Hello,
I'm Sam,
And this is a life cycle body and mind check in meditation designed to encapsulate the entirety of your life and how it affects you in the present.
Often times we experience stress,
Anxiety,
Sadness,
And anger in our daily lives.
We are typically woefully out of touch with why we feel these things.
We are constantly bombarded with sensory data,
Social responsibilities and etiquettes,
And general tasks related to our continued survival.
We have been doing this since we first started breathing,
Whether we are aware of it or not,
And we will continue to do so until our last breath.
What gets lost in our common endeavors is a basic check in with all of the parts that make us,
Us.
We have not always been the way we are now.
We have been through different stages of life that have shaped us and molded us and put us in our current position.
We were effectively different people then.
You might say we had different wants and needs.
This exercise is designed to figure that out and hopefully to unify all of our hopes,
Needs,
And desires into one manageable direction.
If at any time this exercise makes you too uncomfortable,
Just focus on your breathing and try to re-engage in the next step.
The first thing to do is to breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth.
Breathe in deeply through your nose,
Letting your belly push gently outwards and out through your mouth.
In through the nose,
Belly outward,
Out through the mouth.
I want you to keep this up for as long as you can remember.
We're going to start by doing a quick body scan.
This scan isn't much like the norm,
However.
I want you to try and identify how you feel right now.
This can be very difficult for some,
So don't be hard on yourself.
Just try and identify with how your heart and mind feel in the present.
You don't necessarily have to put these emotions into words.
Often times they are just echoes and memories that trigger something in your mind,
But then trigger something in your physiology.
Whatever it is for you,
Just be aware of it.
Try to feel it as much as you are able,
As long as you are safe doing so.
Be present,
Be alive,
And sit with your emotions.
I want you to picture yourself as a small child,
Older than seven years old.
Picture that little you,
Either sitting next to you,
Playing on the ground,
However you can best see you as a child.
Either out loud or in your mind,
Ask this child how they are doing right now.
Ask them what they might need today.
Ask them anything really,
Whatever comes to mind.
Don't try to parent or create a dialogue,
But ask them how you can help them if they need the help.
Next,
I want you to picture yourself as a teenager,
Older than sixteen.
See yourself sitting or lounging or pouting or sinking.
Maybe that was just me,
But see yourself as best you can at that age.
Just like before,
Ask yourself what might be wrong right now.
Ask yourself what is right,
What is good,
What might be challenging.
This might be a long conversation,
And that's okay.
Try and listen as best you can.
When the teenage version of you is done,
Ask them how you can help them,
If they will accept your help.
Now I want you to imagine yourself as a young adult,
No older than twenty-one.
Some of you might be younger than this,
So just picture yourself as you currently are.
This is the time to be the gentlest,
As this version of you might be the most resistant to this conversation.
See the young adult version of you sitting or standing next to you.
Ask them how they are doing,
How they are progressing,
Whether they are satisfied with their direction right now.
Ask them how you might be able to help them.
These versions of you all share one thing in common.
Regardless of their answers,
None of them exist anymore.
You have turned into you.
The answers that they have given you come from you right now.
Those are your needs,
Your desires,
Your challenges,
All packaged in the guise of things that you have struggled with or not struggled with previously.
We are so keen on acting as adults throughout our lives that we forget that the needs and desires that were born in us as children and young adults have never got away.
Most often we have simply forgotten about them.
Now I want you to check in with your body.
Don't do a full sweep.
Go right to where you notice any pain,
Ache,
Tension,
Or stress.
This is where your body responds to your wants and needs.
For example,
A tension headache is the result of stress.
We can look at that stress as the result of a busy,
Needful life.
Or we can look at the root cause.
What needs am I trying to provide for?
Perhaps more importantly,
Which needs am I forgetting to provide for?
So think about all of those things that you are experiencing right now.
Think of what the youngest version of you has told you.
Think of what your teenager has told you.
Think of what your young adult or current self has told you.
Identify exactly what it is that you need right now.
What exactly do all of the versions of you,
Combined,
Need to feel better in this exact moment?
I will leave you to your meditation with one last thought.
The music will continue for a bit.
With all of these wants and needs in mind,
What are the obstacles to you getting what you need?
