Hello and welcome to the practice of meditation.
My name is Marin Sommer and I'm a mindfulness and meditation mentor and I'm happy that you're joining me for this seven-minute guided meditation focusing on forgiveness.
If you would,
Close down the eyes gently and let your body and mind really relax during this meditation.
Allow yourself to rest in this space,
Taking time to focus on yourself.
Relax the forehead,
The eyes,
The lips,
The tongue and in particular the jaw,
Where we often store a lot of tension.
If it doesn't feel comfortable or safe with your eyes closed,
Keep your eyes open during the meditation.
As we begin,
Just gently find the belly breath and be mindful of the rising and the falling of the belly.
The breath is your fixed point of concentration and it helps stop the fluctuations of the mind.
Know that you don't need to arrive at any result in meditation.
It's a practice and it doesn't have to be perfect and you can't really do it wrong.
Now when it comes to forgiveness,
It's a choice and it can set us free of anger,
Bitterness,
Blame and resentfulness.
Because when we hold on to the past,
It can be difficult to really live in the present moment.
Forgiving others for what they did does not mean that you condone their actions.
It simply means that you choose to release the weight of it for your own well-being,
Allowing your energy to return to you.
And know that forgiveness is possible.
Keep breathing normally and focus on the breath coming in and going out,
The belly rising and falling.
Now gently bring your mind generally to all hurt you remember or a particular person who hurt you,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
And caused you to suffer.
You can think of it as a person and say the name of a particular person,
If that feels right for you.
Visualize the pain dissolving as gray smoke as you breathe out and say silently,
To the extent that I'm ready,
I forgive you.
I will not carry this resentment any longer.
I release it.
Stay with a feeling of forgiveness for a while,
Letting it settle wherever it wants to,
And take a moment to appreciate yourself for doing this important work.
Keep focusing on the breath and check that you're still relaxed,
That your heart and chest are open.
Keep the head over the heart,
The heart over the hips,
And the chest over the head.
So that the breath can move freely through you.
Maybe you feel called to repeat the forgiveness flow once more.
If so,
Visualize the old hurt dissolving as gray smoke as you breathe out and say silently,
To the extent that I'm ready,
I forgive you.
Let the feeling settle softly within you and keep breathing normally.
Allow yourself to rest in the knowing that this meditation is building resilience and a sense of inner ease.
And if your mind has drifted away,
Gently draw it back and focus on your belly breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Breath by breath.
Your body knows how to breathe.
You just let it.
Keep breathing normally.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breath by breath,
Moment by moment.
Now gently change the focus to the physical surroundings,
Noticing the sounds and sensations around you.
And whenever you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes and carry this sense of calm with you into the rest of your day.
Thank you for joining this guided meditation.
