Hello,
My name is Lou Redmond.
Thank you for practicing with me.
This meditation is going to help you connect to three signs that help you know that you are on the right path.
You are on the path that is connected to your purpose,
How you want to be in this world,
What you want to offer.
And I'm going to explore first some of the inspiration for the practice that we're going to be doing and talk about purpose,
Talk about your path as an assignment.
And I like this word of an assignment,
And I sometimes will think of it as an assignment from God,
If that resonates.
And I like to think of,
I have an assignment.
And I like that because sometimes with purpose it almost feels like we're either doing it or we're not doing it or it's something that's in the future or it's this one thing.
An assignment is a bit more broad.
It's a little bit more like if you were in school and you had an assignment for college,
Let's say,
And the moment you start going to the library,
The moment you start putting effort into it,
Whatever it might be,
You're working on it.
You're working on your assignment.
And if you're not working on your assignment,
If you're just slacking off,
You know,
Not doing much in school,
You're going to feel that.
You're going to feel like,
I should be doing that thing the same way that you're going to feel that in your actual life if you're not working on the assignment that God has given you.
And so I also like this word assignment because in the middle is sign.
And so what are the signs that you are on your assignment?
The first is fear.
As Joseph Campbell says,
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasures you seek.
And the reason that fear is part of it is because I really believe that our assignment is meant to help us grow in our courage.
That courage is a quality that we have to build.
And the only way we build our courage is through fear.
I used to be terrified to speak in public.
I still am.
But I know that fear is because this is part of my assignment.
This is part of growing me.
This is how I can access courage.
I know that's a common one for many people,
But I want to encourage you to think of where are those places that you're feeling fear and how do you lean into that?
How do you let yourself call on courage?
Now,
It should be fear with the opportunity of an upside.
So if you're feeling fear around going around a corner,
Um,
Cause it's a dark alleyway,
You know,
Listen to that fear.
There's no upside in actually,
You know,
Going into that alley,
Listen to that primal fear,
But the fear that's more about what other people think or even the,
Risk of,
Oh my gosh,
Well,
What if it doesn't work out?
Like those fears,
Sometimes we need to practice calling on our courage to see really what is in store for us.
The second sign is suffering and adversity.
Now I know suffering is a human condition and that we're all suffering in different ways,
But it's the adversity.
It's how we suffer.
It's learning how to suffer well.
It's to understand that if you went to a movie,
And on the movie was just people are doing well,
They get a promotion and everything's going well and then the movie's over.
It's not a very exciting movie.
It's not,
There's no tension and there's no meaning.
There's no enjoyment from that.
And you'd walk out and be like,
What did I just watch?
Same thing with your life is that you'll look back on those days that you suffered,
On those days you faced adversity and how you responded,
How they grew you,
And it will be so much more meaningful.
You look back and I like to call those days destiny days when it was really hard.
We don't realize how hard,
We don't realize how we can handle it in the moment.
And we look back and say,
Wow,
We got through it and they shaped us and we needed to go through that for some reason.
The last sign that you're going to explore in this little practice is peace.
And when you're on your assignment,
Peace should be your project manager.
Now I know that's different from fear because fear is,
You know,
You can be feeling fear and be like,
Well,
I should be feeling peace.
And even in the fear,
There's some piece of like,
I know this is right.
But fear often shows up a lot more at the beginning.
Towards as you continue peace make peace your project manager if you're feeling urgency Or if you're in between two decisions,
Pause.
It's either peace or pause.
And follow the peace.
Follow,
Make it your TA in the classroom.
Consult it for your decisions.
Alright,
Let's get into this practice and explore these signs in your own way and in your own life.
So go ahead and close your eyes.
And relax your shoulders your jaw feel the ground beneath you finding rooted and relaxed posture.
And we're going to move right into a visualization.
So imagine a scene where you are about to enter a wooded area.
You're not quite in the woods yet.
There's still some distance.
And this is representing you about to embark on your assignment.
And so look up at the sky.
See whatever horizon you take in.
Maybe noticing where exactly these woods are,
Where your assignment is represented in nature.
And taking this moment to connect with the higher power that you connect with.
Letting God know that you are here for your assignment.
You are showing up.
You are willing to work.
And walk the pathless path that is our purpose.
Inviting and connecting evoking that energy here.
And feeling into what is the assignment.
And forget any words right now.
Forget any sort of vision of how it needs to happen.
Forget what you're doing or who you're helping.
And I really want you to focus on what's the feeling of your assignment.
What does it feel like in your body?
Your soul knows this before your mind can explain it.
And so begin to walk now towards the woods.
And as you walk,
The path appears beneath you.
And as you enter the woods,
You notice coming up on the left there is a sign as We know our signs on our assignments.
And so pause in front of this sign,
Notice.
How it looks,
Whatever way this is represented.
And this sign is sharing a moment that you faced your fear.
Maybe you tried something new,
You took a risk.
You leaned into the discomfort.
And so maybe seeing that image of yourself doing it,
Experiencing it.
Maybe feeling the elation that comes with calling on courage.
And facing a fear.
Nor if it was hard and didn't go that well.
Really honoring the fact that you took that step.
So either way,
Just loving on that version of you for finding that courage.
Sending them love as you take in this scene.
And then honoring this sign.
And before you leave and continue on this pathless path,
Maybe taking note of anywhere right now where fear might be asking you to step forward.
And using the reminder of a time that you already faced a fear to maybe help you find the courage to do this next step.
And follow this.
Next sign for your assignment.
There might be something and there might not be something.
And then with that,
Continuing your walk into these woods.
Coming up on a sign on the right.
As you walk up to it,
Notice what it looks like.
And this sign represents a way that you are facing adversity or suffering right now.
Notice how when you see what that sign is,
How it impacts your body.
Seeing if you can be with it and welcome it that it is part of your path it is not something that is meant to go around or to get rid of of course you will move through it but seeing right now if you can suffer well Embracing it.
You knew that this path would be hard.
And this is the hard.
And so maybe repeating that mantra if it resonates,
This is the heart.
This is the heart,
I'm in it.
And if it's too hard and you're having challenges with this,
Totally okay.
Welcoming that,
There's no right way to be with this.
Finding your own edge,
Whatever that might mean.
And then honoring this sign.
Continuing on your path.
Do you come up on one last sign on the left?
And this one's representing peace.
Take a moment to think of a decision that you need to make or a possible pathway to explore or project that is calling you.
And take a moment to tune into the possible decisions.
And if peace was your project manager,
Peace was your TA guiding you.
Feel into your body which one,
Which area brings peace.
And I should say,
I know if you're in that adversity still,
It might be tough to find that peace.
But seeing if you can slow it down even more.
And even admits whatever you might be going through,
Can you connect to a piece that is gently guiding you to your next step?
And then honoring this sign.
Continuing walking,
Creating your path.
And as you do,
Looking for other signs as they come,
Both in this meditation,
But of course,
In your life,
In your life,
Welcoming,
Noticing where's the fear,
Showing the adversity,
The peace.
And before you come back,
You can let go of the visualization,
But really take a moment to recognize that you're living your purpose because you're living your assignment.
You're working on your assignment.
And so take a moment to really recognize that and honor yourself.
I'm in it.
I'm doing it.
And taking one last breath in.
And breath out.
And deep bows to you for working on your assignment for today.
Being on this path,
We need you,
We need you to go on that journey for the benefit of all the benefit of the people that you can serve and how you can be not just for other people,
But for yourself and for the people closest to you.
So thank you so much for practicing with me.
And if you're working on your assignment in some way and you need some more support,
I encourage you to go check out my courses tab and find a course that resonates with you.
So many of the core intentions of all the work that I do is helping people with this,
With this exact topic.
So I'm sure you'll find something and trust your own intuition of what would be most supportive for you.
So I am rooting for you.
I'm sending you lots of love and I look forward to connecting with you again very soon.
