Let's go ahead and settle in today,
Wherever you might be finding a nice comfortable seat,
Either sitting up on those sit bones,
Grounding through those feet,
Heart to the sky,
Or if you feel more comfortable finding your way to a nice relaxed position on the ground.
Wherever you are,
Find some comfort.
As we begin today,
Let's go ahead and turn in and tune into our breath.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Finding a nice natural rhythm with the breath.
And starting at the top of your head,
Relaxing your scalp completely.
Let your forehead relax,
Your jaw soften,
Your shoulders relax and drift down your back.
Let the peaceful sensation of relaxation begin to fill your torso.
Feel it relax your chest,
Giving your heart more room to grow,
More expansive,
More loving,
Giving and forgiving.
Turn your belly muscles,
Your back,
Your spine.
Continue to breathe deep,
Fluid,
Nourishing breaths.
Breathe in health,
Happiness and hope.
Breathe out helplessness,
Worry and old ideas.
Allow anything that does not serve you to leave your body like a dark cloud.
Send this peaceful feeling to your hips,
Your buttocks.
Let it glide down your thighs,
Relaxing your legs completely as it flows down to your knees,
Calves,
Ankles and feet.
Allow any remaining tension to flow out of your toes,
Leaving your whole body comfortable,
Relaxed,
Open to receiving.
Again,
Taking a nice deep breath in and exhale.
Welcome to the short meditation on breathing in hope.
We're going to use the breath as a vehicle of hope.
It conveys different things to our bodies,
To our being,
And I believe it can convey hope to us if that is our intention.
I want you to tune back into your breath.
Breathing in this lovely,
Relaxing rhythm,
Attaching your breath to hope so that as you are breathing in hope,
Feeling the hope throughout your chest and your heart space.
As you exhale,
You're allowing that hope to gently diffuse,
Remembering that any time through this guided meditation,
You can always return to this breath and this space.
Taking a moment and really turning inward,
Allowing those eyes to close if you haven't already or just soften slightly.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
I know,
I know there are times when you have felt hopeless.
We feel hopeless when we feel powerless.
Feeling despair makes finding hope that much more important.
Hopelessness is believing that our actions are futile.
It puts us at the mercy of outside circumstances and makes it seem like nothing could ever be anything but painful.
This means believing we already know what the outcome will be and there is nothing we can do to change it.
You would be right.
You alone cannot.
This belief keeps us stuck.
And today I want to remind you that there is hope.
This is the good news.
As you continue to breathe deeply and slowly,
Allowing the breath to nourish you,
Direct your attention to your heart center.
With each inhale,
Bring in love,
Light,
And inspiration.
We cannot heal our emotions if we do not first forgive ourselves for feeling them.
Forgiveness will set us free and hope will transform everything.
Hope is a choice.
Having hope is believing that change is not only possible but also inevitable.
Perhaps hope in the abstract is something that you look for.
Perhaps you could attach it to something greater than yourself,
Depending on your worldview.
I suggest that hope is often situated in a source and origin beyond ourselves.
Your own conception of what a power that is much greater than yourself might be,
Might feel like,
Might show up as.
There is no right or wrong here.
It is your conception that you can attach hope to.
That could even be God for you.
You can choose.
But just for a moment,
Enjoy breathing in ultimate hope.
Divine hope.
There is purpose behind every experience,
As painful as it might be.
Difficult to understand while we are in the midst of a dark and very overwhelming situation.
Having hope means knowing that this moment is a moment that you don't ever have to be alone again.
That there is a power much greater than yourself that loves you,
Cares for you,
Forgives you,
Accepts you.
Being open to that power just means that we are looking for love and light and that you are accepting your place in this beautiful world.
You can have hope now that the universe is on your side and won't let you down.
Allow this hope to be released through your breath,
Restoring you.
I'm going to state some simple yet perhaps familiar affirmations that you're free to repeat to yourself.
And if one resonates with you,
Hold it in your heart.
Repeat it to yourself.
Carry it with you throughout the day.
New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.
There is purpose to every experience.
The strongest storms create the brightest rainbows.
There is a power greater than yourself that can restore you to sanity.
I want to leave you with these feelings of hope.
Struggle does not exist without purpose.
Even our lowest moments,
Both as individuals and as a collective,
Will give rise to an incredibly beautiful and purposeful existence.
Struggles make us strong.
Hope restores us.
Love makes us good and forgiveness sets us free.
Hope brings us closer to where we are meant to be.
I'm inviting you to take three more breaths.
Breathing in that hope.
Exhaling and releasing any old ideas that do not serve you anymore.
When you're ready,
Go ahead and wiggle your toes and wiggle your fingers.
Roll your shoulders and fluttering your eyes open when you feel ready.
Remembering that hope is a choice.
