Unknown Speaker 0:07 [musical interlude] Jessicas Stover 0:09 This recording is an offering of Networks for Training and Development's Online University. Jessica Stover 0:26 Hi, everyone. This is Jessica Stover with Networks for Training and Development. And welcome to our monthly Healing Circle Call. Today is Monday October the seventh. And I have the distinct honor of leading this month, the Healing Circle Call for October and I'd like to read for you a guided meditation that's from the Chopra Center. And it was put together by Tris Thorp. Jessica Stover 0:58 So it's entitled "Letting Go, A Guided Meditation for Fall". Let's begin. Jessica Stover 1:06 Each of the seasons has its own particular energy that represents where nature is in its recurring cycle of birth, transformation and death. Jessica Stover 1:17 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 1:32 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 of winter is synonymous with death. As foliage appears to die, the ground freezes over and the days become darker. Jessica Stover 1:55 However winter is really about hibernation and the incubation of what will be renewed again, with the coming of spring. In actuality, there is no death just along deep sleep as nature's energy changes form. Jessica Stover 2:14 Fall's the season that prepares nature for the pruning process, which will ultimately result in seeds being planted for the next chapter. It's a great time to take inventory of what you need to trim back or tend to differently as you settle inward for the coming months. Jessica Stover 2:37 Imagine for a moment you're about to begin a journey of preparing for a long winter. During this time, you know the days will be shorter, the temperature will be colder, and some of your creature comforts won't be available. Jessica Stover 2:53 What do you want to let go of, what has become too burdensome or unnecessary on your journey? At some point it becomes apparent that you've accumulated far too much baggage. You've been lugging it around for far too long and life feels heavy. It's time to unload. Drop a few thousand dead leaves, and prune a couple hundred branches. Like nature, you need to clear out thick brush and rid yourself of things you've been afraid to let go of. Jessica Stover 3:29 It's time to abandon the rules of society that seek to convince you it's not acceptable to break your truth, to quiet that voice that convinces you to stay uncomfortably comfortable right where you are. Jessica Stover 3:45 Now'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. During the fall season, retreat inward, light a candle and see what cobwebs need clearing. Jessica Stover 4:10 We'll begin the guided meditation now. Jessica Stover 4:15 Find a comfortable seat on your couch, chair, or in your favorite place in nature. Settle into your body by connecting with your breath. Jessica Stover 4:26 Slowly inhaling through your nose, slowly exhaling through your mouth. Jessica Stover 4:34 Take a minute to do that. Jessica Stover 4:42 Notice how your body and mind begin to soften and relax. Jessica Stover 4:48 Visualize a scene from nature during the fall. Jessica Stover 4:52 The reds, browns, darker greens, and yellows with the terrain around you. The cool breeze blowing and the dryness of the brush, branches, and earth. Imagine that your body, breath, emotions, and your mind are an extension of nature. Jessica Stover 5:13 Perhaps you see yourself as a tall oak tree, the mist rising off the lake at dawn, or you're simply basking in the late afternoon sunset, or the golden glow of a harvest moon. Jessica Stover 5:28 Be aware that you're about to embark on an inward journey as you prepare to rest and prepare for the budding of a new you after the winter ice thaws. Jessica Stover 5:40 Dare yourself to dream of the person you would like to be. Jessica Stover 5:45 The activities you want to do. Jessica Stover 5:48 The environment that you thrive in the most. Jessica Stover 5:52 The lifestyle you want to have when you wake up from your deep sleep. Jessica Stover 5:58 Let your imagination run wild and allow yourself to see what you would see, to hear what you would hear, and to feel what you would feel if your dream came true. Jessica Stover 6:14 Next, notice an area in your life where there's some heaviness, a burden or an unnecessary load. Maybe it's physical belongings like an accumulation of furniture, clothing, old trinkets, or stacks of papers. Perhaps your baggage is within the area of your intimate relationship, your career, your health and fitness, or family. Jessica Stover 6:43 Let yourself see where there is an over accumulation of physical stuff, emotional upset, mental challenges, or spiritual disconnect. Jessica Stover 6:55 Next, reconnect with your dream of what your life could look like, feel like, and sound like once you're free of the burdensome weight you've been carrying. Jessica Stover 7:08 What would you be doing then that is different from how you're living now? Jessica Stover 7:15 How would your relationships begin to thrive? Jessica Stover 7:18 How would your energy levels and mental clarity be propelled toward your goals? Jessica Stover 7:25 Create an internal representation, a visual image, feeling or sound of how you, your life and your surroundings could be different. Jessica Stover 7:38 As you bask in your picture of how things could be, ask yourself what qualities you would need to embrace to be 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 7:56 Do you need to have more compassion for yourself for others? Jessica Stover 8:00 Do you need to listen more attentively without the need to fix things or justify your position? Jessica Stover 8:07 Do you need to cultivate more strength so you can set and maintain boundaries? Jessica Stover 8:13 Do you need to be more honest and finding a loving yet direct way to speak your truth? Jessica Stover 8:20 What characteristics would be most beneficial to acquire so that you could begin to take your next steps? Jessica Stover 8:30 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 charge powerfully forward? Jessica Stover 8:46 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 meant to be? Jessica Stover 8:57 Ask your heart for guidance rather than your intellect. Jessica Stover 9:03 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 9:17 When you're ready, take a few slow, deep breaths, and open your eyes. Jessica Stover 9:24 Afterwards after we're done here, maybe take out a journal or notebook and make notes about whatever came up for you during this guided meditation. You can write down how you want to be living your life, what needs to be cleared out or pruned. What qualities or characteristics you need to embrace, what specific actions you need to take, including something you can do today. Then go do that thing today. Jessica Stover 9:55 Tomorrow, do the next thing and so on. Jessica Stover 9:59 This will help you take charge of your life. 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. Jessica Stover 10:21 Whenever you begin a new path, anything you haven't cleared out or brought to completion will follow you into the new path so now's the time to let go of anything you need to leave behind as you begin a new season. Jessica Stover 10:35 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 towards harmony and stainability. It intrinsically knows what it needs to do and simply does it. You can learn a lot by tuning into this process in your own life if you slow down enough and pay close attention. Jessica Stover 11:19 Thank you so much everyone for listening. And be sure to join us next month for the November Healing Circle Call. Again these are held the first Monday of every month at 8pm Eastern time. Take care. Bye bye. Jessica Stover 11:48 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