👁 INTENTION
Today, let's free ourselves from any stressors of the past or anxiety for the future by taking today one powerful moment at a time.
💬 QUOTE
“There is only one time that is important – NOW! It is the most important time because it is the only time that we have any power.”
– Leo Tolstoy
🪄 AFFIRMATION
I am present because only this moment holds the opportunity for powerful life-changing action. I will not allow my past fears and failures to limit the potential of who I could become today. As I live today moment by moment, I free myself from any stressors of the past and anxiety for the future.
📜 POEM
In this moment, let us be free
from worries of past and what’s yet to be.
In this journey of presence, magic unfolds
to support my heart in being open and bold.
For in this moment, we hold the key
to live life fully, wild and free.
With every breath, we renew this vow
and embrace what is with a reverent bow.
🧘 MEDITATION
Instead of being distracted by our external surroundings, Gia shows us how to use sound, sensation, and other external stimuli to keep our focus centered in the present moment.
📿 MANTRA
Life is now.
जीवनम् अधुना अस्ति।
🦁 MICRO ACT OF BRAVERY
Today, take a moment in public to count five slow breaths in a row.
It’s not as easy as you may think. So here’s a short one-minute exercise to help you commit to those five long, deep breaths.
Take a minute and try it now:
Breathing in through the nose,
Breathing out through the mouth.
Breathing in feeling the lungs expanding,
Breathing out feeling a sense of letting go.
Breathing in to feel the body getting fuller,
Breathing out to feel the release of any tension.
Breathing in feeling alive and awake,
Breathing out feeling muscles relaxing.
Breathing in that sense of fullness,
Breathing out that unnecessary tension in the body and mind.
🧸 REFLECTION
Living in the past or future can quickly lead to suffering while staying present can cultivate peace and happiness.
Meditation can help train the mind to stay present, and using distracting sounds as cues to stay aware of each moment can be a simple and effective technique. With practice, staying present can lead to greater alertness and empathy in daily life.
Some spiritual philosophers say that suffering exists because of the awareness of time. If we had no concept of the past or future and we only had this very moment to experience, life would be a lot simpler.
We wouldn’t over-analyze the past. We wouldn’t dread the future. We wouldn’t operate from fear based on past failures. We wouldn’t sabotage the future with worry and doubt.
While the concept of time gives us opportunities to learn from past mistakes and experiences while setting liberating goals for the future, it’s important to keep bringing all of that awareness back into the here-and-now. What good is all your planning and personal growth if you don’t let it inspire the present moment?
The present moment is where we can take inspired action, where we can actually create change and LIVE LIFE!
If you’ve ever felt like life was just passing you by, then you understand the power of the present moment. Time seems to disappear when we are fully present. We can relax and enjoy the moment, and often times there is just enough time to finish a task or activity when we are truly present.
There are no regrets when you are present because you have fully embraced every experience, every lesson, and every moment.
When you’re living in the present moment, you’ll find yourself to be a more peaceful and happy person. You’ll be a better partner, friend, and parent because you can give yourself completely to the people you love, rather than being distracted by the thoughts in your mind.
Meditation is very helpful for developing a practice of staying present because meditation is all about being in the moment. Meditation helps train the mind to ignore distractions, maintain focus, and let go of thoughts.
In today's meditation, we experienced a meditation technique that can easily be applied to your everyday life so that staying present is simple and effective. In this technique, we use the distracting sounds around you as little cues to keep you aware of each moment. Instead of ignoring these distractions, we’ll be observing them without attachment, just witnessing life happening all around. The key here is to stay detached from sensory observations. Keep the present in mind by noticing the stimulus and letting it go immediately so you can observe the next stimulus. This continues on endlessly. You’ll try not to judge or start a commentary on anything you notice, but just observe it and let it go.
Once you have practiced this technique for a while, you’ll notice yourself becoming more alert and observant in your daily life. While driving in the car, you might avoid an accident because you heard tires screeching long before you saw brake lights ahead of you. While chatting with a loved one, you might experience a deeper level of communication and empathy by noticing nonverbal signs and body language.
📓 JOURNAL PROMPT
Recall a past moment that left you feeling powerless or afraid.
If a similar moment were to occur, what understanding do you now have to navigate through it more courageously?
🙌 KUDOS
Nice work! You've just completed Day 4 of 30 Days of Bravery 💪🦁 Can you feel those brave muscles growing a bit more?
Take a moment to share some key takeaways from today's session with the community in the comments below!
✨ 👭 ✨
We journey better when we journey together.
I grown to understand that there is a solution to almost every situation, and a network of people to help me through. Calming breaths and taking a moment helps bring clarity to the mind, I ask myself “is anyone seriously injured or dying?”. this brings perspective to the situation for me and then I can evaluate what the root of what the problem is and the steps to take to correct it. it takes practice to remove emotion when feeling powerless or afraid
I felt powerless in my addiction to spending money. I would spend and spend until the point of financial crisis. People left me because of it. I am now aware of it , I have acknowledged it. I have the ability to pause in the moment. And think about what I’m doing
There were many moments when I felt powerless or afraid. Not only that but I was guilty about it too. When I tried to tell someone (as this had happened at my school and claimed they were quite serious about bullying and especially physical and mental abuse), they just wavered it off saying that it ‘wasn’t serious enough,’ when this was the most severe case that my school ever needed to deal with. Even in many recent moments, I had friends who turned on me, at one point no one understood what I was going through and most people didn’t want to.
I have had many triggers from those events and the aftermath was destructive! I have been treated like I am just a tool that they can exploit and think that if they hurt me, I wouldn’t mind just because I couldn’t say anything.
If I were to ever be in that situation again, I would know that I didn’t necessarily need to speak up to stand up to myself. The school that I am in now actually takes these events seriously. I couldn’t just ignore the whole thing and pretend it didn’t happen because, at one point, I would think of it again and be severely affected by this.
I understand that maybe some people are doing this to me because they are trying to deal with this trauma themselves (in the worst way possible). I know that sometimes not standing up for myself in the situation isn’t necessarily cowardice. If there are people that are not willing to deal with this problem, then I would have to do something about it myself, because, in the end, I am the only person that can allow people to hurt me or get words or physical wounds to attack myself in such a way.
There were many moments when I felt powerless or afraid. Not only that but I was guilty about it too. When I tried to tell someone (as this had happened at my school and apparently they were quite serious about bullying and especially physical and mental abuse), they just wavered it off saying that apparently it ‘wasn’t serious enough.’ Even in many recent moments, I had friends who turned on me, at one point no one understood what I was going through and most people didn’t want to.
I have had many triggers from those events and the aftermath was destructive! I have been treated like I am just a tool that they can exploit and think that if they hurt me, I wouldn’t mind just because I couldn’t sa anything.
If I were to ever be in that situation again, I would know that I didn’t necessarily need to speak up to stand up to myself. The school that I am in now actually takes these events seriously. I couldn’t just ignore the whole thing and pretend it didn’t happen because at one point, I would think of it again and be seriously affected by this.
I understand that maybe some people are doing this to me because they are trying to deal with this trauma themselves (in the worst way possible). I know that sometimes not standing up for myself in the situation isn’t necessarily cowardice. If there are people that are not willing to deal with this problem, then I would have to do something about it myself, because in the end, I am the only person that can allow people to hurt me or get words or physical wounds to attack myself in such a way.
Trust my inner guide and visualise myself walking in a chain of women – my Nanny in front of me and my daughter behind – feel my responsibility to them and their words of inspiration. Trust.
Everytime my abusive ex fiance left me I felt nothing would solve my problem except to get him back. Now I know that the most important thing that I have learned is that I am me and not his fiance, that him leaving was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I would have stood in my truth and told an old boss of mine how condescending she was and how hurtful her actions were and made her respond rather than sending an email that said very little other than “I quit”
When my ex-husband told me I was too stupid, fat, and ugly to ever be loved by anyone else. After some time, I was brave enough to leave him and start over! It took a long time to not believe I was any of those things! If something happened like that again I would without hesitation fight back and rid myself of that person from my life! I know I am better than that and deserve to only have people who love me in my life!
Being ridiculed by my former boss. Being made fun of and degrated in front of co workers and clients. I would ask her directly if she felt her comments were uplifting and nessesary. I would not get panicky and freak out and be silenced from fear of losing my job. I left the job, but I left with feelings of inadequacy because I did not speak my truth.
Still a work in progress, but I now (I hope) have the courage to stand up for myself and not let people walk all over me