Letting Go - Space In Your Body & Mind

In this talk & meditation, we explore the embodied meditative feeling of letting go of the habitual clinging to thoughts and then opening into into spaciousness. Resting in spaciousness not only starts to change our habitual patterns but allows for transformation to begin.

Transcript

In the busy modern lives that we live,

With all its stresses and anxieties,

It can often happen that our mind clings to something that we're really worrying about or stressing about.

And no matter how much we try to quiet our mind,

It's like we can't stop thinking about it.

When our minds are constantly clinging to a worry or thought,

We can feel like we're in a very tight,

Contracted space,

Almost like an enclosed space.

What we need is spaciousness,

Space in our body and space in our mind.

And then whenever we're distracted,

We can learn to let go of the thought,

Like we're letting go of a helium-filled balloon,

Allowing the balloon to fly off into the sky to wherever it wants to go.

And then we can just come back to our body and notice any tension,

Allow it to relax,

And then let our awareness open again to a sense of spaciousness.

As we develop confidence in being able to let go of the clinging to the thought,

It starts to change the habitual patterns that we have developed over our lifetime.

And in time,

You'll find that you're more able to rest within spaciousness,

Both in your meditation and in your daily life.

And this brings with it feelings of joy,

Calm,

And genuine happiness.

In this meditation,

We're going to first let ourselves relax and ground,

Allowing our meditation to become steady.

Then we'll start opening our awareness to become aware of our body.

And then you're going to let your awareness open to a more spacious sense of awareness.

Whenever you are distracted,

Just see if you can just let go of the thought,

Like you're letting go of a helium balloon,

And then come back to your body and allow any holding or contraction to let go and let yourself open into spaciousness again.

I will guide you through it,

So don't worry.

Just let yourself relax and be present in your body.

As we move into the meditation,

Find yourself somewhere comfortable to sit,

Somewhere you can sit with your back straight and tall,

With fresh air coming in your lungs.

Don't be too rigid.

Allow a sense of movement in your body.

I'll give you some guidance and then I'll leave some spaces of silence,

Some space for you to be really present in your own experience and feel what is happening for you.

As you relax in your seat,

Start to bring your awareness in to become aware of your breath,

Aware of your breath within your body.

You could notice the feeling of the air coming in and out of your nostrils or your throat,

Or notice the feelings and sensations of your lungs,

Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each breath.

See if you can really allow yourself to just be present in your body and be inquisitive of feelings and sensations in your body as you breathe.

Shift your awareness slightly to become aware of your out-breath as a resting and settling breath and really follow each out-breath down and feel yourself relaxing deeper and deeper with each out-breath.

When you become distracted,

Just soften around it and see if you can let go of the thought,

Just like you're letting go of a helium balloon and then come back to your body and notice any holding or contraction that is there.

Allow that to soften and relax and open again.

And then gently bring your awareness back to your breath and back to notice feelings and sensations within your body as you breathe.

Move your awareness now to the ground of your being.

Notice the sensations of the weight of your legs.

Notice the feelings and sensations of the ground pushing up from below you.

Notice the feeling of it really supporting you as you relax.

See if you can really allow yourself to trust that sense of ground and really relax and let go into that ground.

Whenever you become distracted again,

Try not to judge yourself.

Try not to push it away or stop it.

Just kind of soften around it and see if you can let go of the thought,

Like you're letting go of a helium balloon.

Notice what you feel in your body,

Any holding or contraction and then gently allow it to soften,

Relax and open again.

And then gently bring your awareness back to your breath,

Back into feelings and sensations in your body and allow your whole body to deeply relax into your ground again.

Move your awareness up into the trunk of your body and notice any feelings and sensations there.

Just notice what is there and give it space to be as it is.

Expand your awareness out to the rest of your body,

Up to your arms,

Up to your neck,

Your head and back down into your legs until you become aware of feelings and sensations within your whole body,

From the inside out.

You could have a sense that your whole body is breathing,

Like your skin is permeable and let that breathing process soften the subtle sense of wholeness to your sense of form.

Now let yourself open to a more spacious sense of awareness.

This happens naturally by continuously,

Gently letting go,

Relaxing and letting your awareness open to a sense of spaciousness.

So as you breathe,

Let your whole body breathe and let your awareness gradually become more spacious and open.

Quiet,

Present awareness.

When you become distracted,

Just notice it and see if you can let go of the thought like a balloon.

Notice any tension in your body and then gently allow it to soften and relax and gradually become more spacious and open,

Allowing your whole body to soften and breathe.

While you're allowing yourself to rest in this spaciousness,

You may get a sense of the aliveness within your body and mind.

An inner vitality,

Like a vibrancy within.

Notice what you feel and whatever you notice,

Give it space and allow it to be.

Until now,

We've had an awareness of something,

An awareness of your breath,

An awareness of your body.

But now you're starting to allow your awareness to open to spaciousness.

There is less to hold on to in this open spaciousness,

So your mind will cling again to distraction.

So when you're distracted,

Remember to hold your space with a sense of compassion.

Soften around the thought,

Let the thought go,

Notice any holding or contraction in your body and allow it to relax and open again to a sense of spaciousness.

If you're really able to rest within spaciousness,

Sometimes it feels like,

What do I do now?

Well,

Now is where you really get to let go and just rest,

Just be there with a sense of quiet,

Open,

Spacious awareness.

While you're resting in this spaciousness,

This space of allowing,

You might notice a connection to a feeling of love and acceptance.

It might be subtle or it might be obvious,

But bring this feeling of love and acceptance to your heart and then allow that feeling to expand out to the rest of your body until your whole body is filled with feelings of love,

Acceptance and compassion.

And instead of visualizing it,

See if you can really feel those feelings throughout your body.

And then when you're ready,

You can open your eyes and come back into the room and know that you can allow this sense of spaciousness into your body,

Into your mind and into your life as much as you need.

If you enjoy this meditation and are interested in this sense of spaciousness in your life,

You can take a look at my brief course on inside time I called Letting Go,

Spaciousness in Your Body and Mind,

Where I talk a bit more about this experience of spaciousness and bring in a really interesting parallel from quantum physics.

So feel free to take a look.

Thank you.

Reviews

Thank you Olivia I think I’m finally beginning to understand the meaning of spaciousness.

Steady and gentle guidance. Something I really wish to cultivate and lean into. I feel like it for some reason is extra easy to let go of the thoughts in this meditation. Thank you 🙌🌟

Wonderful, clear and calm instruction. Feeling more peaceful now. Thank you, Olivia 🙏🏼