Welcome to Mindfulness at Court.
Sometimes just thinking of the word court can bring on these feelings within the body that can be recognized as not comfort,
Not pure ease and not pure joy.
So just pausing for a moment,
Letting all other thoughts subside and just focusing on the breath.
The breath in,
The breath out and continuing with the breath,
Intentionally slowing it down.
Slow breaths in,
Slow breaths out.
Now for whatever reason you find yourself being at court or knowing that you are going to court,
Just lean into that,
That story,
That reasoning that you have told yourself,
Why you understand that you are there or going to be there.
Do you notice any blame or any judgment or any strong emotions in thinking about why you were there?
Where do you feel in your body when you think about going or being at court?
Noticing it,
Recognizing it and acknowledging it.
And as you notice it and you notice the intensity of it,
You also see in your awareness,
In your leaning into it,
The strength it has seems to dissipate naturally on its own.
It hasn't disappeared but in being seen,
That feeling,
That experience in the body doesn't have to be so loud because it's being seen.
It's recognized and so it may dissipate.
And then you move to noticing other parts of your body,
Starting with the ends of your toes.
You may choose to wriggle your toes,
Aware of where they are and moving along like a scanner from the tips of the toes and moving the foot all the way up to the end of the foot,
Moving up past the ankle,
The calves,
The knees,
Continuing up along the body.
Aware of each part.
And as you come across that feeling in your body that has subsided even more,
You continue to scan.
You notice it and continue to scan up along your body,
Including the arms and the fingers,
The elbows,
The shoulders,
The head.
Aware of your body in this place right now,
Wherever you are.
Perhaps you're in the car,
Maybe you're in a room,
Maybe you're outside.
You're conscious now not only of your body but of what surrounds you.
You don't have to open your eyes,
You can just hear the sounds in the background.
Maybe you can feel light on your eyes.
You notice the temperature,
You notice any smells,
And you notice your breathing again.
Slowing it down,
Conscious as you take breaths in and breaths out.
You turn your mind to court and you remember that this is a moment in your life.
It will not continue forever.
Like with many things,
You may not know how long it will take,
But it is not permanent.
Perhaps it's minutes,
Perhaps it's days,
But it will not be something that never ends.
And with that in mind,
Can you lean into it?
The judicial system was set up to make decisions,
To bring ending to proceedings.
And so whether your matter ends today or sometime in the future,
It is not there to be infinitely on your mind,
In your space.
And can you open to see that there may be something for you,
Some benefit,
Some advantage,
Some lesson,
Some learning that you will receive from this process?
Even though you don't have the outcome,
Can you be non-attached to the outcome?
Perhaps you know what you are desiring and you can remember that while also letting go the attachment to that outcome.
Because there may be options and perspectives that you haven't even considered yet that may be of benefit to you.
And so as you practice being mindful in preparation for court,
Can you open your heart just a little bit more and allow good feelings to flow towards the decision maker,
To those people who are part of the process,
Perhaps it's court staff,
Associates,
Perhaps it's the person at the registry or security.
Can you send good intentions,
Well wishes to them by simply opening your heart and in doing so not closing off to the benefits that are flowing to you,
Even if you don't know what they are,
Probably even if you do not know what they are,
To be open knowing that everything is working out and if that is not seen yet it's because it's not the end yet.
If you release the attachment to an outcome,
An attachment to an outcome within a certain time and you open yourself to what is available and when it'll be shown to you and known to you,
Then you can just ease in just that little bit more,
To release the resistance a little bit more,
To let go to any tightness in the body,
Any tightness in the jaw,
In the teeth and can you go back to that area where you really felt the feelings as you thought about court and can you send those well wishes,
Those good intentions,
That care,
That love to that area in your body,
Breathing in and out,
Letting that goodness infiltrate,
Permeate that area that has felt perhaps closed,
Tight,
Stressed,
Anxious and just allowing that flow to go in with such ease and abundance and never-ending and just knowing where you are now,
Remembering this and remembering that you can do this at any time,
You can come back to this,
Noticing the feeling within your body,
Remembering the openness that you can have from the heart space,
Moving to the area of the body that feels uncomfortable,
Seeing it for as it is,
Allowing it to be what it is and sending it joy,
Safety,
A knowing that despite not knowing the outcome,
The knowing that all will be okay.
One final breath in,
Hold for as long as you can and release and let it all out.
