Kirsty Gallagher: A meditation for connection and purpose

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2:08Hello and welcome to Happy Place. I'm Fern Cotton and today I want to ask you how often you honour your emotions and really ask yourself, how are you in this moment? I know I don't do that anywhere near enough. Kirstie Gallagher is a spiritual coach, yoga teacher and meditation teacher and today she's going to be guiding you through a meditation that properly helps you connect to you, to get beneath all the noise and the chaos of the outside world and make your connection to the wisdom inside yourself even deeper because it is there, I promise. Sometimes we just need little moments like these to make point of finding it.

2:53Kirstie has a load of these brilliant meditations on the Happy Place app. I absolutely adore Kirstie's meditations. They're really gentle, they're really thoughtful, they're really inventive and they allow you to properly switch off. When you get into the rhythm of listening to Kirstie's gorgeous voice you start to notice that your brain isn't so scatty, there aren't millions of thoughts dashing in and dashing out. You really just let go and find yourself guided by what she's saying. You don't have to be a pro-meditator to do this if you're a first-timer. Oh my god, welcome, brilliant, enjoy, it's just a joy.

3:37Go for it. So get yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable. We'll do this 10-minute meditation together very shortly. While you're sorting yourself out, putting your comfy clothes on and chucking the cats out of the room, that's what I have to do, sorry Simon and Frank, you can listen to one of the chapters from Kirsty's new book. It's called The Goddess Path and I'm very proud to say Happy Place Books has published it. What an amazing thing. This book is a really powerful, personal, deep dive that will help you reclaim your self-worth, establish boundaries. you know we love that one and cultivate your intuition all right i'll leave you to it and we'll catch up on the other side when we're all lovely and relaxed

4:46To know yourself is to know your purpose. Chapter 12. Reclaim your purpose. We continue along the goddess path now towards reclaiming your purpose. Discovering your purpose helps give you a sense of direction and meaning in life and a reason for why you do what you do. It becomes a motivating force and helps you to feel like you are contributing to the world in a meaningful way, which is something that we all ultimately want to feel. Living a life of purpose is essential to well-being and is one of the most soulful and heart-led ways to live. I also believe that finding and living your purpose is part of why you exist.

5:39It's part of why you're here, and you and your purpose is needed in the world. We've likely all questioned our purpose at times, and even whether we have one. Perhaps we believe that if we could only find our purpose, we'd be happy, fulfilled, able to be who we want to be, or fill in the gap with what you tell yourself. How to find purpose is one of the things I'm asked about the most. We often think of purpose as some elusive thing outside us that we're constantly searching for, yet it always feels just out of reach and we never seem to find it, leaving us feeling lost, empty and directionless.

6:23We tend to look to the outside world to give our lives purpose and meaning, and in doing so, lose ourselves even more. or we think our purpose must be this big life-changing thing that means we need to give everything up, quit our jobs and run off to India to be a yoga teacher and although for some people that calling may be true, hello me, that's not the same for everyone. We also often fall into the trap of thinking that our purpose must be our job and in many instances that may be true but not necessarily. The likelihood is that the more you begin to realise, know and trust your purpose, the more you will feel naturally called to share that with the world.

7:09But your job is equally allowed to simply be a job, a place you go to work and earn money and your purpose can live outside that. You can find a purpose, a calling, without receiving a paycheck for it by contributing to your family, community and all those you come into contact with in a way that only you can. Because the truth is, and this is a big spoiler alert, your purpose is you. You are your purpose. There is no one else in the world like you. No one else who can do things the way you do them or share things the way you share them or say things the way you say them. Your main purpose in this world is to simply be more you.

8:05That's it. Your soul didn't come here to be anyone else. It came here to be you and bring what only you can offer. For some people, their purpose is to be a stay-at-home mum raising the next generation of brilliant humans. For others it's to be an office manager and through managing people in a compassionate loving and kind way they get to change the lives of not only the people that work for them but also their friends and family's lives as they are more happy secure and confident in their jobs and this filters out into their home lives. Your purpose may be to be the best listener to those around you, shaping their lives by the fact they feel heard, held and understood.

8:53It may be to share experiences so that others know they aren't alone or to share the wisdom of your experiences to help others around you. It may be to do your own healing work so as not to continue to repeat cycles and patterns. It may be to fight for social causes or to bring as much joy as you can into the lives of those around you. After following the goddess path almost at the end, I really hope that you now know your value, worth and what you have to offer to the world just by being you. I hope that you've reclaimed and set your inner goddess free and that you know and trust yourself like never before.

9:38I hope that you're now ready to reclaim your purpose and begin to offer to the world what only you can offer. You. Because we need you. The world needs you and what you have to offer. Let's look at some ways that you can do that now. To know yourself is to know your purpose. As we've heard, your purpose isn't something outside of you. It's already there within you. You can't possibly begin to know your purpose if you don't know yourself. So spend time with yourself, know yourself, reflect on what makes you uniquely you, what you have to offer the world and what you are called to share and then begin to share that with everyone around you.

10:31The more you can be you and offer you to the world, the more your purpose will become clear. Get honest about whether you're showing up as all of you in day-to-day life or whether you are still shrinking and dimming parts of yourself, holding back your truth or living out of alignment with your values in certain areas of your life. When you can begin to show up in your fullest presence and authenticity, you will start to feel more purposeful and alive. Go inwards and feel what the goddess wants to weave and create and bring to life through you. What are you most passionate about? What is most alive within you?

11:14What are you good at or knowledgeable about? What life experiences do you have that you could share to help and support others? Every dream and desire within you is part of your purpose. they are in there for you to bring to life. I truly believe that we are never given a dream without also being given the means to achieve it but they too are buried within and need to be discovered and uncovered as you allow yourself to grow into more of the goddess you came here to be. You came here for a reason. Each and every one of us is here on purpose and the world just wouldn't be the same without you in it.

11:58So it's your job not to hide and deny the world of your purpose, but to know that your purpose is to be you and begin to offer all that you are and have to the world. Reclamation ritual. For the next week, live your life as though you are completely on purpose. As though every conversation you have is on purpose. Every interaction you have is on purpose. Every challenge that comes is on purpose. Every action you take is on purpose. Every decision you make is on purpose. Every day you wake up is on purpose. How would that feel? To really feel as though you are on purpose. Because you are. Your whole life is your purpose.

12:54See what shifts this week by believing in that fully and completely. Make your whole life your purpose. It's important to realise that your purpose can and will change over your lifetime as you evolve and grow as a person. For example, my various purposes have been to be a crystal healer, a yoga teacher, a moon mentor and an author to name just a few and each one of these purposes has kept leading me to even more purpose. You will likely have many little purposes in your life too such as healing ancestral trauma or teaching someone in your life something or raising a family or making a difference in the business, industry or company you work for or helping someone else in your life heal.

13:48For now, your personal growth and walking the goddess path may be your purpose as it's teaching you more about who you are and what you want and what you can offer. The only way to fulfill your purpose and keep being given more of your soul mission is to keep growing into and becoming more of you. If you want to have a big purpose in life, you need to keep growing and evolving into the version of you that can hold that purpose. When I knew I wanted to go to India and be a yoga teacher, it took me nearly two years to get there. I locked myself in the toilets of my corporate job and cried every day about why my dream wasn't coming true.

14:33But I know now that had I gone two years earlier, I wouldn't be sitting here reading this book for you now. I wasn't ready. My soul knew that there were still things I needed to learn and ways I needed to grow and evolve to be ready for the next part of my journey. And so my purpose at that time was to keep studying, deepen my faith and trust in the universe, practicing yoga, working more deeply with goddess energy, crystals, manifesting, creative visualization, meditating and praying. I didn't see it at the time, but all these things were leading me to this moment and to my purpose right now.

15:19I use all these tools in my life and teaching and have decades of experience embodying these things so that I can now share them with you. You may look at me and say, well it's all right for you, you know and are living your purpose. And yes, I am. But it's taken me decades of little purposes and growing into the purpose that you see before you right now.

15:57Find a comfortable seat.

16:05Gently close your eyes.

16:12Take a few deep breaths.

16:29and simply be here now.

16:51Drop your awareness down into your heart.

17:05You may want to place your hands over your heart if that helps.

17:19And just notice how your heart feels today.

17:35No judgments.

17:53No need to try and change or avoid or suppress anything.

18:07Just gently, tenderly, lovingly notice how your heart feels.

18:26We ask others daily, how are you? But we very rarely stop to ask ourselves.

18:45So do that now.

18:52Ask your heart. How are you?

19:01And then just listen. Notice, feel.

19:23You may find little bubbles of emotion surface.

19:32Just allow that.

19:39Allow whatever needs to be in your heart to be there.

19:55Don't push it away.

20:08if emotions come allow them

20:21just keep breathing listening, feeling

20:37allowing your heart to speak to you

20:50allowing your heart to show you what it needs to show you

21:07and you may feel nothing right now that's okay

21:21we spend so much of our lives in our heads not our hearts that listening to your heart may take practice

21:35so just hold your heart now and listen

21:49Feel as though you are breathing in and out through your heart.

22:04As though your heart is breathing.

22:19Just keep listening to what your heart wants to share with you.

22:34Dropping your awareness deeper into your heart.

22:47As you get quiet.

23:00Still.

23:11beneath the noise and just listen to your heart.

23:31Ask your heart for any guidance you may need.

23:45Get beneath the noise and confusion of the outside world.

24:00And listen to the deeper wisdom of your heart.

24:20Connect to the deeper wisdom of your heart.

24:36spending a final few moments here now just listening to your heart

24:57Making a promise to yourself to begin to listen to your heart more.

25:13To check in with your heart more.

25:28to follow the wisdom and guidance of your heart more.

25:48Bowing your head now gently to your heart.

26:02giving thanks to your heart and remaining connected to your heart

26:31softly and gently blinking your eyes open

26:39and moving back into your day as you are ready.

26:52oh how do you feel after that i hope comforted maybe inspired as well and if again that was your first time well done what a brilliant thing to try out for the first time if you're into your meditation i hope that you just found that really beautiful hopefully powerful maybe relaxing. You can find lots more of Kirstie's beautiful meditations on the Happy Place app. Once you've downloaded the app, you'll be able to explore loads of other cool practices too, because there's some of the best yoga teachers in the country on there doing yoga. Some of the best breathwork practitioners in the country on there doing breathwork for you.

27:34You've got sound baths, you've got stories to help you sleep at night, regardless of how you want to feel. The app will hopefully have something to help you get there that's why we made it kirstie was on the podcast a few months ago too so do scroll back in your feed and listen to that episode if you haven't already and of course you can buy a copy of kirstie's book the goddess path right now very very exciting it's a brilliant book massive thanks again to kirstie to the producer anushka tate at happy play studios and to you lovely lot for spending this little bit of extra time with us We'll chat soon.

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