Welcome to Day 7.
Begin by closing your eyes and settling into your posture.
Feel the way the body relaxes into your meditation.
You have taught your body that sitting down once a day and meditating is a really good thing.
If there is any part of your body where you're experiencing tension,
Invite that area to relax.
Remember that if some areas don't want to relax today,
That's okay.
Just relax around the tension.
As I said in a previous session,
What you resist persists.
So today we're going to work on simply letting go of resistance.
When you don't resist your stress,
It doesn't build up as much.
All of the techniques we've been practicing are very helpful,
But at the end of the day,
Acceptance is the most powerful tool in reducing stress.
So let's practice acceptance together.
We're going to accept everything.
Any thought,
Sound,
Or sensation that arises.
Everything gets our full acceptance.
Try saying yes inside your mind to everything that happens for the next few minutes.
That includes pleasant sensations and the not-so-pleasant sensations,
The positive thoughts and the not-so-positive thoughts,
The sounds that are pleasing to your ear and the sounds you'd rather weren't there.
Say yes to everything.
I know it might seem kind of strange to say yes to an ache in your knee,
But do it anyway.
Same thing goes for negative thoughts.
Just say yes.
You're not saying,
Yes,
I want to be in pain,
Or yes,
I want to think negative thoughts.
Rather,
You're saying yes to whatever is happening in the moment.
You are offering full acceptance to what is.
The body will tighten up when we're in resistance.
So notice,
Is there anywhere in your body where you're experiencing resistance?
If so,
Invite that part of the body to relax,
To let go,
Accepting what is,
Letting go of resistance.
There's nothing you have to do other than say yes to what's happening in this moment.
You have everything you need.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Remember,
Anything that arises is offered acceptance.
No need for resistance or judgment.
Acceptance is the answer.
Okay.
Wonderful work.
Before you open your eyes,
Take a moment to offer yourself some gratitude.
You've made it to the end of this series.
You showed up for yourself in a huge way by starting a daily meditation practice.
You haven't just begun the process of reducing stress.
You've begun the process of increasing your unconditional happiness.
You've done a great job.
All right.
Go ahead and open your eyes.
Congratulations.
You've meditated for seven days.
You've taken a big step towards creating a great new habit.
You also have a toolkit full of techniques to help lower stress and increase a sense of well-being.
You can go back and get a refresher on any of these techniques whenever you like.
You can also choose to work with just one or two of these techniques.
Always do the meditation that is most helpful to you and do your best to practice every day.
Thank you so much for joining me on this Simple Habit seven-day series,
Freedom from Stress.
I have other guided meditations on Simple Habit,
And I hope you'll join me for more practice.
Keep up the great work.
I wish you all the best.
Enjoy.
