4. Cuddle with Joe

Transcript

Hello, I'm so glad you're here spending time with me. You're so beautiful on the inside and outside. I appreciate what you do for those around you.

It's important that you know they appreciate you too. The way you give of yourself more than what's being asked of you makes all the difference. You light up every room you walk into, and I adore you.

I get so much joy talking to you and helping you unwind from the day. It's our time together. More importantly, it's your time to exhale from the day, relax, and reset.

It's important to settle your mind before drifting off to sleep. I find when I'm in a relaxed mood before I go to sleep, I wake up the next day really feeling good. So I'm here to help you reset from the day.

Self-care is so important, and when you make time for it, you're not only helping yourself, but everyone around you as well. Now it's time to get comfortable. Take off your shoes, if they aren't already off, and lay down on your bed or sofa.

Close those pretty eyes of yours. Just focus on the sound of my voice. I want you to have the room to really stretch out.

Give your body a good stretch while laying on your back. Take a slow breath in, and feel your breath enter every part of your body, from your toes all the way up your legs to your chest, arms, hands, fingers, and your head. Now exhale and let your body relax.

Inhale again and really stretch into it. Allow your breath to go deeper into your tissue, and exhale releasing all the tension from the day. Wash away all the things you had to do today, only focus on your breath and how good it feels to be lying down and taking care of you.

One more breath in, and hold for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. And exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. That feels better.

Breathe normally now, and feel how the weight of the day has lifted off your body. Enjoy the light feeling you have. If you feel a little tingle throughout your body, allow it to linger.

Now it's time for a story to help you really get relaxed. This is a story of a woman who had finally figured out the meaning of life. She had discovered this secret while traveling on her life's journey, and still had many years on earth to enjoy what she had learned.

But it wasn't always this way. You see, she spent many early years of her life searching for the answer, seeking the meaning of her existence anywhere she could find it, hoping to find it from her parents, her teachers, her friends, different religions, her lovers, her soulmate, anyone. Let's go back to the beginning.

She was born into a happy family, the middle child with an older brother and a younger sister. Her parents had good jobs, father was a financial advisor, and mother a family doctor. They had a good balance on work life and family life, and were able to spend quite a bit of time with their kids.

They were very supportive, and made sure to be at all the recitals, soccer games, plays, art exhibits, school bake sales, all of it. They made sure that each child felt loved and cared for. It was a happy upbringing.

Her brother was interested in science and studied molecular biology in college, and was excited to enter the field, enthusiastic to participate in cutting-edge technology. He wanted to dig deeper into genetic coding and figure out how to aid in fixing hereditary illnesses. Her younger sister was a dancer, and loved to perform everything from ballet, tap, to modern dance.

She was a free spirit, and never had a care in the world. She went on to join a very successful dance company, and traveled the world living out her dream and expressing herself through dance. But the second child, well, she was sort of caught in the middle, figuratively as the middle child.

She sort of felt left out, even though her parents tried to give equal attention. Her brother was the firstborn, and in typical fashion, her parents gave a little extra attention to him for all the first things he was doing. First to talk, walk, run, play sports, do well in school, and on and on.

They were excited for her too, but once the third child came, it was all about them taking care of the baby. So it was the firstborns full of firsts, and the baby's needs seemed to somehow eclipse the middle girl. As she got older, she understood her role in the family, and had a good relationship with her siblings, but somehow, she was sort of without purpose.

She really wanted to find meaning in her life. She was seeking the meaning of life. What's the secret? Why am I here? She would ask out loud every night before going to sleep.

She found herself searching for this answer, and looking for it anywhere and everywhere she could. There was a time in her teenage years where she stopped applying herself in school. She had been a strong student and extremely bright, but bored with the conventions of modern society.

She watched her brother excel in science and math, and didn't want to compete with him there. She was looking for her own path. Her younger sister was already spending most of her free time in dance, and seemed to really love it and excel there, so she wasn't interested in doing that.

She started partying with friends, and looking for love in what has been known to be said in all the wrong places. She wanted to fill this void she felt. She didn't quite understand why she felt this way.

Her family loved her, and she knew it, but somehow there was something else she was looking for. She drank a lot of alcohol, had sex with various partners, stopped caring about schoolwork, and was experimenting with experiences not really approved by her family. She dabbled in music a little, and enjoyed singing.

This went on through high school, and yet, she somehow managed to graduate with above average grades, but nothing that would get her into the top universities like her brother. She decided to take a year off and travel. She left home on the night of her high school graduation with her boyfriend.

They packed up with just a few things, a couple acoustic guitars, bag of clothes, sleeping bags, and went to experience the country playing music and singing in the evenings to pick up extra cash for food and gas. They lived in his van, and stayed mostly at rest stops as they traveled. They didn't stay in one town or city for very long, and kept moving, looking for adventure, more experiences, looking for the meaning of life, the secret.

She had a great time meeting new people, partying, singing, and performing. She was living without any real plan or ambition for the future. She was living for today, living in the now, embracing the joy of feeling good.

This went on through the summer months all along the west coast of the United States, from California through Oregon and Washington. They hit all the beach towns, lighting up the nights, singing at bonfires on the sand, coffee shops, bars, and occasional showcase theaters. Meanwhile, her parents and siblings were a bit concerned.

They weren't sure where this was all going, and tried to reach out to her and give her some unwanted advice. She dismissed them simply and kept on living her life. She was writing songs now, and expressing herself in this newfound way.

Summer had ended, and it was the middle of October now. The beach life was coming to an end as the weather started to turn in the Pacific Northwest, and her boyfriend suggested they go to Colorado and head to the ski resorts. They could entertain the locals and the tourists there through the winter months.

This proved to be a fantastic idea, so the carefree party continued in Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs, and Breckenridge, Colorado. What a fantastic time they had, singing, writing, living the life, and adventure. During this time, she found herself not searching for the meaning of life anymore.

She wasn't looking for the secret. She had forgotten about that quest, but instead was in the moment, in the middle of her adventure. The winter months were ending, and they decided to head south for the spring, and ended up in Austin, Texas during spring break.

This proved to be an excellent choice, as Austin has an amazingly rich music scene filled with talented artists and like-minded folks that she had grown fond of. She landed a great slot to showcase her songs and singing at one of the hot clubs on 6th Street. She managed to impress some music business executives, and they offered her a management deal.

The thing was, they wanted her, and not her boyfriend. They told her she had something special, and they had talented producers and musicians they were going to pair her up with. This hit her hard.

For almost a year, she was living carefree, and life was fun filled with new adventures. Music and singing had taken over her life, and she and her boyfriend were really enjoying each moment. All of a sudden, they were asking her to change direction, and give her a new set of conventional rules to follow.

Her ego got in the way a bit, and she agreed to try it out. She figured why not ramp up the fun even more, and have a bigger party surround her everywhere she went. Her boyfriend felt rejected, mad, hurt, and unappreciated, so he left.

He went back home, defeated. She agreed to go on the ride, and teamed up with the hot producers, musicians, fashion stylists, and created a new made-up version of herself. Wrote a bunch of new songs that didn't sound like her, but were chasing the style of today.

Guaranteed success, they told her. She was destined to be the next big thing, the new It Girl. It was working too.

The crowds got bigger, the critics loved her, she was selling out 1,000 seat theaters, and was launching on her first big support tour, opening for the hot pop act of the day. It had been a year since she graduated high school, and everything was happening so fast. Her family came to the hometown show, and they were very proud of her and her accomplishments.

Her songs were getting popular, her social media following was exploding, her videos went viral. But something was missing. She found herself searching again, looking for the meaning of life.

What was the secret? Then one night, after a soul-searching.