New Beginnings
Calm Point 1: This week is a gentle exploratoin of what it means to come back to your center in a turning world.
Every beginning has two things.
Hello, friend!
Cheers to the new year and welcome to the first Calm Point newsletter. We have been through a lot together in the past year. Collectively, we have experienced isolation, sickness, grief, wavering faith, and uncertainty. The chance to usher in a new year feels refreshingly hopeful. A chance to begin again. A seed. It brings hope, possibilities, and spaciousness. Every beginning has two things: an ending and a seed. It’s a delicate dance, to gently reflect on our past while we nurture new beginnings.
At times, myself included, we can get stuck ruminating or romanticizing the past rather than honoring it for the wisdom it holds and gently moving into something new. Or the opposite, we judge, calculate, and worry about our future missing the gifts of life we’re open to receiving now. Residing too long at either end cuts us off from living in the flow of the fundamental truth that, “Everything comes into being and then dissolves.” Nothing is permanent. Not a new beginning, not an ending, or anything in between. We’re in a constant state of evolution. The present moment is all there truly is.
It got me thinking, to paraphrase poet T.S. Elliot, where then is our calm point in a constantly turning world? This week’s inward reflection + powerful pause guides us to discover what it means to “come back to your center”, to find your own calm point. After all, that is what this show is about, so why not start exactly there.
Love always,
Lauren
Let’s take a pause and drop into the present moment with a gentle guided meditation.
Meditation Tip: Meditation is the practice of taking an active mind through a journey to stillness. Thoughts will arise. Rest assured you are meditating even if the mind feels loud and active. Over time your practice will develop and the journey from an active mind to deeper stillness will become more familiar. We step gently into our meditation practice and remember, we can always begin again.
Play the guided meditation here.
Take a moment to reflect on finding your center. Below are gentle prompts to guide you to gain wisdom and insight into your feelings and thoughts around change. Perhaps it may spark a moment of clarity or creativity to see your world differently. Below is a beginning and remember there’s both an ending and a seed. You get to honor and nurture both.
Some additional prompts to consider…
What is an intention you can set that can anchor you during times of change? (Example, “I surrender. I am safe. I’m open to what’s being revealed to me.”)
What would it feel like to be open and accepting of change?
What wisdom have you gained about yourself from the change endured in 2021?
What can you celebrate about change?
What are the best ways for you to nurture a new beginning?
How can you honor an ending with grace and kindness?
What intentions would you like to have to nourish the seeds of this new year? (A great one to ask post-meditation.)
We end by cultivating well-being with three points. This is my way of sharing bits and pieces of what is floating around my heart these days. I invite you to practice this too. Feel free to share your three points in the comments below or via DM.
Inspiration: I’m deeply inspired by my fellow meditation teachers. This newsletter + podcast living on substack was inspired by meditation guide, Sarah Blondin. Other teachers that are such a source of inspiration right now are Devi Brown, Rishi Chidananda, Daniel Sannito, Rachel Brathen, and my dearest spiritual squad (IYKYK).
Insight: I’ve noticed that within changes I face in my own life, even the hurdles of change to launch this very newsletter + podcast, I am both fierce and vulnerable. I can show up bold, assertive, and fearless. Completely motivated by action. Moving full steam ahead. And there’s equally a part of me that is cautious to open her heart to the world. To share her creativity. I’ve found a lot of solace through change with this affirmation, “Creativity is the creator’s will for me.”
Interest: These two books have captivated my interests the last few weeks: The Artist’s Way and All about Love.
See you next week to explore planting the seeds of kindness, joy, and compassion.
Love it. Love you mostest.