Meeting Emotions With Mindfulness & Compassion

Dear Friend,

This gentle, 12-minute guided mindfulness and compassion meditation is designed to help you turn toward your emotions with kind, curious awareness — whether you're new to meditation or have an established practice.

There's no need to fix, change, or push anything away. Instead, you'll be invited to attend to whatever is present and befriend (or open to the possibility of befriending) your inner experience — greeting emotions as you might greet a friend stopping by for a visit.

We'll begin by settling the body and anchoring attention wherever you choose, then explore how to meet emotions with a steady, loving presence. You'll be guided to name what you're feeling, notice where emotions are felt in the body, use resourcing techniques if needed, and practice offering yourself compassion.

With this practice we step into being the space of loving awareness that can hold it all - including the full spectrum of human emotion.

With Love,
Kelsea

Photo Credit: Kate Warren

Transcript

Hi friends, This is Kelsey with Life Alchemy and this is a guided meditation to support you in bringing mindfulness and compassion to emotions. Come into whatever shape would feel best for your body right now. And as you're settling, Remember that my guidance is just suggestion, And any modifications that serve you are most welcome here. Let's take a full, Deep inhalation, Feeling the chest and belly. In a long, Slow exhalation, Maybe sighing it out. Repeat this a few more times. And on the exhalations, See if you can release any tension in the body. Sinking into the surface below. You might invite a sense of softening at the eyes. The jaw, And the shoulders. And the belly. If the breath is a comfortable place for you to anchor attention, Begin to notice the natural breath. Maybe noticing the breath coming in and out of the nostrils. Or maybe noticing the rise and fall of the chest and belly. Another option is to notice sensation in the hands. The sensation of the surface beneath you. Or sensations anywhere that it feels neutral or pleasant. Whatever anchor you choose, See if you can meet whatever's here with a kind, Curious awareness. On your own now. If the attention has wandered, As it naturally does, Just gently return to your chosen anchor. Noticing the coming and going sensations. I invite you now to bring awareness to any emotions that call for attention, And see if you can meet them with the same kind, Curious quality you bring to the sensations at your anchor. Whenever an emotion arises, Allow the attention to recede from your anchor and focus instead on receiving that emotion kindly, Like greeting a friend stopping by for a visit. It can be helpful to gently name whatever emotion is visiting. Maybe sad, Sad, Sad. Calm, Calm. Nervous, Nervous, Maybe something else. And as you attend to this emotion, See if you can notice where you feel it in the body. What does it feel like? And what does it feel like in the greater field of sensation? If the experience becomes difficult, It can be helpful to ask, Can I be with this? If so, You might whisper, Yes, Or this too, Or I care about this pain. You might even explore bringing a loving hand to the heart or to the area of the body where you're feeling the emotion. If any resistance or judgment toward the emotion arises. See if you can hold that in your kind awareness too. If the experience feels like too much, You might try shifting the attention back and forth between the emotion and your chosen anchor, Or returning the attention to your anchor fully. If it feels okay to stay with the emotion, Begin to notice how it responds to your kind, Curious attention. Does it get stronger? Or dissolve. Something else? Does it change into another emotion? You are the space of loving awareness, Kindly noticing whatever comes and goes. When an emotion has passed, Or if the attention has wandered, Just gently return to your anchor. If another emotion arises, Bring the same loving awareness to it. For the next minute, Explore nourishing yourself with compassion. You might offer a loving phrase like, May I be kind with myself. May I accept myself just as I am, Or anything else that resonates. If this is difficult, You might imagine the phrase coming from a loved one, A spiritual figure, Or your higher or future self. Or, You might instead bring this compassion to yourself with a comforting visual, Or by welcoming in a somatic sense of love. When we include emotions in our loving awareness, We attend to and can even befriend our inner experience. We notice how emotions come and go, Become the steady witness that can hold it all, And respond to whatever arises with greater kindness and care. While this can be really difficult at first, Like any skill, It becomes more natural over time. Remember that no two practices are ever the same, And the more we practice being in loving awareness, The more we become open, Balanced, And free. I thank you for practicing with me and am sending much care. Until next time.