EXPAND: Outside Your Comfort Zone; Connecting To Your Inner Child

Hey there,

This is Jen with Laughing Lotus Wellness.

Welcome to our meditation practice.

We begin our meditation expand beyond the comfort zone.

So today we're going to dig deep into this idea about our capacity to move and expand beyond the comfort zone,

That safety space that we can sometimes want to stay in and pause in.

And while we need pauses in life,

We don't want to grow roots there.

And so as you begin your journey today,

Whether that's seated or lying down,

Eyes closed or soft and gaze,

We're going to move outside of our comfort zones today.

So just noticing as you inhale and exhale the fluid movement of the breath,

The expansion of the lungs and the chest space,

The ribs space,

The back side of your body,

Just beginning to really sense that breath.

And becoming deeply aware of the state of your physical being.

Just noting how your body is feeling in this moment.

As you breathe.

And we're going to take three beautiful big audible inhales and exhales.

So I encourage you to inhale through the nose,

Nice big belly breath.

Audibly exhale that out.

Two more,

Each one a little more deep as we breathe,

Inhaling in,

Exhaling that out.

Last and best breath here.

Big inhale into the belly,

Expansive breath and expansive exhale.

Really sensing that physical state of the body and releasing that aspect of your experience now as we move more deeply into the mind.

Or we might take note of the mind space,

Your thoughts and how you're experiencing the mind right now.

Just noticing this as you breathe.

What is the state of the mind?

Release the physical sense of the body.

And we pause here releasing the sense of the mind.

It is a busy place.

Just releasing that.

And that layer of awareness and we're going to go deeper yet into the emotions,

The sense of our feelings.

And just spend a moment here in the emotional presence of this moment for you.

Checking in to see what you might be noticing.

What you're bringing to the table.

And releasing that layer as well,

Releasing the emotional layer,

Releasing the physical layer,

The thought layer,

The emotional layer.

And then we move more deeply into our connection to something bigger than ourselves,

The universal life force,

Something that you see mirrored right in your heart space and that place of bliss.

Pause here.

Stepping fully into your light being,

Into the core of who you are,

Your absolute essence.

I invite you to imagine even standing there for a moment and having these layers that you can physically unzip out of.

Unzipping that physical layer and stepping out of that suit.

Using the suit of thoughts and emotions,

Stepping out of that.

And then each layer that we unzip and step out of is just us in its pure light form.

And what's left is you in that fully beautiful,

Blissful light being space.

And as a beginner journey today,

We always like to set the tone of our practice with an intention or sankopa.

Planting the seed of this thought using my words as your words if they resonate.

I am grateful to expand as I step outside of my comfort zone knowing that I will be making the most of my magic and living fully into my best self.

I am grateful to expand as I step outside of my comfort zone knowing that I will be making the most of my magic and living fully into my best self.

I am grateful to expand as I step outside of my comfort zone knowing that I will be making the most of my magic and living fully into my best self.

And that awakened space,

That light heart space,

I want you to imagine if you will a summer evening.

The sun has set,

The shadows are long.

You can smell the earth,

The grass.

Hear the light breathe in the leaves,

The insects coming alive in the evening.

And the lights in the neighborhood begin to go on as night sets in a velvety darkness.

Breathing here taking in that moment.

As that inner child comes forward for you.

You look around and see the faces of your friends.

Breathing here as you breathe and really see the faces of your friends.

Seeing their joy and enthusiasm,

That blissful state,

Childlike wonder.

Seeing that in their faces,

Mirrored in yours.

You can't wait to begin to play outside this evening.

To run,

Feel alive,

And to be with your friends.

In your mind as if the days and the evenings,

Summer months go on and on and on.

And you have forever the mind and body fully present in this beautiful childhood moment.

Expanding into that experience,

Childlike wonder.

And one friend is chosen to be it for this game of kick the can.

Their job is to find all of your friends as they hide around and in the neighborhood.

Here is a safe space,

A huge old oak tree with branches that extend high into the sky,

Leaves gently moving in the breeze.

And the rest of you need to hide,

Looking for the right moment.

Your goal is to kick the can in the middle of the street.

You can see the can in a funnel of light that hits it directly.

The neighborhood is quiet,

Peaceful.

You run off with your group of friends as you split off into the darkness to hide around corners,

Garages,

Trees,

Bushes,

And cars.

The goal of this game is to avoid getting put in jail when you get caught,

And so hiding seems like such a good idea just staying there.

But your friend is moving around and searching actively,

And you know that to stay in one place is to lose the game.

Being aware,

Being stealthy,

And risking to run the can is the game.

It's the point to risk.

And off in the distance,

You can hear your friends searching out the others,

And one by one,

They're sent to that huge tree.

And the only person who can release them is you.

Breathing quietly,

Keeping an eye fully alive in this beautiful moment.

Breathing quietly,

Trying to keep tabs on your friend who is searching for you as you shift in preparation to run.

To release all of your friends and to make it safely out of the reach of your friend who is trying to find you.

And sensing that anticipation,

The joy in your body,

The enthusiasm and excitement,

Vitality coursing through your body,

And just sensing that vibration through your whole body.

Finding this moment,

You prepare yourself to leave this space,

This safe spot.

Your friends are counting on you.

Finding your right moment and taking off at a sprint.

In a dark summer night with pools of light playing off the street like lily pads on a pond,

Lightning bugs all around,

You put every ounce of your energy into running as quietly as possible as your arms and legs pump to make it your goal to get to that can.

Seeing that joy in your body,

Feeling so incredibly alive,

And reaching the can you booted into the air to shout excitement and enthusiasm.

The game is in play.

Time scatters once again.

Tapping into that breath as it expands through your inhales and with the joy and the vibrant experience of childlike wonder and connection.

Breathing hard and catching your breath,

You realize this game is about risking,

About stepping out of the safety not just for you but for others.

This deep realization comes to you that this game of kick the can is a symbol for life.

Starting to recall here the moments where you risked,

Reached out,

Gave it your all.

How even though it may have felt scary that there were so many lessons in these moments.

The moments where we stepped out of that safety net,

The safety zone,

Or that safe space.

And pausing here for a few moments with the breath,

Recalling moments where you lean outside Considering interviews,

New jobs,

New relationships,

Adventures,

New experiences,

New experiences,

Travel,

Hobbies,

The various moments where you were not assured success but you did it anyway.

You showed up and moved outside of the safety of that tree garage corner in the darkness to step fully into who you are.

Noting here that your friends are also those moments in life that you set free by your willingness to risk the things that came to fruition because you were willing to step outside of that comfort space.

The lessons learned.

Seeing that even the being tagged out,

We were learning,

We are living and leaning in.

And that those moments one after the other after the other create space for us to be more comfortable stepping into those spaces of the unknown.

And with that childlike heart thumping and energy coursing through you,

This game of kick the can has made you vital.

It reminds you to not take things so seriously,

To enjoy the moment and to take chances.

And pausing here to just sense your vitality,

To sense the confidence in leaning in,

To stepping outside of your safety and into the light,

Just feeling this here.

And in your mind with your breath,

Inhaling I am,

Exhaling stepping out of my comfort zone.

Returning to the sense of joy and wonder in this moment of risking,

Of stepping out and flying into the face of a new experience or challenge.

Sensing the teachers and the moments where we didn't make it to our safety zone again.

Feeling gratitude for the teachable moments,

Remaining teachable students in life.

And tapping into your wisdom here,

That intuition,

Listening for that internal voice.

In what area do you need to step more fully out of your comfort zone?

Where could you stand to risk just a little bit more?

To be fully alive,

Fully in your magic and fully in your highest good.

In your mind I invite you now to see yourself doing that.

Much like watching a movie,

Really see and feel yourself stepping out to make a shift,

A transformation and living fully into the space where you could use it.

Trusting that eternal guidance and wisdom and intuition.

Letting it guide you to where you need to go.

Seeing yourself stepping outside of that comfort zone.

You are so capable of making big shifts and transformation.

And sensing that coursing energy,

The life force as it flows in through your entire being from head to toe.

That vibration that you are deeply connected to.

I'm returning to our sankalpa for our practice today.

Sending it deeply through the layers of our being.

Using my words as your words if they resonate.

I am grateful to expand as I step outside of my comfort zone knowing that I will be making the most of my magic and living fully into my best self.

I am grateful to expand as I step outside my comfort zone knowing that I will be making the most of my magic and living fully into my best self.

I am grateful to expand as I step outside of my comfort zone knowing that I will be making the most of my magic and living fully into my best self.

And holding for a moment more in this space that childlike joy,

Childlike wonder and seeing the adventure and taking risks.

And slowly begin to return to the earth body feeling the sense of the muscles and bones and how they root you in this physical plane.

And paying attention in this moment to how you are feeling right now.

Just noticing the magic of this playful and powerful journey.

Bringing the awareness to the breath in your body as it expands in the chest and the ribs in the belly.

Bringing in vital life force energy.

Slowly and gently beginning to rub the thumbs across the ends of the fingertips.

Beginning to bring awareness in the fingers and hands.

You might rub your hands together creating some warmth.

One or both hands over your heart as you breath here for these final moments.

Pausing in this space considering how you will take this felt sense of having expanded outside your comfort zone.

The vitality you tapped into.

How you can take this experience of stepping outside this perceived safety and containment and into the light of the best version of you.

And as we gently close our practice I encourage you to stay connected to this sense of wonder,

Joy,

Vitality and being willing to step outside that safety zone and into the light,

Into your magic and the highest good of what you bring to the world.

I invite you to bring your hands to your prayer position,

Thumbs touching heart space if it feels right for you.

Bringing the chin to the chest.

The wrist taker in me honors the wrist taker in all of you making us one in this ultimate game of kick the can from a place of love and light.

Namaste.