Pack up all your troubles because today is moving day!
It’s time to move from your current state of being to the one you’ve been hoping for, and maybe even dreaming about. Maybe you’re wallowing around in the wasted space of lethargy. Maybe you’re enduring the massive burden of overwhelm trying to balance the demands at work and at home. Or maybe you’re stuck in the gripping fear of moving into the challenging and uncomfortable space of that new business venture you’ve been contemplating for months.
Whatever your worry, trouble, fear, or apprehension, today is the day you rid yourself of those unhelpful, limiting, even debilitating thoughts and feelings.
I know you’re probably saying, “Ok, Mr. Shortcut Man, how are you going to help me get rid of all that heavy baggage I’ve been carrying around?”
Easy, we are going to pack it all up and move it all out.
I say “easy”, but it’s not really that easy. It takes a little bit of time, a little bit of effort, and a fair amount of discipline. But with timely intervention and concentrated focus, you can make these all-consuming, burdensome thoughts into productive, motivating calls to action.
Are you ready to unlock the shortcut? Let’s get started!
Today’s shortcut involves visualization mixed with meditation.
Sounds like fun, right? Well, if you’re not into these two activities, understand that their absence in your life might just be the reason you’re stuck where you are right now, so let’s give them a try for just five minutes and see what happens. And thank you for trusting me on this one.
Remember I said this was moving day? Well, first, we are going to need some boxes. And some of us are going to need a lot of boxes.
During our meditation, we’re going to do a special breathing technique. We are going to do a 4-second inhale, a 2-second hold, then a 7-second exhale. And then we’ll repeat. Do this intentionally the first four breaths and try to keep this cadence throughout the meditation process.
This type of breathing does two things for you. One, it allows you enough time to visualize your actions of picking up and removing the boxes, and then enjoying the space you’ve created. And two, the longer exhale stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system causing it to release calming hormones and help to lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
So, if you’re ready, let’s get to that intentional breathing with visualization.
Make sure you’re in a safe place with a comfortable seat. Even sitting in your car is ok, but not while driving. You’re going to have your eyes closed so make sure you get to a safe spot in a parking lot, driveway, or garage. Once you’ve gotten yourself situated, take a few deep breaths to settle into your space.
Gently close your eyes and begin your 4-2-7 breathing pattern. Four seconds in, two second hold, and then seven seconds out.
Once you have a nice even cadence going, we’re going to introduce some phrases to accompany your breathing.
On each inhale begin to say the phrase, “Breathing in, I clear some space.” And on each exhale, begin to say the phrase, “Breathing out, I love this place.”
What we are doing here is generating an expansive space that is calm, clear-headed, and uncluttered. You’re creating a place you want to enjoy and visit more often.
Keep your breathing steady and keep your mantra flowing. “Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
As you continue, realize that your mind will invariably wander. That’s ok. It’s just the mind being the mind. It’s always looking for something to do, something to solve, something the pay attention to.
So when you mind wanders, bring it back to the breath and your mantra.
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
Now sometimes, your mind is going to land on one of those thoughts or feelings that is holding you back or keeping you down. Or it’s one of those thoughts of burdensome overwhelm.
When one of those thoughts comes up, visualize putting that thought or feeling into one of those boxes. Remember the boxes?
And next time you inhale, pick up that box and walk it out of your space.
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
Every time your mind wanders and grabs onto a thought you want to get rid of, pack it up and move it out.
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
As you see your space become more and more cleared out, take a moment to look around and see how calming it feels to not have all those boxes crowding you. Feel how open and liberating it is to see more clearly, feel less heavy, generating more positive energy.
“Breathing in, I clear some space. Breathing out, I love this place.”
When you’re ready, gently open your eyes and smile. And wave as the moving truck takes all those unwanted things far, far away from you and your new clear-headed space.
Feel good about the work you’ve just accomplished moving out those thoughts, feelings, and emotions that were taking up residence, preventing you from being your true self, your better self, your whole self.
You’ve just unlocked the shortcut to reduced stress reaction, lowered heart rate and blood pressure, and a more positive mindset to forge a path forward.
So, how will you find time to do this visualization and mediation exercise? How will you pack up all your trouble and walk them out the door? And how will you use this new uncluttered, clearheadedness to create a plan to move forward?
Your Mindful Moment:
Life presents obstacles, limitations, challenges, and complexity. You don’t have to bring your own version of those to the table. And if you sometimes do, you can always pack them up and move them out. Because any day can be moving day!
Tweet