Welcome to this meditation where we will transmute the heavy energy of failure into the beautiful energy of a lesson learned.
In meditation,
We practice the skill of holding space for ourselves,
Even in the energy of intense discomfort.
One of the most uncomfortable human energies we can experience is the energy of failure.
So for this practice,
We will set the intention of sitting with and allowing the energies,
Thoughts and memories of failure to come to us in our sacred practice space so that we may examine them for the lessons they have taught us.
Take the time to transition into the space where you intend to practice.
Once the body begins to settle,
Take in a long,
Expansive inhale,
Allowing the belly,
Ribs,
Chest,
Heart space and throat to fill with nourishing breath.
Then pause for a second or two at the top of the inhale before fully and slowly breathing out that breath through the mouth.
You may want to release your exhale as a deep and heavy sigh,
Feeling the weight of the shoulders,
Arms and upper body sink a little more deeply into your resting space.
Continue this cycle of heavy exhale several more times or until you feel ready to begin your meditation.
When you are ready,
Invite the eyes to close and the breath to return to an easeful,
Rhythmic,
Independent flow.
As you rest,
Get curious about a moment of perceived personal failure that has had great impact on your life.
It can be a way that you feel you failed yourself.
It can be a way that you failed someone else.
It can be a way that you feel you failed in a situation or that you failed at reaching an achievement.
Allow images,
Ideas,
Memories and sensations to float into your conscious awareness and let yourself gravitate toward observing only one of these powerful moments.
If there are many,
Choose one to examine and know that you can come back to this recording if you need to repeat the process with others later.
If you have a hard time selecting one,
Let yourself choose the first perceived failure that your mind offers without expending too much thought.
Before we go deeper,
Let's take a moment to rest with the intention to observe and explore this perceived failure without the need to accept any emotions that it might bring with it.
Bring your open palms to rest in the middle of your chest,
On top of your heart space.
Luxuriate in the warmth,
The pressure,
The presence of your beating heart strong under your hands,
Each beat full of love and compassion for the person that it serves.
As we explore failure,
We will use our hands on our heart as a protective measure so that we only observe the failure and do not let the emotions of the memory consume us.
We will not allow the facts of our perceived failure to change the truth of our heart.
Our heart is never a failure,
So why would we allow anything outside of our heart,
Including our mind,
To talk to our heart in a way that leaves pain?
At any time when you feel sad,
Angry,
Overwhelmed,
Grief-stricken,
Or any other energy that does not light up your heart,
Invite yourself to increase the pressure,
Warmth,
And love that your palms send into your heart space.
With your heart protected,
Dive into the memory of this perceived failure.
Bring that moment into your mind as fully,
Deeply,
And completely as you can.
In this memory,
Look around you at the environment,
Observe the weather,
Notice the people present.
What did that moment feel like?
What sounds were around you?
What could you see or touch?
Immerse yourself in the memory of this singular perceived failure,
While the trusted rhythm of the breath serves as a compassionate companion to you in this space for the next two minutes of your practice.
Touch the fingertips back into the heart space and send yourself love as you rest and reconsider why you see this situation as a perceived failure.
What did you fail to do?
What did you fail to see?
What did you not notice?
And what was the result?
Allow your mind to form a single sentence as to why this one moment is a perceived failure.
Perhaps your sentence begins,
This situation was a failure because what happened in this moment was a failure because.
I failed to achieve in this moment because.
Fill the heart space with a deep healing breath as you rest and invite all of the energies present in that moment to come closer to your heart space.
Serve anger,
Pain,
Hurt,
Loss,
Sadness,
Grief,
Disappointment,
Rejection,
And others into this heart space where the rhythm of the breath continues to flow in and out,
In and out.
Each time you breathe in,
Imagine softness and healing.
Each time you exhale,
Imagine space and releasing one of these emotions out of your body and into the ethers toward space,
Floating and dissolving,
Creating a shining,
Soft heart space.
Staying in touch with that expansive infinite heart space,
Use these next few moments to ask your higher self,
What are the lessons you were to learn from this moment of perceived failure?
What was it you were supposed to learn?
What did this perceived failure bring to you?
How is this perceived failure meant to change you for the better?
As you rest here,
Continue to touch the fingers to the heart,
Touch into the breath,
And listen to the wisdom of your higher self.
Get curious about what you can heal from observing this situation.
Where can you find healing from this perceived failure?
What part of you needs to be forgiven,
Loved,
And treated with compassion in order to heal from this moment?
How can you find a sense of completion and release from this situation?
Rest here and allow the heart,
Breath,
And wisdom of your higher self to infuse your body,
Mind,
And soul with a sense of healing and completion that will allow the energy of this perceived failure to transmute itself into the energy of a loving life lesson gently coming into an awareness of the breath.
Rest with the idea that our sovereignty and our higher self blesses us with the ability to choose in every moment what it is that we will take from that moment into our life.
As you rest here,
Use this ability to choose to use this perceived failure as something that brought a lesson to you that you may now release.
Release comes easily with the exhale.
Begin to bring an awareness to the breath.
Gently begin to expand that awareness into other parts of the body,
Perhaps by wiggling fingers and toes,
Rolling wrists and ankles.
Touch into the heart space,
Mindful to carry the softness that you have created in your practice through healing with you as you move forward from your practice into your day.
