Emotional Inventory, Be An Active Participant In Your Life

So you can listen to this practice wherever it is that you find yourself today.

You can be sitting down or laying down or even stretching and doing things if that's what you've got to do.

And hopefully wherever you're at when you listen this will still be helpful to you in some way.

So if you'd like to listen in a still position feel free to take all the time you need to arrive there and allow yourself to fidget,

Adjust,

Stretch or move in whatever ways feels good in your body.

Doing your best to not think about the movements at all but more letting your body move you in the ways that intuitively feel good in your bones,

Muscles,

Joints.

Just following the yummy sensations you get when you do some neck rolls or cat cow motions with the spine,

Maybe some side body bends or torso twists,

Anything at all that feels good in your body right now.

And if what feels best in your body right now is stillness then honoring that need for stillness whenever that feels like what you need.

There's no rush whatsoever.

You can continue to move throughout this practice whenever you feel the need to.

But at any time if you haven't already you can find your way to a still position with the spine nice and straight.

And if you're in a space where you feel safe and would like to you can allow the eyes to gently close at any time if they aren't already.

And now mark your arrival into your practice today,

Into your body today with a full intentional cleansing breath.

As you welcome in a long and slow inhale in through the nose and let yourself fill up to every corner and edge of you as you just pause for a moment once you're full to really feel this sense of fullness and without straining as you need to slowly let all of that go.

Exhaling deeply and fully as you gently pull the navel toward the spine at the bottom of your exhale to really push that last bit of stagnant air out of you as you again pause for a moment to now experience the sense of emptiness and allow your next breath to come to you as it is needed.

So you can breathe just like this for as many rounds as feels good and helpful for you.

Not worrying about the length of your inhales,

Exhales and pauses on either side but just letting them all be exaggerated,

Whatever that means for you right now.

So not holding yourself to any expectations of how you were yesterday or how you are expecting to feel but just checking in with how your body is right now knowing that you will be different each and every time you show up for any meditation or any healing practice because we are constantly changing.

So just when the body naturally would stop inhaling seeing if you can open yourself up to take in a moment,

A moment's worth of air,

A moment more of air into the body just getting a little bit fuller and when you would naturally roll over to the exhale seeing if you can hold off for an extra moment to really sit with that fullness and when you feel like you're done exhaling and like you're empty seeing if you can push out just a tiny bit more air to truly empty yourself and holding off on your inhale for one extra moment to stay with that emptiness and allowing your next breath to come as it is needed and you can breathe just like this for as many rounds as feels good and helpful to you as we just consciously slow down the process of our breath,

The four parts of our breath and slowing down our awareness right along with the breath as we communicate deeply to our nervous system that right now is the time to slow down and at any time if you haven't already you can release this guidance over your breath altogether and almost feel like you're stepping back and up in your mind into the role of the observer or the witness into that perspective where you're simply watching the body as it breathes you remembering how your body does breathe perfectly all on its own even when you are in a deep deep sleep and so seeing if you can just observe the process of your body breathing without having any impact over the rhythm or depth of the breath but remembering how our breath is our one bodily function that can be either voluntary or automatic so releasing that voluntary guidance and now simply observing the automatic process that is your breath taking on that same energy you may feel when you lay on the beach and just watch the waves roll up along the shoreline not trying to change anything about the size or speed of the waves but you just watch as they come and go the same energy you might feel seeing any other force of nature out there not trying to change anything about what you are seeing but simply seeing it reminding yourself that you are also a force of nature and you are capable of witnessing yourself just as you would witness anything else in nature letting your awareness rest on your face now and without changing anything first just making note of how your face is resting today feeling any tension that might be residing in the face and making note of any emotions that could be communicated by any resting expression maybe the brow is furrowed or the jaws tense maybe the nostrils are flared where the chin is holding on to some tension or even the ears and from that point of awareness you can now choose to exhale and allow your face to be exactly as it is and you allow your jaw to simply hang into place and feel your tongue release from the roof of the mouth letting your lips rest softly on one another as you feel that softness in your mouth naturally spread to your chin releasing any further tension there to the nostrils spreading outward and upward as you feel the cheeks relax a bit deeper feeling the ears soften a bit further and even feeling the eyelids soften all of those tiny little muscles that exist along your lash line that scrunch up when you squint even feeling those soften as you just let the corners of your eyes get a little bit wider simply with this release and feeling your ease soften over wherever it is you're looking whether that be at the world around you or at the world within you maybe peering into the backs of the eyelids or maybe peering up more into the forehead or even rolling back further and peering into the skull wherever it is that your eyes happen to be looking just seeing if you can let your vision almost glaze over so that you can see everything in your field of view rather than one specific thing just existing in your sense of sight as you feel your eyebrows soften a bit further and allow your hairline to soften back so that you allow your forehead to just be wide and deep maybe even seeing some sort of depiction of all the muscles in your face if you just imagine every single tiny little muscle that exists in the face that has created every expression you've ever made and almost seeing all of these muscles just ungrip from the bones and feeling them release back into the support of your skin even if it's just for a brief moment feeling a deep sense of trust with your own anatomy knowing that when you let go absolutely everything will be held exactly where it needs to be you do not need to hold yourself in any specific way right now but you can simply allow yourself to be exactly as you already are this is not a doing or a thinking process we are not trying to change anything during this process but this is one of simply listening observing witnessing yourself as you are in its entirety and so even if there is intense physical pain present or emotional pain present letting yourself sit with those things as well our goal in this practice is not to erase all negativity it's not to erase all pain and cover it up with love and light but our goal is to simply be as present as we can be with ourselves as we are right now knowing that we are constantly changing in each and every time you show up for this practice you will feel different and so just allowing yourself to feel as you do right now knowing that it is totally natural and inhuman to want to fix things to want to feel a specific way to want to feel good all of the time of course that's what we want it feels good to feel good but sometimes that want or that expectation to be feeling good and motivated and happy all of the time that in itself can be the source of great suffering for us and that want need or expectation in itself can be the block for us to truly feel that happiness we crave so much and there's no way to ignore our emotions or push them down deeper and they'll disappear but the only way we move on from our emotions is by allowing them to arise from within us and release in whatever way they need to be released whether that be through tears crying and screaming punching a pillow or laughing dancing running around whatever emotional release is needed allow it to come allow that wave to swell up and crash down whenever it needs to because you will not drown and you will not be crushed even when it feels like you may but you are so strong and so capable of feeling what is here for you to feel and you can let your life be proof of that just reminding yourself of every horrible thing you have survived just to be in your body right now where you are and you are so strong powerful and capable and you will continue to be and you are allowed to give yourself credit for that because it is so easy for us to forget our true strength and how capable we really are of doing all the things that we dream of doing there is some past version of you that is just dreaming to be where you are right now and they're so proud of you and how far you've come and there's some future version of you out there that is giving you so much love and support to move forward and to accomplish all that you want to accomplish in this life so you can just bring some awareness to all the muscles in your stomach and just first noticing how your stomach is feeling right now noticing how the muscles are feeling and if they're really tense and tight and maybe trying to hold yourself together protect yourself or keep yourself in a specific way and seeing if you can welcome in your next inhale to travel into your belly and as you exhale seeing if you can allow these muscles to soften a little bit more so that each gentle breath that your body takes is almost like this hug the muscles of your abdomen against your organs and each inhale that hug gets a little bit tighter maybe even feeling a sense of a heartbeat in your stomach maybe there is a lot of pain here and if that is the case just doing your absolute best to exhale into it to fight those urges to run away and distract from the painful sensations and even if it's just for a split second split second seeing if you can let the pain be here i often find for myself a great source of pain is the resistance i have to it it's the constant voice in my head saying i don't want to feel this way i want to feel anything different like just reminding myself how much i hate how i'm feeling and how i want to feel different and that can bring you into this mental tornado that really doesn't help but if even just for a moment i can exhale and let myself feel everything about what i'm feeling right now pain and all and let go of that extra heavy layer of resistance as i remind myself that absolutely everything in this life is temporary that is the only thing we know to be true is that everything changes especially how we feel and so that can be a great comfort to you to feel what you're feeling a great comfort that even these horrible feelings are temporary and so you are allowed to feel them it is safe for you to feel them because they won't be here forever and we can learn so much about ourselves through the pain that we feel as long as we can feel it rather than drowning it or distracting from it or ignoring it but just having a seat next to it with it and giving yourself that love and support to feel the hard things and even if you're feeling wonderful right now you may be feeling so good that same fact that every single feeling is temporary is also a great permission for you to feel good to fully feel to make the most out of all the good things you're feeling because that is also temporary and you are allowed to soak it all up so that you can shine that light for others who aren't feeling the same and also save up some of that goodness for when you aren't feeling good but you can release any guilt that you may feel for feeling good when you know that others are suffering and rather use that goodness to help those who are suffering trusting that when you are in a more difficult position someone else will come along to shine some light for you we are just like every other thing in nature out there we will move through seasons of growth and expansion and also seasons of death and decay just like any beautiful flower out there you will have times where you bloom and have times where you wilt and there's nothing wrong with the flower when it wilts and moves through that death and decay season it's just simply a part of nature and so there's nothing wrong with you if you aren't feeling good or if you're feeling in the dark or like you're wilting it just means that you it just means that you are a part of nature and you will bloom once again all of us will continue to move through the cycles of life and even the sun even though it is constantly shining just like you your soul is constantly shining even with that some days the sun is totally covered by clouds and you can't even see it you can't even feel the warmth but it is still there and some days you will be totally covered in clouds and rain and storms but you're still there you're resting you're hiding behind the pain maybe but you will emerge in a clear blue sky once again and so you can you are allowed to do anything you need to do to comfort yourself when you are feeling covered in clouds or in the dark in some way you are allowed to comfort yourself through the difficult times they will be over they will be over soon even when it feels like this is how it's always been and how it always will be the one thing we know is that that will never be true because we are always changing and so just allow your pelvic floor now to release a little deeper feeling it lengthen and widen into the seat that is supporting you as you soften the glutes and the legs and feet re-soften the face and just allow yourself to listen to the following words that are written by young pueblo in his book clarity and connection as you just allow anything that feels like it resonates with you to soak in a little deeper and not worrying about the rest letting go does not mean you have given up and it does not mean that you no longer care it just means that you are releasing the attachments of the past that get in the way of your happiness and mental clarity letting go is the unbinding and disentangling of old behavior patterns that pull you into unnecessary mental tension and worry when you can be okay with things not having gone a certain way life begins again making peace with the past opens you up to love and adventure and allows you to apply the lessons you have learned with a new calmness so much of our internal struggle comes from not embracing change tension decreases when we understand that change is happening at every level from the atomic to the biological to the mental a human being is composed of moving parts our identity is no different it is a dynamic phenomena similar to a river flowing moving expanding roaring weaving all the time with power and all the time with potential to change do not limit yourself to a static understanding of who you are release your conditioned boundaries and be free may all of the times that someone has made an incorrect assumption about you activate a new sense of humility and patience in your mind that stops you from doing the same thing to another person in the future so you can just take the next few moments to allow every single word you've heard today to settle if you imagine every single word as a little speck of glitter in a snow globe and you let this be the time where you set the snow globe down and let it all settle let the air clear and just trust that anything at all that you heard today that resonated with you on a deep level trusting that that feeling can sometimes come when we hear on the outside what a part of us of us already knows to be true on the inside and so just allowing those truths to be enhanced within you so that you feel a little bit more confidence to act on your own intuition trusting that you already know exactly what it is you need to do whether that is anything at all and at the end of the day you truly are your own best teacher we can have great ideas sparked from those we interact with in the world but there is nobody out there who will be able to teach you more about yourself your history your future your passions your purpose here than what quiet time with yourself teaches you and if you ever come across someone who tries to convince you that you need them or that they are needed for you to uncover your purpose or your fullest potential you can just let that be a cue for you to turn your attention back inward and never give that power away to anyone else the relationship with yourself is your greatest strength and that is what will build your confidence and help you to create the life of your dreams and know that you can always reclaim this power if you have given it and if you have given it away at any time but nobody will ever know you better than you will know your thoughts your heart your dreams than what you know you're the one spending every single moment of your life with yourself and so you can trust that trust that on a deep level you already know all it is you need to do you already know your purpose and your passions here and you are allowed to trust that knowing that we will all make mistakes along the way and just being so kind and patient with yourself through this long journey that we are all on and so if it feels like something you'd like to do today you can just let your hands come and find each other in a prayer position toward heart center as you just feel that contact of your palms to each other of your fingertips to one another and just let your heart lift toward your thumbs as your thumbs press back toward your heart and just tuning in to this rhythm that is your own heartbeat remembering that this heart is your direct line of connection to the source that all of life comes from whatever you believe that to be you are connected to this source because you are alive and it is that simple and so you can just take a final deep and full breath into the body as you just watch yourself fill up to every corner and edge of you the most you filled up today and as you exhale letting go of anything you're ready to let go of as you allow the head to gently bow and taking this moment to bow to the source of energy that allows all of our hearts to beat whatever you believe that to be and taking a moment to bow to everyone else in this space who has listened and completed this practice right alongside you and finally bowing to yourself for choosing to show up today and for taking the time out of your busy life for this pure act of self-love and self-care may this act continue to heal you through the rest of your days and nights and may you bring the same love and understanding to everything you do and to everyone that you see thank you