14 DAY MEDITATION CHALLENGE
Our Modern Mind membership community challenge for the month
DAY ONE
Welcome to the first day of this challenge, I’m grateful to have you on this journey with me. Today marks the first day of a new you -- someone that takes time to center and prepare for the day ahead. Someone that values pouring inwards so that you can best serve yourself + those around you.
As we move through this challenge we’re inevitably going to face external time challenges + inner resistance. When these times come, it’s important to be reminded of why we began in the first place. In our journal prompts today we’re going to take a moment to reflect on what our intention is for this journey and what we’d like to feel at its completion.
Our internal justification is what will carry us through, but it doesn’t hurt to have something external to motivate us also. Take a moment to think of a reward you could give yourself for making it through the next 14 days (it doesn’t have to be big or expensive, just something that excites you).
When you are finished with your mediation, make sure to message the group on instagram to let us know you’ve completed the day. You are most welcome to share any feelings or thoughts that arise along the way. Part of the beauty of having a community driven by the same desire to improve and grow is the conversations we can share with one another.
No insight is too small or insignificant, you never know who might be feeling the same way.
So with the admin of the challenge out of the way -- Let’s get to it.
THE POWER OF INTENTION:
Simply put, intention is somewhat like the rudder navigating the boat of our lives. Although we might not notice it above water, it plays a crucial role in our destination. Whether we do it consciously or not, it sets us up to either head in a direction we like or be left to the whims of the wind around us.
AFFIRMATION: Today I am reminded of the power I have in creating my life. When I set a clear intention, I invite more direction + clarity into my life. I am reminded that my intentions set the tone for the experience that’s about to unfold.
DAY TWO
As we move through this first week, it may feel unnatural to make time for yourself or this practice. If this is the case — know that it makes this time even more important for you. In a world that values productivity over wellbeing it’s easy to burn ourselves out, holding tension in our body + mind. Left for too long, this accumulated stress + energy exertion can make us physically sick. Taking time now and making it a part of your process not only enables you to be more effective, productive + creative in your work, but preemptively navigates burn out. Oftentimes, when it feels the hardest to make the time for ourselves, the more important it is to do so.
Daily stresses of life and a busy mind can end up leaving our bodies feeling tense and strained. For this reason, today's focus is around our physical bodies + releasing pent up energy.
AFFIRMATION: Today I enter the world new and refreshed, free from the experiences of yesterday and the anticipation of tomorrow. I release any physical tension from what has been or what will be. I am light + free.
DAY THREE
I remember when I first picked up Eckhart Tolles ‘Power Of Now’. I was 21 and relied on my sense of logic and practicality to navigate the world. I couldn’t even make it past the first few pages. The idea of not having to believe all the thoughts that crossed my mind frightened me. It had never crossed my mind that thoughts weren’t necessarily true. A few years later as I built in space, I slowly made room for the idea that maybe my thoughts didn’t sum up the world quite like I thought they did. Maybe you're more than you think — more than you could think.
Learning to create space between us and our thoughts is not an overnight task, but an especially rewarding one. Today's focus is around observing the climate of the mind. We’re not trying to change or replace any thoughts that may be surfacing but just acknowledging them as an observer. Practicing this now -- in your meditation and throughout the day helps this to become reflexive. Suddenly, when we are faced with thoughts that undermine our value or are self-deprecating, we can see them as separate from ourselves. Perhaps there's even enough space to see them separate from the truth -- which is that we are all inherently worthy & lovable.
AFFIRMATION: I am more than my thoughts. I choose to catch and release thoughts that no longer serve me.
DAY FOUR
It’s hard to know where we want to improve or grow without first taking note of how everything stands currently. So far we’ve touched on our intention setting, physical state + the climate of our mind. Today's focus is around our emotional wellbeing, in particular the level of alignment between how we feel and how we act. The similarity, or level of difference between the two can correlate with the general feeling of lightness and joy in our lives. Aligning how we act and how we feel requires a certain level of introspection -- (that is taking the time to check in with ourselves + our bodies), as well as a certain amount of honesty.
Honesty isn’t something reserved for our interactions with others, but also ourselves. It becomes increasingly difficult to be honest with anyone if we aren’t first able to be honest with ourselves. There's been periods of my life where how I feel and how I act were two opposite poles of my internal world. Caught between being honest with myself and trying to please others, I started to feel like I was lost between the two. The line between what I felt and what others felt was starting to blur because I wasn’t taking the time to check in with myself.
Taking time to really check in with ourselves so that we can act honestly, is incredibly important. The more how we act and how we feel correlates -- the more aligned we feel on a day to day basis.
Today’s mediation is focused on taking time to check in with ourselves.
AFFIRMATION: I act in accordance with how I feel. I’ll allow others to adjust to this shift in how I show up in the world. It’s more important for me to be honest, than to please.
DAY FIVE
We’ve already made it to day 5, take a moment today to really acknowledge the fact that you’ve been showing up to this new practice. It takes a lot to build a new habit into our daily routines and every time we sit down to take time, we’re letting ourselves know our wellbeing matters. No single day’s effort is a small feat. In time, it will become reflexive -- it’s ok if it doesn’t just yet. It’s natural for it to feel uncomfortable and new.
Today’s practice is around taking a moment to appreciate and replenish ourselves. Positive reinforcement is crucial in the process of building a new habit. When we genuinely look forward to something, or how it makes us feel -- we’re much less likely to skip or miss it. If we can really tap into the ways our meditation practice is positively affecting our mood or wellbeing, it creates more momentum for us to stick with our practice.
For this reason, today's meditation is around pouring light into ourselves. It’s a beautiful meditation I return to when I’m feeling burnt out or in need of a top me up.
AFFIRMATION: I am light and well. I expect and accept abundant good in my world.
DAY SIX
For each of us, meditation brings a different outcome. Personally, meditating regularly means that I’m able to better weather and navigate situations that would otherwise push me past my limits. When stressful situations arise, I have a deep sense of stillness that I can tap into that helps me to remain calm and find the best solution. The ability to sit and be with our breath calms our nervous system and serves as a great reminder that this space is available to us at all times during the day -- particularly the stressful ones. Without a regular routine or habit, it's easy to forget this resource exists, let alone make use of it.
As we journey through this challenge together, there will be times where sitting to meditate feels like a chore or uncomfortable. Know that this experience is no different to life. As situations arise that pull us out of our comfort zone or test our patience, we need to build the perseverance to continue forward with grace. Our meditative practice is no different and serves as a great training ground for real life situations.
Today’s practice is focused on taking a reset during the day. Take note of how you feel prior + afterwards. Come back to this day whenever you feel stressed or overwhelmed by day to day situations. Meditation is your superpower to walk forward despite growing pains along the way.
AFFIRMATION: I am in control over how I feel and how I show up in the world. Giving myself space and time to turn inwards allows me to be the bring the best of myself to any situation.
DAY SEVEN
Gratitude gives us the opportunity to sit back and really soak in our lives as they are, instead of continuously measuring them to where we’d like them to be. Even a short practice of gratitude, 3 times a week has been scientifically proven to boost mood and serotonin levels. For such a simple practice — it holds enormous value to include in our daily ritual.
We have made it 7 full days, which is a great opportunity to share some gratitude towards yourself for showing up for this practice. If you can, do something kind for someone else to show gratitude for how they’ve supported you in the past. This flow of appreciation and passing on our appreciation creates a positive inward and outward flow in our lives. The more we give appreciation, the more we have to appreciate.
AFFIRMATION: I allow myself to soak in all the good in my life. My life is filled with abundance and delight.