Practice: Pre-Service Care Activation

Serve Conscious

This episode is a response to requests for some more guided practices. Knowing that we all have limited time and space in our lives for these things, I wanted to provide you with what is basically my favorite practice for building the service mindset. It's also one of the 3 most important meditation practices I have in my life.

• Just follow the audio instructions - and then go about your day.
• You'll need a quiet place to practice - or just anywhere that's safe to close your eyes.
• Do this regularly and life and work will start to be a very different experience for you.

You may notice you have more energy, calm, compassion, generosity - and general capability to master difficult service skills.
Another written version of this can be found here in the Serve Conscious Practices page.
A written Step-by-Step is below (and it's a little different than the one we practiced, but generates very similar results.

1. Sit down, closed your eyes and just sort of settle in and soak in yourself.
2. Feel your body naturally fill and empty itself of air.
3. Settle your attention into your body and noticing the sensations of breathing
4. And then just have a look at what’s churning in you..
5. Bring your attention to your heart area.
6. Try and see what feelings of goodness in are churning you. You'll recognize them: they might feel warm, good-willing, caring, expansive, etc.
7. And now let’s stir those sensations up a bit.

Think to yourself or apply the intentions:

“Let’s be happy.”
Feel the results.

“Let’s thrive."

Feel the results.

“Let’s belong.”

Feel the results.

Now, visualize everyone you love, everyone that irritates you, everyone that you’re indifferent to - people you saw once the other day in a line somewhere - and everyone you serve in some way.

• Rather than just thinking thoughts about them, try and just see the details of them like you’re watching a movie.
• And if all these individual people are too much to process, just maybe visualize a crowd that represents them.
• Hold them as best you can, with openness and care.
• Note they’re all probably struggling with something right now.
• Or probably a number of things - things, that make them feel unsafe or hurt in some way.
• What’s happening in your heart when you notice this?
• What feelings are churning? (It could be irritation - everything goes).
• Then repeat that first process of well wishing: "Let's be happy, thrive, belong."

And keeping your attention soaking in your goodness, bring your attention back to your breath.

• Feel yourself back in the room.
• Open your eyes.
• Done.

Each phase can be repeated as many times as you have time for. This practice can also be targeted to specific people that you want to work on your relationship with (or work on how they're occupying your head).

The phrases you use don't have to be in the realms of "be happy" "thrive" "belong", etc. They can be ones you consider more relevant. But the general guideline is that they're general and universal privileges of being human. Try to avoid specific, especially materialistic things like, "May you acquire a boat."
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