Hi,
This is J.
G.
Larochette over here at Mindful Life Project.
Thanks for joining.
So mindfulness is paying attention,
On purpose,
To the here and now with kindness.
We also say paying attention to the present moment without judgment.
The practice of mindfulness has to be done with another practice.
It's one of our mindful skills.
There's seven total skills and this is skill number four,
Heartfulness.
Heartfulness is the practice of bringing love and care and kindness and compassion to ourselves and to others.
And what we know is the brain,
Right,
The downstairs brain,
Likes to be a little bit criticizing us.
The thoughts that we aren't this enough,
We're not that enough,
We should be this,
We should have that.
And the upstairs brain sometimes gets maybe muted in a way,
Turned off.
And so what we're doing with heartfulness is really realizing that each of us is unique and exactly who we need to be.
So whatever those stories,
Whatever that inner critic,
That criticizing ourselves that happens because of things we've heard or seen,
People have told us,
We've seen on shows,
We let that go and we know that we're amazing,
We're incredible.
And heartfulness helps build that up.
It helps build our heart to be stronger and more engaged.
A way to remember what heartfulness is,
Is by this tagline.
So go ahead and say this out loud,
Repeat after me.
I feel my heart as my love grows.
Sending heartfulness as my love flows.
From me,
For me,
And everybody I see.
So let's go ahead and practice some heartfulness today.
Let's get into our mindful position.
We'll do it the same way we always do it.
Go ahead and repeat after me out loud if you'd like.
I've got my feet on the floor.
I've got my spine in the line.
I've got my hands in my lap and my heart to the sky.
And always the offering,
The invitation is to close our eyes so we can really focus on our inner world.
If that doesn't feel comfortable,
Soft gaze below is always available.
So we're going to practice heartfulness together.
As always,
We'll start with the sound of the vibratone.
Hear the sound as long as you can,
And if you get distracted,
No judgment,
Just try again.
As we come into this practice that takes courage and strength,
You can thank yourself.
You can even say in your mind,
Thank you for the courage to sit and be present.
And let's just notice how our body is right now.
So wherever you're seated,
Notice how it feels to sit.
And notice if there's any areas in your body that feel any tightness or looseness.
And maybe take a deep intentional breath,
Breathing in and breathing out even longer than you inhale.
One more deep intentional breath,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now let the breath go back to its normal ways.
And we're going to practice heartfulness.
Let's do this by if we'd like placing our hands on our heart.
So just notice that feeling of touch,
Like you're protecting,
You're giving love to your heart.
And now I want you to feel like you have a blanket around you of care,
Kindness,
Compassion,
The warmth,
The love.
It's right around you and in you.
And as we practice heartfulness,
Notice if it feels comfortable to feel that,
If it doesn't feel comfortable,
And what do we do,
We don't judge it.
We gently use our mindful skills,
We can go to mindful breath,
Use mindful listening,
Use some body awareness,
Or even of course some heartfulness.
And we're going to say some phrases in our mind or out loud towards ourself,
Sending that love to self.
You can always add sentences you feel more comfortable saying in your mind,
Or just do the ones I share.
So let's begin.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be filled with peace.
May I be filled with love.
And just notice when you said those out loud in your mind,
Was love flowing or was it a little hard?
It can be hard sometimes.
So what do we do?
We bring heartfulness to that.
No judgment,
Care and compassion.
So we're going to go through those sentences a few times and try to really mean those sentences for yourself.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be filled with peace.
May I be filled with love.
Again,
This last time just do it on your own.
You can do those sentences or add new ones.
Just notice,
Is love flowing?
And if it is,
We can start spreading it.
And if it's not,
We just keep practicing.
So if you're ready,
Let's finish with some heartfulness for someone else.
So pick someone that you want to send heartfulness to.
It could be a family member,
It could be a friend,
It could be a pet,
It could be the whole world,
And just say the same sentences,
But now say,
May you be happy,
Or may they be happy,
Or may all people be happy.
Whatever you choose,
And let's practice.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be filled with peace.
May you be filled with love.
And then like you have a tunnel from your heart to that person or that group of people or your pet,
Pretend there's a tunnel there connecting your hearts.
Let the love flow.
Let that care and kindness just go to that person or group of people or that pet.
Awesome.
I hope that feels powerful and strong.
And then like always,
We'll close our mindful sit with the sound of the vibratone.
Stay with it till it's all the way gone.
And then wiggle toes,
Stretch,
Give yourself a squeeze,
A hug.
And then as you open your eyes,
Just feel how it feels to be here now.
No judgment on what you're feeling,
No judgment on how your body feels,
Your mind,
Your heart,
But heartfulness.
So keep on practicing heartfulness.
You can share this with others,
And we can build that deep compassion and care,
That heartful blast,
So the world can be a better place.
See you next time.
