Today's guided meditation is about befriending fear.
Welcome.
Prepare yourself into a nice and comfortable position.
Allow your hands to rest wherever they fall most naturally,
Either in your lap,
On your knees,
Or by your sides.
Allow your shoulders to roll back and away from your ears.
And when you get fully settled in,
Gently close your eyes.
And now,
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through the nose,
And a long,
Slow breath out through the mouth.
Breathing in fully,
And breathing out slowly.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
And one last time,
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Now,
As you allow the breath to settle,
Take a moment to check in with your physical body.
So notice any sensations.
Focus on each part of your body,
Noticing how it feels today,
Recognizing any areas that may feel tense.
And send your breath to any areas that may need the extra attention today.
So allow your breath to soothe these areas.
Imagine the air you are breathing into these parts of your body are relieving all your tension and discomfort.
So all you need to do is breathe deeply.
Spending a few moments with your body and using this time to soothe and rejuvenate any tension that you are carrying.
As you do this,
Thoughts may arise.
Memories may emerge.
Sensations may appear.
And this is all a part of the practice.
If you are experiencing fear right now,
There will likely be thoughts and feelings that attempt to pull your attention away from the breath.
And when this happens,
Notice it instead of resisting it or changing it.
Even if that resistance or thinking about changing it is another thought or perception in the mind.
See if you can be welcoming of these thoughts and feelings,
Allowing them to come and go before returning to your breath.
Now imagine you are outdoors on a warm sunny day.
The sky above you is a bright blue sky.
Just a few occasional clouds passing by.
Focus on the warmth of the sun on your skin.
It is helping you to relax all your muscles.
Allow the soothing sensation of this warmth to flow throughout your body.
Starting from the top of your head,
All the way down to your toes.
Enjoy this warmth calmly.
Take over now.
Relaxing your whole body.
See yourself walking through a field of fresh green grass and vibrant flowers.
Take a deep breath in and smell the nature around you.
Smell the beautiful fragrant flowers.
Allow them to bless you with their gentle yet sweet charm.
You lay down on the grass.
Surrounded and relaxed by this vast field of life.
You are enjoying the sun.
Enjoying the gentle refreshing breeze that tickles your skin.
Feel even more relaxed and rejuvenated as you continue to rest in this beautiful and peaceful place.
Allow yourself to bring to mind what fear means to you.
So you can do this by giving fear a shape,
A color,
Texture,
Or a name.
Notice how it makes you feel picturing fear.
Are there any emotions that arise to the surface?
Know that any feelings you may be experienced in this moment are totally okay.
You are safe here.
Take a deep breath in and let it flow through your body.
You are safe here.
Take a couple of deep breaths to remain your body and your mind grounded.
You can also acknowledge to yourself,
I am scared.
I am afraid.
When we note what we think or feel,
There is a sense of having dealt with these difficult emotions,
Which makes it easier to let fear go.
Try to notice where fear is located in your body.
So maybe it is in your belly,
Your chest,
Or your throat.
Wherever it may be,
Just picture where you can feel most of the fear in your body and send your calm and soothing breaths to this area.
Feel yourself becoming more relaxed and more comfortable as you continue to breathe.
Once you have visualized and materialized fear,
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Allow yourself to approach fear through a kind and nurturing lens.
When we name our fears,
We create a bit of distance and space between ourselves and our fears.
We lessen the intensity of the emotional reaction that fear cultivates.
So just observe your fear with curiosity and interest.
We give power to our fears by trying to hide from them.
But there are ways of working with your fear.
And it is about trying to befriend your fear and trying to get to know it better.
After all,
Fear is a very natural and primitive human emotion.
It is there to protect us.
Be kind towards yourself for being afraid.
Approach fear with respect.
Be afraid.
Approach fear with friendliness.
And when you attend to your fear,
Ask yourself the following questions.
What's the worst that can happen?
Can I do anything to change the situation that frightens me?
Is this fear tied with memories or past experiences?
Am I afraid of something happening now that happened before or that I think will happen in the future?
So just take a moment to sit with your fear.
Notice how it feels in your body.
Does your breathing change when you feel afraid?
Do you experience any physical sensations?
And maybe there is an arc to your fear where it increases,
Peaks,
And then subsides.
So just simply observe without any judgment.
And if you stay with your fear,
Neither grasping onto it or trying to get rid of it,
Maybe you find other feelings beneath or within the fear.
So just simply observe.
At this moment,
You may still find some thoughts lingering in your mind.
Instead of trying to suppress them,
Allow them to float about in your mind,
Taking note and observing any feelings invoked.
So whatever these thoughts are,
Simply acknowledge their existence before letting them go.
By cultivating mindfulness,
Our feelings of fear and anxiety becomes a passing experience that simply comes and goes.
Whenever you may experience these feelings,
Always know you can return to the breath.
Breathe in and let it go.
When we can learn to allow without judgment what is there rather than fighting,
Denying,
Or controlling it,
We can reduce our stress.
We no longer struggle against the thoughts and feelings that may cause us to worry.
We learn to accept,
To acknowledge,
And to let it go.
We will never remove all fears from our lives.
As long as we can remain compassionate and friendly with our fears,
We can approach them without getting caught up in them.
We are better equipped to manage feelings of fear.
With a little distance,
We adopt a calmer and more tranquil perspective.
We can experience fear in our bodies and still find peacefulness within it.
Now it is time to gently reawaken your body and mind.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Notice the sounds around you.
Feel the floor beneath you.
Feel your clothes against your body.
Wiggle your toes and fingers.
Shrug your shoulders gently.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Namaste.
