Meditation for working with difficulties.
You can use this practice to work with difficult emotions or body sensations.
Find a posture that's comfortable to you and then check inside your body and try to locate a part of your body that feels good to you right now.
Comfortable,
Pleasant,
Safe,
At ease or at the very least neutral.
You can check out your hands or feet or legs but let your attention go to this pleasant part of your body.
Hands or feet or wherever you've chosen.
And let your attention rest there.
Feel it.
Sense it.
Notice what those sensations are.
Let your mind relax a bit.
Feeling that part of the body.
And now if there's something difficult that's happening for you,
A difficult emotion or a physical sensation that's hard,
Let your attention go to that.
So it may be an aching in your shoulder or back or a headache or it could be a sense of sadness or anxiety or anger.
Where do you feel that sensation in your body?
Where do you feel that emotion in your body?
Notice it.
Just notice it for one moment.
Feel it.
Tap into it.
Feel it.
Make sure to breathe.
And now return your attention back down to that area that feels at ease.
Your hands,
Your feet,
Our legs.
And just let yourself stay there for a moment.
Feeling it.
Sensing it.
Relaxing.
Maintaining the mindfulness.
Yet giving yourself a break from what could be potentially overwhelming to feel.
And now once again return your attention to that part of the body that feels unpleasant.
The body ache or pain or the emotion,
The sensations of the emotion in your body.
The vibrations in your chest or the clenching in your belly or the tightness in your jaw.
Just notice and breathe and let it be there.
Let whatever is there be there.
And then bring your attention again back down to this pleasant or neutral part of the body.
Hands,
Feet,
So forth.
Relaxing.
Staying present and alert.
Feeling the safety,
The connection in that place.
Now let yourself stay connected to this place or see if you can cast what we might call a side long glance at the difficult area.
Is it possible to still feel connected to your body in the area that feels good and yet know there's something going on that feels unpleasant and just let it be there.
Keeping maybe 75% of your attention on the part that feels peaceful and at ease.
Still breathing,
Casting the side long glance at this difficult area.
Noticing what happens to it.
Is it growing or shrinking?
Is it changing?
Shifting into something else?
Becoming aware of whatever it is doing.
Relaxing.
Breathing.
And now see if you can bring some loving kindness.
Just some kindness to yourself or whatever you're feeling right now.
Physical pain,
Emotional pain.
Hold yourself with kindness.
You are not the only one.
So may we all be free from our pain and our suffering.
May we all have happiness.
In a moment,
I'm going to bring this practice to close by ringing the bell three times.
