Intro 0:09 This recording is an offering of Networks for Training and Development's Online University. Jessica Stover 0:24 Hi, everyone, this is Jessica Stover with Networks for Training and Development and welcome to the November edition of our Healing Circle Call. Jessica Stover 0:37 Happy to be with you all this evening and on this chilly chilly November evening. It's not terribly cold here in Central Pennsylvania but it's about 47ยบ, so we've got the house nice and toasty warm. Wearing some layers and cozy socks and some comfy sweaters and here I am sitting in a chair curled up with y'all and having our healing circle call. So this is a nice company to be with. Jessica Stover 1:08 So to get us started, and I know we've said this before, tomorrow's a pretty big day. Tomorrow's election day. We never intended to time these, but they always seem to happen around some pretty significant events, whether we like it or not. And this is no exception. Tomorrow's a big day. It's an important day. And, as I've always been told, no matter how you vote, get out to vote. It matters greatly. Make her voices heard, particularly on the local levels, how we can affect the change that we individually want to see. So with that, I'll get off my soapbox and we're going to dive right in. Jessica Stover 1:53 So I've been thinking a lot about change and Fall and Fall is certainly a time of change, it's a time of shedding. It's a time of maybe for some of us cleaning house, we'll talk about that a little bit more, dusting off those cobwebby corners of our home or maybe our brains and our bodies. Jessica Stover 2:16 So in getting ready for this evening with you all, I found online just kind of popping around here and there and thinking about what to share with you this evening: a really lovely, guided meditation for Fall specifically. It's put together by The Chopra Center, and it was specifically, to give credit, put together by Triss Thorp and it is just fantastic. Jessica Stover 2:43 So I'm going to share some bits and pieces with you during these next few minutes that we're together. But I'd like you to just sit back, get comfortable however that might be for you: sitting in a chair, laying down, curled up with your cozy self with your sweater in your comfy socks. But let's jump right in. Jessica Stover 3:05 So each of the seasons has its own particular energy that represents where nature is, in its recurring cycle of birth, transformation and death. As a being who is closely connected to and directly affected by the rhythms of nature, you can capture and use the energy of the season by moving through your own seasonal process. Jessica Stover 3:29 In the months when summer transitions to fall, nature prepares for the coming changes by shedding what it no longer needs. In many ways, the energy in winter is synonymous with death. As foliage appears to die, the ground freezes over and the days become darker. However, winter's really about hibernation and the incubation of what will be renewed again with the coming of spring. In actuality, there is no death - just a long, deep sleep as nature's energy changes form. Fall's the season that prepares nature for the pruning process, which will ultimately result in seeds being planted for the next chapter. And it's a great time to take inventory of what you need to trim back or tend to differently as you center/settle inward also for the coming months. Jessica Stover 4:27 So imagine for a moment you're about to begin a journey of preparing for a long winter. During this time, you know that the days will be shorter, the temperature will be cooler, and some of your creature comforts may not necessarily be available. Jessica Stover 4:44 What do you want to let go of? What has become too burdensome or unnecessary on your journey? Jessica Stover 4:52 At some point, it becomes apparent that you have accumulated far too much baggage. You've been lugging around for far too long and life feels heavy. It's time to unload. Drop a few thousand dead leaves and prune back a couple hundred branches. Like nature, you need to clear out the thick brush and rid yourselves of the things you've been afraid to let go of. Jessica Stover 5:22 It's time to abandon the rules of society that seek to convince you it's not acceptable to speak your truth. To quiet that voice that convinces you to stay uncomfortably comfortable right where you are. Now it's a good time to shed anything that binds you to your indignant and stubborn ways of sabotaging your dreams. Without pruning, there can be no new growth. Jessica Stover 5:50 So, find that comfortable space again. settle into your body by connecting with your breath. Slowly inhaling through your nose, slowly exhaling through your mouth. Notice how your body and mind begin to soften and relax. Let's do that again together. Slowly inhaling through your nose. Slowly exhaling through your mouth. Jessica Stover 6:23 One more time: slowly inhaling through your nose, slowly exhaling through your mouth. Jessica Stover 6:32 And again, notice how your mind and body begin to soften and relax. And I want you to take some time and visualize a scene from nature during the fall. The reds, the browns, the darker greens and yellow of the train around you. Maybe a cool breeze blowing. The dryness of the brush, the branches on the earth. The smells. Jessica Stover 6:58 Now imagine that your body, your breath, your emotions and your mind are an extension of nature. Perhaps you see yourself as a tall oak tree or a quaking aspen or the lovely tulip poplars that I have in my backyard - they're huge beautiful and huge and interesting. So imagine yourself as your favorite tree. The mist rising off the lake at dawn, or you're basking in the late afternoon sunset, or the golden glow of the harvest moon as your imagine yourself with this as this tree. Be aware that you're about to embark on an inward journey as you prepare to rest and prepare for the budding of the new you after the winter ice thaws. Jessica Stover 7:50 Dare yourself to dream of the person you'd like to be, or the tree you'd like to be, the activities you want to do, the environment you thrive in most, and the lifestyle you want to have when you wake up from your deep sleep. Let your imagination run wild and allow yourself to see what you would see, to hear what you would hear, and to feel you would feel if your dream came true. Take a moment. Jessica Stover 8:27 Now, next notice an area of your life where there might be some heaviness, a burden or an unnecessary load. Maybe it's physical belongings like an accumulation of furniture, clothing, old trinkets, stacks of paper. Perhaps your baggage is in this area of your intimate relationship, your career, your health and fitness or even your family. Let yourself see where there is over accumulation of physical stuff, emotional upset, mental challenges, or spiritual disconnect. Jessica Stover 9:09 Go ahead and reconnect with your dream of what your life would look like, feel like, sound like, once you're free of the burden, some weight you've been carrying. What would you be doing then, which is different from what you're doing or living now? How would your relationships begin to thrive? How would your energy levels and mental clarity be propelling you towards your goals? Jessica Stover 9:33 Create an internal representation - a visual image, feeling, sound, of how you, your life and your surroundings could be different. Jessica Stover 9:44 Take a few moments. Jessica Stover 9:51 As you bask in your picture now of how things could be, ask yourself what qualities you would need to embrace to being the type of person who could powerfully catapult yourself from beneath the weight of what you now carry to the new you that awaits? Jessica Stover 10:10 Do you need to have more compassion towards yourself or others? Do you need to listen more attentively without the need to fix things or justify your position? Do you need to cultivate more strength so you can set maintain boundaries? Do you need to be more honest and find a loving yet direct way to speak your truth? What characteristics would be most beneficial to acquire so that you can begin to take your next steps? Jessica Stover 10:42 Now, envisioning the traits or characteristics that are empowering you to create change, ask yourself "what action steps do I need to take to feel inspired and motivated to change powerfully forward? What emotions, beliefs or behaviors do I need to let go of so that I can stop being a victim and become the person I'm meant to be?" Jessica Stover 11:08 Ask your heart for guidance rather than your intellect. And allow yourself to hear what practice you need to cultivate or what action you need to take to prune your inner outer world to clear a path for your next journey. Jessica Stover 11:27 So when you're ready, take a few slow, deep breaths and open your eyes. Think now about how you want to be living your life. What needs to be cleaned out or pruned? Cobwebs that may need to be dusted away? Jessica Stover 11:49 What qualities or characteristics you need to embrace and what specific action steps you need to take including something you can do today, in this very moment, even? Go do that thing. Jessica Stover 12:06 Tomorrow do the next thing. The day after that, do that next thing. Do something. You get the idea. This is gonna help you take more charge of your life, a lot of us feel like "I'm in charge. I got it. I'm good." But this reflection may help us see that maybe there's things I'm not doing that I should be doing. Maybe I'm not doing as much self care as I need to do. Maybe I need to be pruning some things back and shedding some of those leaves. It's a process of letting go of anything that isn't you - toxic relationships, limiting beliefs, obstacles that prevent you from living your dream. It allows you to take responsibility for every choice you make and every action you take or don't take. Whenever you begin a new path, anything you've haven't cleared out or brought to completion is going to follow you to the new path. So now's the time to let go of anything you need to leave behind as you begin the new season. Approach the fall with anticipation, preparation and excitement. Observe its energy and watch as it cyclically moves through its phases transitioning from one moment to the next, sometimes intensely, and sometimes gently. Nature moves slowly and deliberately toward harmony and sustainability. intrinsically, it knows what it needs to do and simply does it. You can learn a lot about tuning into this process in your life and all of our lives. If you slow down enough, and pay close attention and as we like to say: notice what you notice. Jessica Stover 13:59 So with that, thank you, blessings, great appreciation and deep gratitude for sitting with me this evening for this November edition of our healing circle call. Be sure to join in next month. Our next call is on December the third at 8PM EST. Take care so much and hope to be with you again soon. Outro 14:38 Thank you for listening. We hope the information provided was helpful. Don't forget to stop by our website and take advantage of all we have to offer. Transcribed by https://otter.ai