Welcome.
In this meditation I'm inviting you to dial up joy with shape of emotion.
A mindfulness based process to open,
Embrace and expand a feeling you want to experience more of.
I invite you to sit comfortably in a place where you will not be disturbed for the next 20 minutes or so.
I also recommend you have some water close by.
Shape of emotion is a four step process.
It asks you to feel a feeling,
Feel an emotion.
And then find it in or around your body.
Observe what it looks like.
And then to touch,
To open and embrace it.
You will use touch pressure points on your face,
Under your collarbone,
Arm and fingers while we do the meditation.
In order for you to get a sense of where these points are,
I will take you through them now.
We'll use this as a warm up to the actual dial up meditation.
So settle back.
Close your eyes and then listen carefully.
You can use any hand.
You can change hands during the meditation.
It really doesn't matter.
So whichever hand you are using,
Hold it open and then with the tips of the fingers move to the first touch point.
And this touch point is where the eyebrow meets the nose.
On the orbital bone,
Also called the eye socket bone.
And then gently touch there.
The next point is on the side of the eye,
Also on the orbital bone.
Gently touch there.
And then moving to touch,
Again on the orbital bone just under the eye.
And use whatever pressure feels right for you.
Maybe a light pressure or a bit more,
But not so much that you leave a mark.
The next point is on the top lip,
Just below the nose.
And then the last point on the face is on the chin just below the bottom lip in the indentation.
And now moving further down the body,
Place your whole hand on your chest just under the collarbone.
And then moving to the inside of the elbow where it bends,
Place your hand on your forearm just in front of the crease of your elbow.
And then moving to the next point,
It's your wrist where the pulse point of the wrist is.
And then hold your wrist.
You can hold over clothing,
But if you're wearing a watch or bangles or some other kind of jewelry,
Just move them out of the way or swap hands.
And then we're going to move to the hand and we're going to start with the thumb.
So just hold the thumb closed,
Making sure that you hold the end of the thumb closed.
And then moving to the index finger,
Hold the end of the index finger closed.
And the middle finger,
The third finger,
And then the little finger.
And then finally we clasp our hands together as if in the final part of a clap covering the edge of the palm.
So not with fingers intertwined,
But clasped as if you were clapping and then stopped clasping your hands together.
Got it?
I remember shape of emotion is a skill-based process.
And like any skill,
The more you do it,
The better and easier it gets.
And those are the touch points.
From the first touch point where the eyebrow meets the nose,
All the way through to clasping your hands,
We call a wing.
And for this meditation,
For the dial-up,
We will be doing two wings.
During the meditation,
You may feel the desire to yawn or sigh.
Maybe you'll feel tearful or your tummy may rumble.
These are all natural and potentially occur due to the movement of the emotion.
Remember,
Emotions should come and go.
So don't stifle these body experiences,
Just let them out and let them happen.
And now let's begin the dial-up.
Taking a deep breath in through your nose and then gently sigh out through your mouth as if you were gently blowing out a candle.
And then let's do it again,
This time pausing between in and out breaths.
So breathing in through your nose,
Let's hit pause for a moment and then gently out through your mouth.
Now I invite you to welcome joy,
Welcome joy into your body,
Into your consciousness,
Feel it.
And if you need to,
Think back to a time when you've experienced great joy before,
Perhaps it was with someone,
Perhaps it was at a place or an event.
You can access that memory to help you feel the joy now.
And as you feel this joy,
Notice where in or around your body it shows up.
It may be somewhere inside your body,
Somewhere on your body,
Perhaps hovering or floating next to a part of your body,
Or you may find yourself completely immersed in it.
Whatever it is,
Just notice where it is for you.
And now keeping your eyes closed,
Just tune in and observe what this feeling of joy looks like.
It might take a while to appear.
Just observe,
No judgement,
No analysis.
I want you to notice what color or colors are showing themselves,
What shape or form is appearing.
This shape or form could be two dimensional or three dimensional,
It could be geometric or organic,
Maybe an object,
It could be a gas or maybe a liquid.
Notice how big it is and if it has a weight,
Does it have a texture?
Maybe it also has a smell or a sound,
Even a taste,
It might also be moving.
Your shape could have one or some or all of these characteristics,
It doesn't matter.
As you watch your shape take form,
Consider for a moment how you will briefly describe this shape or form to yourself and where it is in or around your body.
And then taking your hand to the first touch point where the eyebrow meets the nose,
Describe to yourself what your shape looks like.
Moving to the touch point on the side of the eye,
Gently touch and describe to yourself where in or around your body your shape is showing up.
Moving to the under of the eye,
Describe what your shape looks like.
Then gently touching on the top lip just below the nose,
Describe to yourself where in or around your body your shape appears.
And then touching on your chin just below the bottom lip,
Describe what your shape looks like and where it is in or around your body.
And then taking your hand and placing it under the collarbone,
Say out loud I open and embrace it.
And then moving to the crease in front of the elbow,
Place your hand on your forearm and then say out loud I open and embrace it.
Clasping your wrist,
Say I open and embrace it.
And then moving to your thumb,
Holding your thumb closed,
Describe to yourself what your shape or form looks like.
Holding your index finger,
Describe to yourself where your shape is in or around your body.
Holding your middle finger,
Say out loud I open and embrace it.
Holding your third finger closed,
Say I open and embrace it.
And holding your little finger,
Say I open and embrace it.
And now clasp your hands together and describe what your shape looks like and where it is in or around your body.
And then say I open and embrace it.
Now take a nice deep breath in through your nose and then gently breathing out through your mouth,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Notice what has happened to your shape and where it is in or around your body.
And then taking your hand to the first touch point where the eyebrow meets the nose,
Describe to yourself what your shape looks like now.
Moving to the touch point on the side of the eye,
Describe to yourself where it is now.
Touching on the bone under the eye,
Describe what it is,
What it looks like now.
Touching on the top lip just below the nose,
Describe to yourself where it is now.
Touching on the chin just below the bottom lip,
Describe both what it is,
What it looks like and where it is in your body.
Take your hand and place it under the collar bone and then say out loud I open and embrace it.
Moving to the fold or the crease of the elbow,
Just hold on your forearm just in front of that crease and say out loud I open and embrace it.
Clasping your wrist,
Say I open and embrace it.
Moving to the thumb,
Holding the end of the thumb closed,
Describe what it is,
What your shape looks like.
Holding your index finger,
Describe where it is in or around your body.
Holding your middle finger,
Say out loud I open and embrace it.
Holding your third finger,
Say I open and embrace it.
Holding your little finger,
Say out loud I open and embrace it.
Clasping your hands together,
Describe to yourself what your shape looks like and where it is in or around your body.
And say I open and embrace it.
Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and then gently out through your mouth.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Notice now what has happened to your shape,
What it looks like and where it is in or around your body.
Then come back to that feeling of joy.
What does it feel like now?
Sit with it,
Be with it,
Enjoy it,
Feel it fully.
Move it all through your body,
From the top of your head all the way to the tips of your toes.
Then from the tips of your toes,
Move it all the way up your body to the top of your head.
And as you continue to breathe,
Just expand wider.
Feel it expanding out from into the room where you are seated.
The building,
The road,
The community and maybe you know someone that might like to feel this joy too.
Send it out to them.
Again taking another deep breath in through your nose and then slowly out through your mouth.
Bring your awareness to your body.
Notice where you are sitting.
Move your toes and fingers.
Slowly open your eyes and come back into the room.
Now would be a good time to have some water to perhaps sit quietly for a while.
You may feel a little bit tired or perhaps really energized.
Whichever it is,
Just be gentle with yourself as you move into the rest of your day or night.
