ease lies the creation,

In the ease lies love,

In the ease lies joy,

In the ease lies the best version of your life.

And now you know how to get there,

Because you can do this all by yourself.

You don't need me to get here.

You can just turn on your fantasy and take this beautiful slide,

This beautiful raft or parachute down and feel this flow in your life.

Now,

Take your time to descend,

To get to the bottom of the mountain in whatever way you like to be there.

Maybe you are there already,

Then just enjoy how good the ride was and how you're now resting in the sun.

And when we are all there,

We're going to take some time to get back to our bodies,

But really take your time.

You don't have to follow me immediately now,

Just take your time.

Don't open your eyes yet.

Just realize again that you're sitting here on your chair,

On your cushion,

Lying on your bed or sofa,

Feeling your feet on the ground.

And before you open your eyes,

Acknowledge again how different your body feels right now from how you started.

The difference is even larger than before,

Because you are here now way more than when you started.

Your body is way more relaxed than when you started.

Your mind is way more relaxed than when you started.

And you just have used the power of your fantasy,

The power of your fantasy to give yourself a little bit better feeling than you felt when you started.

Can you feel that?

The more lighthearted you are,

The relief that you found.

And maybe the difference is small,

But there is a relative difference.

And you know what?

You did this.

You did this all by yourself.

You are so powerful.

You all have this at your fingertips,

You know that.

You are powerful even more than you know.

All right,

Now,

Whenever you're ready,

You can open your eyes,

But take your time.

And if you just like to lie there or sit there with your eyes closed,

That's also perfectly fine.

Just take your time.

I really enjoyed this.

I hope you did too.