When I saw a suggestion that we “send love ahead” to our day, it caught my attention. (It was in Daily Om, a mailing which I really enjoy. Check it out!)
Send love ahead. What might that mean, I wondered? Now, I have various rituals I choose among as I drift off to sleep: a metta (loving kindness) practice; a calming, opening practice to put me in touch with spacious ease and well-being. On the other end of sleep, waking in the morning, I often remember what Rick Hansen suggests: reminding ourselves that we are safe and cared for and nourished, (which calms the three parts of our brain, reptilian, mammalian and the logical pre-frontal cortex). I also try to sense myself, be present to the moment, soemetimes include some energy practices.
But send love ahead to your day? That sounded radical! I’ve been paying attention to bringing more love, less judgment into my life, so it really resonated. It reminded me of a powerful NLP technique called future pacing. I love NLP I love the possibilities for breaking our standard circuits; for creating, shifting, opening, and disrupting traditional habitual patterns. Sometimes quite quickly! 🙂
What’s with “Send love ahead”?! Here’s the gist: each morning as we cast off our sleepiness, find a place of ease and well-being, relaxation and OKness. Visualize, experience being permeated and surrounded with loving light. Then create a picture of the day ahead, and feel into what this love and light and warmth will bring to your day ahead. What a wonderful way to future pace! to gently, softly invite and invoke love in our present lives, our present and immediate future. So easy! So nourishing! Such a gift!
Here’s another gift, at this season of giving: the subtitle of the message is: Remember to stop and catch the miracles! Now that could be essay all its own! For now, as we send love ahead in our day, let’s also visualize taking time, directing our attention, widening our circle of light… to notice and take care and appreciate and savor the many “miracles“… a warm smile, a perfect parking spot, a lovely conversation with a friend, some good news on the radio, a message from a friend or a grandchild!
Send love ahead to your day, and remember to stop and catch the miracles! Thank you, Madison Taylor! I’d love to hear how this lands with you, this busy holiday season.
In conclusion, here is one of my favorite tag lines, by Arthur Rubinstein:
“To be alive, to be able to see, to walk, to have houses, music, paintings — It’s all a miracle. I have adopted the technique of living life from miracle to miracle.”
Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity. BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, and growth. Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume. Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook
