Join us in Chicago for House of Bodhi with Lola Wright at City Winery on January 7th. Visit bodhicenter.org for tickets!
“We are in a great time of year to really tap into this collective consciousness that may oftentimes be known as holidays or holy days. There is a collective intention to be reflective this time of year. Most often when we have the experience of a vision unfulfilled, it’s because either we haven’t spent the necessary intention and reflection time to get clear on what it is we desire, and / or we don’t believe it’s possible.”
The phrase “vision fulfilled” has been popping into host Lola Wright’s mind lately. She describes two personal experiences with fulfilled visions, then guides you through connecting with a larger vision for your own life. “There is some contribution that you are uniquely here to bring.”
Recommended reading: Spiritual Liberation by Michael Bernard Beckwith and The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope.
To financially support the on-going availability of our live events, classes and this very podcast, visit us bodhicenter.org/giving, or text GIVE to 773-770-8577. No contribution is too small and no contribution is too large.
For more information on Bodhi Center, please visit us at bodhicenter.org.
For more information on Lola Wright, please visit her at lolawright.com.
Transcript
This “talk” is electronically transcribed. Please excuse any errors or omissions.
Lola Wright: In October. I launched a live experience in Chicago called House of Bodhi with Lola Wright. We have our next House of Bodhi experience on January 7th at City Winery. Very excited to do a two month residency there. Would love to have you with us for this powerful experience of meditation and inspiring message, the ridiculous sounds of the Bodhi House Band. I love curating an evening that supports you in transcending out of any fear based anxiety patterns that aren’t the highest and holiest idea of who you’re here to be. You are the presence of all that is good. You are here to be a portal, a channel for peace, for love, for joy, for freedom, for creativity, for aliveliness. House of Bodhi with Lola Wright is intended to support you in that. So please visit bodhicenter.org and get your tickets for January 7th at City Winery. We look forward to seeing you then.
Lola Wright: You are more than this meat suit. A feeling lasts 90 seconds. Awakening is for the many, not the few.
Lola Wright: Hello, and welcome to And This is Bodhi. I’m your host, Lola Wright. On today’s episode, I want to talk to you about these words that have been coming through me very consistently lately. I just keep finding myself saying this was a vision fulfilled and I have been chewing on what does that really mean and why do those words keep coming up for me? I also want to invite you into an inquiry like what would a vision fulfilled look like for you? Do you know the vision that you desire and do you know what it requires of you to fulfill on that vision? What I’m then going to provide you with is an experience, sort of an embodied experience of what it may look like to live in a vision fulfilled. I will share one of my favorite books with you and hopefully leave you with some inspired action because here’s the thing. None of this stuff matters if you don’t get it into practice. It’s all just sort of like a cognitive feel good momentary thought pattern and you’re here for more than that. Your here to actually cause and create the life that is your Dharma, the contribution that you’re here to be on the planet. And I want to support you in that. And as always, I’ll leave you with a little homework assignment should you choose to accept it.
Lola Wright: I have been devoted to this practice of awakening consciously for 30 years. I started young, I’m 41 now and at the age of 11 I started to have these kind of mystical meditative experiences. I remember walking through my bedroom and it was like time and space would stop and I could notice myself observing my thoughts. I would do things like lay in bed for hours and repeat my name at various paces to sort of go into some kind of altered state. As I’ve practiced over the last 30 plus years, I have refined my experience of bringing my desires into this dimension of reality, into this earth plane, into the manifest realm. That being said in the last six months, something has completely busted open and my own experience of manifestation and my own experience of attracting that which I desire in my own experience of what I am calling vision fulfilled.
Lola Wright: I have four kids, they range from ages 22 to seven and one of the things I’ve become very aware as my older children have become increasingly independent is that I can no longer sort of rest on the assumption that they’re going to spend the holidays with us. You know, they’re at an age and stage of life where they have lots of options. They now have friends with homes in warm climates and things that they’d like to go pursue and if they come home, the very probable reality is that my husband and I will be in a perpetual state of productivity. Working on the things that we’re deeply passionate about and sort of take for granted unconsciously that they’ll be here in the background available for quick dinners and impromptu movie dates. And I have felt this desire to create time with the people I love in my life more intentionally, to not just take for granted that they know I love them, I know they love me and will always be there for each other, but actually if I were to take radical responsibility for my time, my energy and my resources, what would that look like?
Lola Wright: Well, a few weeks ago we celebrated a long weekend that some people call Thanksgiving. Several months leading up to that, I began to imagine a holiday weekend with my husband and our four children. I started to imagine what my two kids who live in Brooklyn, New York would be served by and I had the thought that being out of the city in nature decompressing without many distractions and a kind of confined space for our family to be, would be deeply nourishing for them and for us and would be a completely disruptive pattern for our own perpetual productivity. I got on Airbnb and I found this farmhouse in the Catskill mountains of New York. It was going to be a three and a half hour bus ride for my kids from Port Authority in Manhattan. And I thought, okay, well my husband and our younger two kids and I can drive. And then I started to think a 12 hour drive to New York didn’t sound quite so fun. Let’s look at flights.
Lola Wright: My 11 year old daughter had her own vision and it did not involve a quick plane ride to New York. She had a vision of us being in a car for a prolonged period of time, having fun, playful time to connect, tell stories, play games, and she got her vision fulfilled. We spent 13 hours in the car on the way to the Catskills. We spent 13 hours in the car on the way home from the Catskills. Her vision was fulfilled. After the long weekend ended, I really reflected on so many moments throughout our time together and I just kept hearing these words, vision fulfilled. This was a vision fulfilled. So I want to share a little bit about what I think it takes to actually fulfill a vision that you have for your life.
Lola Wright: You and I think in pictures we do not think in words. Language is something that comes much later. You and I have this incredible capacity to imagine and to create through our sensory experience and it can happen in a way that transcends the limitations of language. See, when you and I have a kind of whole body experience of that which we desire, when we begin to tap into our senses of sight, of touch, of hearing, of smell, of taste, you amplify your imagination and you become a magnetic field for that which you desire. When I sat for months imagining this long weekend, it involved a wood burning fireplace. It involved dark chocolate. It involved red wine. It involved snow falling outside. It involved holiday music. It involved a beautifully set table. It involved me cooking in an open kitchen and being able to have conversation with my family as they played in the living room. I had not seen this house and quite frankly, I don’t think I did a great job of really vetting it, but things happen that go beyond our capacity to control when we actually get clear and become a resonant match in our being.
Lola Wright: See, the big idea for me lately is, as I have said, yes more and more and more to the visions of my heart and I relax and release control as to how they may be made manifest, it becomes increasingly potent. Our family concluded our weekend in a kind of circle of appreciation. We went around and spoke the things that we appreciate about ourselves as individuals, that which we appreciate about the group, and then that which we specifically appreciated about the time together. I know it can sound sort of cliche, but what you focus on expands and what you appreciate appreciates. It really is that basic and when you and I develop as my great teacher, Michael Beckwith calls a bliss-ipline. It’s a discipline that actually doesn’t have to feel heavy but can feel amplifying, animating, enlivening, awakening. You become a resonant match for that which you desire.
Lola Wright: Here’s the thing, you’re always a resonant match for that. What you desire, you’re always creating. You’re either creating consciously or your creating unconsciously. There is a vision that you’re manifesting in your life right now. The question is, is it the vision you are consciously desiring or are you in some kind of loop of scarcity, lack, limitation. About a week ago I began to imagine time spent with a friend. I had like a really clear vision of what we would do together, how it would feel, what we’d be up to, what we could talk about, and I began to sort of loop it in my mind, not with attachment, like I didn’t have a particular outcome, but rather it was like a vibration. It was a feeling tone. It was a sense that was coming through my physical body. It didn’t live in my mind. This friend and I got together and in fact the experience of hanging out went way beyond what I even had imagined and the words that were there for me again was vision fulfilled.
Lola Wright: You and I have a couple experiences of high level vision fulfilled and you begin to know yourself differently. For me to have these two very clear experiences as of late, a vision fulfilled, I now know myself as a creator with a creative capacity and I become more and more confident. See conviction is something that is very magnetic. When you come to know yourself as a creator, all kinds of things become available. When I talk about this thing creator, I’m not talking about your egoic construct. I’m talking about the essence of who you are. When you really laid down all of the considerations, all of the fears, all of the concerns, and allow yourself, grant yourself permission to tap into that which you desire, you can begin to feel a kind of life force energy surge from the bottom of your body up into every cell of your being.
Lola Wright: We are in a great time of year to really tap into this collective consciousness that may oftentimes be known as holidays or Holy days. There is a collective intention to be reflective this time of year. Most often when we have the experience of a vision unfulfilled, it’s because either we haven’t spent the necessary intention and reflection time to get clear on what it is we desire and or we don’t believe it’s possible. I am so clear that there is a kind of potent energy vibrating in my body. I am no longer a match for anything outside of my vision that has taken 30 years to get to that level of clarity around. So if you are just starting on this journey of knowing yourself as a creative outlet and inlet, as a channel of and for the good that you desire, as a kind of portal for the universe to work through, if that’s a new conversation for you, give yourself some grace.
Lola Wright: It actually doesn’t have to take you 30 plus years to get to the point of feeling really confident and comfortable and convicted around your vision and its fulfillment. And it will take you as long as it takes you. It’s about baby steps. Over the course of the last 30 years, I have had so many iterations of a vision fulfilled. So let’s just talk for a minute, like what is a vision? How do you know the distinction between sort of a, a gluttonous desire and a true vision? When I use the word vision, I’m talking about something that comes through your soul through that, like still small voice. Oftentimes you can sense it in your gut. There is a vision, there are many visions, but there is a vision of and for your life. There is some vibration, there is some purpose, there is some contribution that you are uniquely here to bring.
Lola Wright: In fact, you’re the only one who can bring it because guess what? No one does life like you do life. The vision that is to be fulfilled through you is absolutely essential for the evolution of humanity. We are here for personal transformation and collective awakening. I am deeply, deeply invested in the fulfillment of your vision because if in fact we are intrinsically connected one to another. If your life is expressed without the fulfillment of the vision, then there’s this kind of like song that’s left in you and we’re here to fully, fully express. So this vision, there is a sense that moves in you. There is a deep knowing, a still small voice, an inner presence that is always able to inform who and what you are here to be, to do and to have. As you become more intentional about listening to that still small voice, that voice becomes more easily discernible.
Lola Wright: So here we are in the final days of this calendar year. What is the vision that you would like fulfilled? Start with something that you can grab on to, start with something you can wrap your mind around. As I imagine what the next two weeks look like for me, I start to sense into the things that I’ve already said yes to the commitments that I have. I start to notice the commitments that I’ve made that I may not have a whole body yes to. I start to become highly discerning of where I give my time, my energy, and my resources. As I do that, the vision fulfilled becomes more accessible. I can begin to taste it, feel it, sense it. I hold the vision in my mind’s eye. See your vision is embedded. Your vision is encoded. You are all ready a match for its fulfillment. Become deeply intimate with your vision.
Lola Wright: Really over these last few days of the year, allow yourself to become like a lover of your vision. Become intimately aware of how the vision lives in your physical body. What body sensations do you notice becoming alive? What feeling states get provoked, and what is the swirl of mental activity that is of greatest support to this sacred, sacred vision that lives in you? You have within you everything you need to bring the vision that is placed in your soul, in your gut on your heart. You have all that you need to bring it to form. May I be a voice that reminds you of your brilliance, of your genius, of your capacity, of your magnetic quality. Lay down the conversations that hold you back. Release the relationships that do not cause you to vibrate as your most glorious and magnificent self. You are worthy of relationships that are super potent and highly affirming.
Lola Wright: So here’s what I know. There is a vision that lives within you. It is already done in this universal mind. Your responsibility is to listen for inspired action, to get really clear on what it is and to align yourself with that. You got this, I know you do. I trust you and I trust this universe. It’s moving in you as you, through you and all around you perfectly.
Lola Wright: As always, all of Bodhi’s programming is made possible by our amazing, generous supporters. We would love for you to consider supporting this body of work. I believe that what we create at Bodhi is paradigm shifting, that we are supporting people in transcending our survival states of fear and anxiety. We are really speaking to a higher state of consciousness that you already know. Every financial contribution that you make is tax deductible. You can give by visiting bodhicenter.org/giving or make it super simple and text the word GIVE to (773) 770-8577 again, (773) 770-8577. When you text the word GIVE to that number, you’ll set it up once and then it’s super easy to do ongoingly. I love walking through the world and getting sort of a a wave of inspiration from something Bodhi related that I see out in the street or in relationship. I literally pull out my phone, I text the word GIVE and I get myself into a practice of circulation because it expands me, it lifts me up, and I want that for you also.
Lola Wright: All right, so if you’re struggling to sense into what your vision is, let’s just do a little practice here together. I want to invite you to take a deep breath, bring your awareness to the tip of your nose and just allow your breath to move through your body. If you’re not somewhere that you can close your eyes, you might choose to circle back to this later or allow yourself to do an open eyed meditation.
Lola Wright: So deepen your breath and still your body. Just become aware of the extraordinary science that lives within you, the biology, the neurology, the physiology. You are this exquisite channel that life expresses through.
Lola Wright: When you breathe into that, when you rest into that, ask yourself the question, what is it that I desire most? What is it that I’m ready to say yes to? When I think of this thing, where do I notice aliveliness in my body?
Lola Wright: Just allow yourself to begin to imagine in your mind’s eye the things that really increase your sense of freedom and joy and aliveness.
Lola Wright: Begin to imagine a vision, some experience, some relationship, some career move. Something in your life that enlivens you, that stretches you beyond what you’re currently comfortable considering.
Lola Wright: Begin to amplify your senses. Begin to feel into that experience as being done now.
Lola Wright: Can you describe every detail from a sensory perspective? Allow yourself to feel that you might begin to notice the kind of tingling in your fingers or in your cheeks. There’s a kind of aliveliness beginning to stir as you say yes, to playing with, to being present with a vision for your life.
Lola Wright: Take a few deep cleansing breaths as you allow this vision to integrate into your body.
Lola Wright: The beautiful thing here is that there’s nothing you have to do. You can actually sit in this vibration and allow yourself to become a match for its fulfillment.
Lola Wright: There are two books that I want to recommend as part of this exploration. One is “Spiritual Liberation” by my good friend and mentor, Michael Bernard Beckwith, so check out “Spiritual Liberation.” There’s so much good wisdom in that book and I imagine it will fill you up. One of my absolute favorite books that we just taught in a class at Bodhi this past term is called “The Great Work of Your Life” by Stephen Cope. It really is about identifying your Dharma, your life’s purpose, the work that you are here to contribute, and the presence of aliveness that you feel when you’re in it. So if you’re wanting to know like, what is my life’s work? What is this vision that’s wanting to come forward? Begin to feed yourself some inspiring work. Get yourself into a vibration that becomes attractive for that thing. It doesn’t have to be this big life altering thing, although it can be.
Lola Wright: It can be the way you’re going to spend time with your family over the next couple of weeks. It can be the transitions you want to make in your career, the breakthroughs that you’re ready to have in your financial world. What’s the vision fulfilled and are you spending adequate time being with it, amplifying it, animating it? I’d love to hear from you. I love to know what your experiences with the recommendations I make. So if you’re familiar with the book, “Spiritual Liberation”, if you’re familiar with the book, “The Great Work of Your Life”, if you’re reading it now because of this podcast, if you’re deepening in your own awakening practice, I want to hear from you. Send me an email at podcast@bodhicenter.org. Let me know what’s working. Let me know what you want more and more support around. I’m here to serve you. I’m here to support you in stepping into the fullest, greatest, most extraordinary version of yourself. And if there’s something that you’re needing and wanting from this digital gathering space, I want to know. And as always, if you don’t already follow me on Instagram and Facebook, please do that. I’m @lolapwright I’d love to connect with you there. And if you don’t already follow Bodhi, do that @BodhiChicago on Instagram and Facebook.
Lola Wright: As a reminder, all of Bodhi’s programs are funded by people who believe in this work. And again, if this podcast means something to you or if our live experience House of Bodhi means something to you, please consider supporting these efforts financially. You can text the word gGIVE to (773) 770-8577 or visit bodhicenter.org/giving. Each gift matters. I’m your host, Lola Wright. This podcast is produced by Katie Klocksin with editorial guidance from Bodhi’s creative producer Tyler Greene. Music in this episode came from Blue Dot Sessions. Our theme music was created by independent music producer Trey Royal. See you next week and remember you got this.
