A warm welcome to this seven-day meditation and journaling experience,
Designed to help you create,
Maintain or deepen your meditation and journaling practice,
Even amidst your busy and unpredictable life.
My name is Fleur Chambers and I'm so pleased to spend this time with you.
This practice includes 10 minutes of guided meditation and then 10 minutes of guided journaling.
A perfect combination to help you explore your relationship with compassion.
Where you would like to experience more of it,
And what gets in the way.
So in your own time.
Closing down your eyes.
And allowing your awareness to rest on your breath.
No need to change or alter your breath in any way.
Simply noticing with curiosity what it feels like to breathe in.
What it feels like to breathe out.
Perhaps you'll notice that through the simple act of awareness,
Your breath intuitively shifts.
Feeling smoother.
Fuller.
Deeper.
As you rest here.
Just being honest with yourself as you inquire.
How has my nervous system been feeling lately?
Has it felt revved up?
ON EDGE.
Tired?
Wild.
Has it felt relaxed?
Balanced.
At ease.
Learning how to engage the rest and digest response and to soothe our nervous system is an act of both rebellion and compassion.
In our busy,
Productivity-driven world,
Not only does this more balanced state allow us to feel more calm and at ease,
It also expands our minds and hearts.
Allowing us to experience greater compassion for ourselves,
Others and the world in which we live.
So together,
Let's soften our bodies and our nervous systems with compassionate awareness.
Beginning with the area above your eyes.
The place we store so much mental busyness.
Our to-do list and our responsibilities.
This place above our eyes.
Filled with thoughts pulling us in all different directions.
Here in this moment,
Really softening the space above your eyes.
Softening also the muscles in and around your eyes.
Can you soften your eyelashes?
Can this be an act of compassion?
Softening the small muscles within your cheeks.
These muscles that contract and engage all day as you talk.
Express yourself.
Love.
As you try so hard to project a certain image out into the world.
Here in this moment,
It's safe to soften your cheeks.
And noticing how this naturally encourages a change within your jaw.
Really allowing this sense of softening to spread throughout your entire mouth.
Tongue soft.
Teeth soft.
Gums softening too.
Entire face at ease.
No need to look a certain way.
To project a certain image.
Here it's safe to take off your mask and to rest your face.
This sense of ease moving down the back of your neck.
Relaxation landing on your shoulders.
Letting go of the responsibilities and burdens of the last few days.
The pressure to be perfect,
To be everything to everyone.
As you invite your shoulders to melt down your back,
Imagining a block of ice melting in the warm sun.
Deep breath in.
Long,
Smooth exhale.
Entire chest softening.
Heart naturally open.
Feeling a sense of compassion meets your heart.
Like warm rays of sun.
Deep,
Compassionate breath in.
Long,
Smooth exhale.
This warmth arriving at your stomach.
Letting go of the worries of the last few days.
Letting go of any feelings of not being good enough.
Hips and pelvis heavy.
Feeling safe in the support of the Earth below.
Legs heavy all the way to your feet and 10 toes.
Arms relaxed,
All the way to your 10 fingertips.
Becoming aware of your entire body now.
Body alive yet soft.
Warmed by golden rays of sun.
Allowing this moment to feel like an act of compassion.
Deepening your breath.
Taking a moment to come back into the space you are in.
And rubbing your hands together.
Feeling the friction,
The energy building within your hands.
And now let's spend 10 minutes together responding to three journaling prompts.
I will ask you a question and you might like to write it down on the top of your page and then begin to write.
After a few minutes I will ask you another question and we will continue in this way for 10 minutes.
My questions are just a guide,
And as always,
Please follow your own intuition and creativity,
And the direction of your own writing.
And of course,
Journaling isn't about writing perfectly.
It's more of a stream of consciousness where you allow the act of writing to unearth new information and to help you see things with greater clarity.
So beginning now with writing prompt one.
How does your nervous system speak to you?
What signs does it give you that it is stressed or overstimulated?
What signs does it give you when it's relaxed and at ease?
Moving on to writing prompt two.
At what times of day or in what specific circumstances does your nervous system feel revved up?
Wired or overstimulated.
Note,
Your nervous system may speak to you in physical sensations,
Thoughts or emotions.
And the final writing prompt is.
.
.
Take two of the responses from the previous writing prompt and write about how you could intentionally soothe your nervous system in these moments.
The more specific,
The more detailed,
The better.
Finishing up now and taking a few deep breaths.
Allowing everything you have felt and discovered to land within your body,
Mind and heart.
Great work.
May you take this feeling of ease with you today and may you remember that taking the time to understand and soothe your nervous system is an act of rebellion and compassion.
I look forward to connecting with you again tomorrow.
