Please make yourself comfortable and give yourself the space you need to be present here and now.
We are here to listen to a few moments,
People and experiences that still carry energy.
To watch how life moved through you this year or how you move through life.
In this session we will move between gentle meditation,
Reflection and writing.
So before we begin please have a pen and paper with you or any device that feels best for you.
And if you don't feel like writing at all the process of reflecting can still be supportive.
So we will be harvesting and releasing,
Allowing the mind,
Body and soul to participate fully.
And this process will happen in layers.
Observing,
Feeling,
Response,
Energy and integration.
So try not to rush ahead even when your mind wants to.
Let us begin by arriving in this space.
Take a moment to settle your body.
You can be seated or lying down.
Notice your breath as it is.
Just feel it moving in and out of you.
Now gently lengthen the exhale.
Let the nervous system feel that there is time.
Feel the weight of your body and how the earth holds you without any effort.
Notice where your body meets the chair or the ground beneath you and let yourself be heavy here.
Bring awareness to the whole body now.
Notice your face,
Your jaw,
Your shoulders and your back,
Your belly,
Your arms and hands,
Your hips,
Your legs and your feet.
And become even heavier.
Now widen your attention.
Hear any sounds near and far.
Notice the temperature.
Feel the space around your body.
Bring one hand to your heart space and the other one to your belly.
Feel the warmth and the movement under your palms.
And take one more slow breath in and a longer fuller breath out.
And from this place now allow the year that has passed to come closer.
Not as a story to tell,
Not as a list to review but something that you have lived.
Let images,
Moments,
Faces and places begin to slowly drift through your awareness.
There is no need to hold on to any of them.
Just let them pass by.
Notice what feels alive,
What carries a little warmth and weight,
What quietly asks to be seen.
You're not trying to remember everything.
You're letting whatever still carries energy rise on its own.
And sensations and emotions may arise.
Just observe and listen.
And as you drift,
Stay connected to your breath.
And without rushing,
Let this land now.
And I invite you to slowly open your eyes as we begin writing.
The first pass is about mapping where your time and energy went without any judgment.
So simply noticing the facts.
We will cover moments,
People and places.
Beginning with moments.
You can write however and wherever you like on the page.
I like to scatter things out.
Begin by writing down what happened this last year.
Stick to one word or one sentence.
For example,
Started a new job,
Moved to a new city,
Rescued a cat or anything else that you can think of.
Let the events come in whatever order they come.
And write them down without evaluating or explaining.
Just short and simple.
You really don't have to cover everything.
And it doesn't have to be the biggest,
The best or the worst events.
Just what still feels present when you think of the year.
Do this for about two minutes and only write down the what,
What happened this last year.
Short sentences or words.
We will add more layers to this as we go along the session.
And next think about the where.
So where did your life take place this past year?
For example,
At home,
In the car,
Office,
Kitchen,
Nature.
Any place you can think of where you spent time.
You can write these wherever you want on your page.
And they don't need to relate to the events.
But if they do,
You can choose to write them down close by.
Stay here for one or two minutes.
And if you finish early,
Just lean back and breathe for a bit.
Try not to rush ahead.
And for this next step,
Think about who you spent time with this last year.
Who did you spend time with this last year?
They don't have to connect to the events or the places that you've written.
But they can if it feels natural.
Otherwise,
Just spread them across the page.
Let names or roles just arrive.
For example,
A new friend,
My colleague Maria,
My mother,
Perhaps yourself.
And this is not about judging relationships,
Just noticing who has been in your life.
Now leave your pen on the side for a bit.
Zoom out and take a look at the whole picture.
Just observe what you've noted.
And don't worry if it feels incomplete or maybe even busy.
Just zoom out and observe.
Now keeping that map in mind,
I invite you to close your eyes and let your mind start to drift around your map.
Passing through the events,
People and places.
Let images flow and pass by.
Notice if anything lingers,
If something keeps asking for your attention or if something rushes past very quickly.
Was there something that felt meaningful?
Who supported you?
Did something take more energy than expected?
As you drift,
Notice your body.
Notice your facial expressions.
Notice any sensations,
Feelings or emotions that may show up.
And now gently and slowly open your eyes again.
Observe the paper in front of you.
And before noticing what you did,
Notice what you felt.
What emotions or body sensations were present?
For example,
Tight or open,
Calm or restless,
Heavy or light.
Any sort of emotions or body sensations that you can think of and that you feel.
Add a few words on your paper where it feels true.
For example,
Anxious next to a specific event or joyful by a person.
Or just write the words around the page if the feeling was more general.
Something that has been present with you throughout this year.
And sit with this for a moment.
Now we are moving on to the response.
What did you do or not do?
So given how you felt,
How did you respond?
For example,
Pushed through,
Adapted,
Avoided,
Withdrew,
Rushed,
Softened and so on.
Just add a word or two where it feels right on your paper.
It might be connected to something specific on your paper or it might be a pattern over time.
So how did you respond,
Given how you felt?
And now let your eyes move slowly over the page.
You should have moments,
Places,
People,
Feelings and responses written down.
And before moving on writing,
Just notice what stands out.
Is there something that is louder?
Something that is quieter?
Something unexpected or neutral?
And allow your body to respond first.
Where do you feel ease?
Where do you feel contraction?
Now with your pen,
Underline what drained you and circle what gave you energy.
And here you might find that some hard things nourished you and some pleasant things drained you.
Just let that be interesting.
You may begin to see some patterns,
Some repeated feelings,
Repeating responses,
People who supported or challenged you and moments where you came alive.
Just listen and learn in a simple honest way.
We are slowly approaching the end of this session.
And with everything you have reflected on,
I invite you now to softly,
Without overthinking,
Complete any of these sentences that call to you.
One or two words is enough.
And I will repeat each sentence twice.
This year,
My body asked for… This year opened my heart to… This year asked me to let go of… This year asked me to let go of… This year reminded me that I… This year surprised me with… This year surprised me with… So take some time to finish those sentences.
And when you're ready,
Let your pen rest.
Let your shoulders relax and your body settle.
Add a gentle smile to your lips.
Bring to mind what you have just touched,
The moments,
The people,
The places and the feelings.
Place one hand on your heart center and the other one on your belly.
And quietly inside,
Let these words land.
I have lived this.
It has moved through me.
I acknowledge it.
I have lived this.
It has moved through me.
I acknowledge it.
Feel that acknowledgement soften through the body and allow a quiet sense of gratitude to appear for the living,
For the learning and for the way this year has passed through you.
Let it come to a natural sense of completion and a feeling of being whole.
Take a slow breath in and a long breath out.
Thank you for being here.
You can return to this practice any time you feel the need to close a chapter.
