 Welcome to this Mercury Retrograde meditation, we are well and truly into the Mercury Retrograde. What does that mean Julian, I hear you ask, well if you're like me you rush around many places, over rely on technology and like to communicate with people, spreading light and love. You may in this instance be facing some challenges, but does this mean we bury our heads until October 1st? Nah, the answer is a resounding no. It's caught me out over the last seven days, a moment thinking about what's going on, why isn't this working, why do I feel so emotional. Then sit, breathe and then it is, in my face, Mercury Retrograde. But how can we take these moments and make the most of them? Well, there are many views and believe me, over the years I've read them, but there's a guided meditation that we can do, that can help us to breathe our way through Mercury Retrograde. But before we do that, there are five steps that I recommend that you take. First and foremost, number one is just sit. I'm not saying you don't do anything in Retrograde, as the world can't come to another pause, but unless something jumps off the page and says, come on, let's get it on, it may be a time to sit and just breathe, a chance to reflect, maybe recall past experiences, but just be in the moment, be present, don't rush in Mercury Retrograde. And secondly, refine your way. If we aren't running around and diving into things, then now is an excellent time to dust off the old plan, dig out the ideas from yesterday and see if they now make sense. Refining who you are and where you're going at this time can be a very good thing. Maybe not jumping into anything until October 1st, but certainly lining up all your winning ducks. The third one is maximize the minimize. You can apply this motto to lots of parts of your life. I'm pruning many things in my life at the moment, having an amnesty of many aspects of my material belongings. If I haven't used it for six months, then it's going. It's time to become a lot leaner and a lot keener. The fourth one is to be more realistic. We can get frustrated during this period, especially when things are not going right. Set in realistic expectations, making sure our to-do lists aren't too complicated can really help with motivation and productivity. Plus, and this is a big plus, don't throw yourself away if things don't go exactly according to the plan. And the fifth and final one is stay connected. Mercury retrograde affects the throat chakra and causes a lot of communication issues. But remember that we are here for each other and reach out if things are going well. We can reach out when things aren't going as well. Talk to your friends, give your mates or your friend a call, maybe give your family a message, whatever it is, be mindful, reach out, stay connected and don't let Mercury retrograde get you down. We're going to do a meditation now and the meditation is to breathe away some of these anxious energies or those thoughts that can come during retrograde. So if you make sure that you're in a comfortable position, you're not going to be disturbed for the duration of this session. But bring your focus to your breath, close your eyes, and just pay attention to how your lungs expand and contract when you inhale and exhale. Just let your breath flow however it wants to right now. Don't have to change it. It's exactly as it's meant to be right here right now. But just bring your awareness to your jaw, notice your jaw. And if you can feel tension here, we store a lot of tension. I just want you to notice it. Don't try to change anything. But just breathe in to the sensations in your jaw. And as you exhale, allow it to release a little. Then inhale again. Imagine that you're breathing in a new life. And when you exhale, any fear or anxious thoughts completely just fade away. Take another breath in. And when you exhale, just feel yourself letting go of any of those worries. As you exhale, just notice how relaxed you're becoming right now. And then let another breath just come in naturally. But imagine in yourself, seeing yourself in a very bright future, completing being the person that you want to. And as you let that breath go, notice how any fears or depression or anxiety, it just eases and fades. There's a gentle wave of relaxation that sweeps over you as you breathe in and you breathe out. Just allow your breath to flow naturally. Let yourself feel calm and peaceful. And you deserve this wonderful feeling of serenity. Congratulations. Congratulate yourself for being right here. And know that you are open now to receive new thoughts, new ideas, new ways of doing things that you can open up even more with each breath. You can take on board this new and fresh energy moving away from the stagnant mercury retrograde. And just notice how some of these ideas just present themselves to you. They bring up feelings of abundance as if you have so much that your cup pours over for others to enjoy, to enjoy the abundance that you've created. And just sense and feel that you're energised and have a real zest for life. Even if it's not true of the present moment, imagine it being so vividly with as much detail as you can. Just see yourself full of energy and optimism. And if you want, you can imagine it as if you're watching yourself in a movie, on the telly, whatever it is, whatever helps you, but see the colors brightly. Watch yourself full of ambition, taking steps towards your achievement. Stay with your breath and allow your intentions to remain positive. Even if you don't feel positive in this moment, you can imagine what being joyful is like. So breathe into this joy that you're creating. Notice how consciously you're shifting away from those anxious thoughts into this peaceful feeling by following your breath. Breathe deeply and let your exhale completely relax you. And any thoughts that you've previously held, I just wanted to become smaller and smaller in your mind. Watch these negative thoughts maybe diminish little by little as if you're riding away in a car and these negative thoughts are sitting alone on the roadside. So as you drive away, you can see them shrinking into the distance as you ride away with ease. As you see them go, you are freed from their grip. They no longer have the jurisdiction over you. And if you have any more negative thoughts as they rise at the moment, then why not drop them off on the side of the road by any creative means that arises. And when you do that, just drive on right away and just watch them grow smaller and smaller until they consumed by the horizon. And allow yourself a few moments just to simply be. Just notice and feel the changes from this moment right now, the difference between how you felt stuck in the middle of this mercury retrograde before you began this meditation and how your thoughts have found a new home, a new inner being. At this moment, just command yourself to take more steps forward and then commend yourself for making these steps towards a better life and accept this wonderful change to your new life. And even at this point, maybe just take a few moments just to be in gratitude for everything that we have or everything that is coming our way and then return your focus to your breath and in your own time, whenever you're ready, slowly open your eyes, come back into the room, be love and give love. I hope it's out, take care, goodbye.