Welcome to this meditation on intentions.
Settle your body into an upright and dignified sitting posture,
One that naturally invites you into a place of calm but also alertness,
Wakefulness.
The back is straight but not stiff.
Shoulders relax away from your ears,
Releasing tension from the neck and letting the crown of your head almost float upwards.
Let the muscles of your face soften as the brow becomes smooth and all the little muscles of your eyes let go while the cheeks grow slack.
Your arms can rest downward with soft and tension-free hands cradled in your lap.
Take a few full and deep breaths here.
Experience the fullness of the breath on your inhale and feel the letting go,
The sense of release on your exhale,
Drawing the air in and releasing the air out.
Notice how the breath becomes a friend,
A home base,
Your presence just riding the wave of your breath,
Inviting you fully into the here and now.
Your mind remains anchored to this breath,
Breathing in and breathing out this breath,
This moment,
Right here,
Right now.
You can acknowledge any thoughts you're experiencing and then imagine that you could place them into the palms of your hands,
Both hands gently cupping your worries,
Fears,
Plans,
And to-dos.
Imagine yourself looking down at these thoughts and honor with gratitude that they represent your mind's capability to process the world and to help protect you.
Now visualize yourself placing these thoughts into a beautiful basket that sits next to you,
A basket where your thoughts can be safely contained for the next little while.
This clearing of the mind helping to create space for your true intentions to be able to reveal themselves.
Now let's begin to explore the idea of intention within this very moment.
As you take in your next breath,
Ask yourself,
What is my intention for sitting and listening to this meditation?
Right now,
What drew me to this space,
To this practice,
To this moment?
Allow these answers to arise naturally within your consciousness.
There's no need to go seeking out for them.
Now let your fields of awareness expand.
As you inquire of your mind,
What is my intention for my meditation and mindfulness practice in general?
Explore why you have chosen to integrate this practice into this season of your life.
The beauty of intentions is that they grow from the heart,
From within each of us.
They reflect an inner truth and an inner wisdom,
Rather than external pressures and influences.
Within the sacred silence of our meditation practice,
We can create the space needed for deep listening,
The kind of listening that awakens our truest intentions for how we may show up in the world.
Intentions may take many different shapes and feelings.
They can be set for a single moment in time,
Or for an entire lifetime,
But they often change and adapt as we change and adapt,
And they do not set their sights on a future outcome or end point.
Instead,
They serve as an agreement we make with ourselves to call our attention to how we're being in the present moment,
Time and time again.
Intention exists inherently in the now.
In this time of year,
We may feel called to experience the power of aligning intention with new beginnings,
And so as we arrive into the start of a new year,
A new month,
Exploring the practice of intention can bring us groundedness and guidance.
To help allow intentions arise naturally,
Without seeking,
I invite you to look to the past.
You can begin to replay your recent past,
Perhaps the last year of your life,
Seeing it like a movie as you go through each week or month of your unique human experience.
You may like to recall those most memorable and impactful moments,
The joy and the light,
As well as the challenges and the dark,
Knowing that each of us experiences all of it.
As you play back your experience,
Feel how you felt at the time.
Sense the sights,
Sounds,
Smells,
And the emotional tone of each moment.
Allow that to blossom within your heart and your mind briefly before you move on to the next milestone in this movie of your life.
As you reflect upon your life over the last 12 months,
You'll discover the wisdom that you need to set intentions that support your highest good and your truest self.
Go deeper in your exploration by reflecting on the following questions one by one.
Ask yourself,
What was the biggest surprise this year?
What was my wisest decision?
What did I discover about myself?
In which moments did I feel most at ease?
And finally,
Ask yourself,
What lessons did these weeks or months teach me?
Take a few more moments to contemplate the lessons you have been gifted through the experiences of the past year.
Allow these insights to guide you to your intention.
Listen to your heart and find what really matters to you in this season of your life.
Holding your intention in your mind and your heart,
Begin to breathe a little more deeply.
Taking a full breath in,
Feel the inflation in the torso and then let the air go and feel the sense of release.
Imagine yourself releasing anything which doesn't honor and support your intention.
On your next inhale,
Imagine your intention attaching to the breath so that it can reach every single part of your body.
This intention melting into each cell,
Becoming part of the very DNA that makes you who you are.
Intention and energy becoming one,
Existing in sync as you breathe here,
Inhaling and exhaling peacefully.
Give your mind permission now to release any thought processes related to your intention.
Let the awareness naturally arrive back to your breath,
Knowing that intention remains flowing within your body,
Gently breathing in and breathing out this moment and this breath.
I invite you to place your palms over your heart space.
Feel the pulsing of your heart,
The energy within your body,
And the sense of calm and clarity that you've cultivated through this practice.
When you're ready,
You can allow your eyes to open,
Returning to your surroundings and beginning to set yourself forth on the path that is guided by your intentions.
I'm wishing you a beautiful and peaceful new year.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
