Hi everyone and welcome to the Guided Meditations with Marcus Aurelius. I'm your host, John Stanley. This episode is a daytime episode about humility for those that are interested in cultivating a balanced view of themselves and approach life with openness to learning and growth. If you're new to the podcast, a daytime episode is meant for you to listen to in the morning or the middle of the day as opposed to right before bed. If you want to listen to the humility episode right before you go to bed, you want the nighttime episode. Before we get started, I highly recommend listening to the journal episode on humility if you haven't already done so. The reason for that is it will help you put some definition on how this topic relates to your life. Okay, let's cover some grim rules. First off, understand that this is a kind of meditation episode. This podcast is designed to help you relax to a very deep level. So you should only listen to it in a place where you would feel comfortable sleeping for at least the next 30 to 45 minutes. Do not listen to this while you are driving or sitting on a bus. Otherwise, you can potentially injure yourself or someone else, or you might miss yourself. Be mindful of whether you listen to this and pick a place that is safe for you to do so. I would also highly suggest going to the toilet before we get started because that can become a huge distraction. If you need to do that now, just hit pause and come back after you're done. Honestly, I'm always looking to improve these episodes. So if there's a particular sort of principle you would like to implement into your subcontracts in the future, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to make an episode on it going forward. So with that out of the way, let's get started. So if I'm just going to sit related, take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Listen carefully to sounds that you may hear around you. Are there sounds of people? Sounds of animals? Maybe even sounds of wind or traffic. Not all of those sounds are important for you to hear while you're listening to this. Things that are alerting you of an emergency are important. But any other sounds can actually help you sink deeper into relaxation. So let those unimportant sounds drift into the background, away from your awareness, and let them help you reach deeper down into a wonderful, relaxed state. The unimportant sounds fade away into background noise and let them do their job to help you relax. As you continue to relax, I'd like you to imagine your center core. The center core is different for every person, but it is wherever you feel is the center of your body. Some people believe it's in their solar plexus, and some people feel it's in their forehead. But wherever you feel is the center of your body, I'd like you to imagine that spot now. Now imagine what it might look like to pull all of your energy deep down into your center core. Whatever that might be like for you, you decide. Now imagine that you have little bits of energy in different places. You've spent time over the last twenty-four hours, and imagine pulling all of that energy back from those places and pulling it deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body. And imagine floating to the wall that's in front of you. Imagine touching it and feeling the texture with your fingers. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the wall behind you. Imagine touching the wall there. Now imagine floating back and pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the wall on your left. Imagine touching the wall there. Now imagine floating back and pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the wall on the right. Imagine touching the wall there. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating down to the floor. Perhaps to look up at yourself, wonderfully relaxed. Now imagine floating back and pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the ceiling if there is one, or maybe ten feet into the air if there's not. Then imagine floating down back and forth like a feather. Down and down and back and forth as you slowly drift down. And imagine pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. And while you listen, you may notice that your mind is already doing what it does. Processing information itself organizing ideas can feel soft, making sense of things in a logical way. There's nothing mysterious happening here. We're a leaf. This is floating. One step leading naturally to the following every sentence. You don't have to try to relax. You can let them wash over. Effort isn't required at all. Like warm water, your only time is to notice. Finding your own way that you're hearing words. Perhaps notice you become aware of your body. And notice that understanding happens automatically. Without effort. Without effort. That's how your mind works. Without instruction. Now, consider the essential fact of settling when your body still snowfalling. The mind has fewer variables to bring the ground. And when the mind has fewer variables, it becomes more efficient until everything feels more receptive. You may already observe small changes. You're breathing to be thinking. Longer pauses between thoughts. In the rolling sense of completion as its own natural rhythm. It's not something you need to control. Creating a simply the natural outpeat. Your short things is a good example. Your arm. You don't calculate it all the way down. Yet it follows to your predictable rhythm. You might imagine a place where time feels wide and unhurried. Place where nothing is expected of you. Where I can simply be just like breathing. Colours follows rules too. Or textures. Muscles that are not released of safety and comfort that are not required but doesn't need work into the background. Your mind doesn't recognize image efficiency and efficiency feels take its place now. Or not. You may find it interesting because even drifting that while one part of your mind is listening to these words, you may notice that thought another part begins already checking them. Like or accuracy. Everything being said here makes changing shape. You are safe. You are in control. And you are simply allowing a temporary shift in attention sky. Nothing is being forced. There's no need. Nothing is being lost. Hold on to anything. In fact, awareness being beneath you more percentage knows how to support. You may notice that the knows how to carry sound. Your mind just less important. How to sync. And as each sentence completes itself. There's some people notice to hold on to it. A pleasant heaviness. Your mind can release a lightly to the next one. That's how systems work. A quiet, soft one completed task that's spread at a time exactly where it's needed. Without analyzing it too deeply, you just recognize this. Where nothing has to be a good idea. Your conscious mind can rest, where nothing needs fixed. Everything is functioning exactly as it should be. And allow yourself to continue. And efficiently in its own as this process continues. And now without needing to do anything at all, you can allow this experience to deepen naturally. Nothing to fix. You may begin to notice a general sense of release. No longer need to be. And that release can spread not in any particular direction, just everywhere it's welcome. Imagine slowly turning down a dial, just one small adjustment at a time, each turn softening the overall experience, making everything quieter, lower, more subtle. With each breath, you may notice a subtle shift. Not dramatic, just enough to feel that you're moving further inward. And right now, attention can become effortless. Thoughts don't need to stop. They can simply lose importance. Like background noise that fades as something calmer moves into the foreground. Now imagine a gentle downward movement, not physical, more like a feeling of depth. As if awareness is sinking into a softer, quieter layer of experience. Each moment builds on the last, like steps that descend so smoothly, you hardly notice moving until you realize you're already deeper. If numbers come to mind, they can drift downward now slowly, comfortably, each one marking a deeper level of ease. Five settling four slowing three less effort, more comfort, two almost no need to think at all. And one simply being here. In this state, everything unnecessary has already fallen away. What remains is calm, steady and receptive. You're happy to stay right here because this level, this quiet, settled space is exactly right for whatever comes next. And you can allow yourself to rest here now, comfortably, peacefully as the work continues. Consider this now gently. There is a quiet strength that grows within a person, a strength that seeks understanding, a strength that remains open, a strength called humility. The Stoics understood something deeply wise. Every person has something to teach. Every day offers something to learn, and wisdom grows through curiosity. Imagine for a moment how much freedom comes from this perspective. You move through life with an open mind. You listen carefully. You observe clearly. You learn continuously. Because humility creates space for growth, and growth feels natural. Now imagine a conversation. Someone shares an idea, perspective, an experience, and you meet it with genuine curiosity. You ask yourself, what can I learn here? Feel how expansive that is. Because each person becomes a teacher. Each experience becomes a lesson. Every day becomes an opportunity to grow wiser. When the mind begins to appreciate this way of being. Open, calm, receptive. Imagine now a moment when life presents a challenge. A mistake becomes visible. A lesson appears, and you greet it with composure. You ask, what wisdom is available to me here? And the answer arrives naturally. Because humility welcomes learning. Humility welcomes growth. Humility welcomes truth. Notice how light that feels. You spend your energy on understanding. You invest your attention in improvement. You cultivate the quiet confidence of someone who is always becoming better. And each day this quality grows stronger. You listen with presence. You speak with care. You learn with enthusiasm. You carry yourself with steady confidence and gentle openness. Now imagine the coming days. Moments of learning appear. Conversations unfold. Experiences offer insight. And effortlessly you meet them with curiosity. You remain a student of life. A student of wisdom. A student of virtue. The mind learns. Growth is always available. Wisdom is always expanding. Humility is strength. And I choose it. Now, in a moment, we'll begin the natural process of returning attention outward again. There's no hurry, just a smooth transition from inward focus to present awareness. Everything that's useful from this experience can remain easily available, integrated, settled, ready for you, and anything else can simply stay behind, no longer needed. You may begin to notice the sense of the space around you, the quality of the air, the sounds that are part of the room, the feeling of being here, now. Awareness can start to expand gently, like light increasing at dawn, not sudden, just clear and natural. In a moment, I'll count from one up to five, and with each number, alertness can return comfortably, bringing clarity, balance, and ease. One, a gentle shift outward as attention begins to re-engage. Two, energy returning at a comfortable pace, like waking from a satisfying rest. Three, clearer awareness now, present and steady. Four, feeling refreshed, oriented, and well. Five, eyes open if they've been closed, fully awake, calm, clear, and comfortably alert. Take a moment to settle. There's no rush to speak or move. Just notice how you are right now. And when you're ready, you can continue with your day, carrying this sense of steadiness and ease with you. Thanks for listening and making me a part of your stoic practice.