Genuine acceptance is one of many but an essential step in our recovery after trauma.
At first it can seem like a bit of a difficult theme to address because there's often feelings of resistance when we think about accepting things as they are.
You might have even noticed feelings of resistance when you saw the heading of this practice.
And this is because,
Well this was the way it was for me anyway,
We think that if we accept things where they are it will never get better.
But actually quite the opposite is true.
Acceptance doesn't mean giving up.
It means really seeing things as they are right now and allowing it to be as it is.
So seeing your life and your situation just as it is with an open heart and knowing that it's okay.
Everything in life changes and evolves at every moment.
This is just how it is right now.
So asking yourself,
Can I hold that with a sense of love and compassion to allow space for healing?
Acceptance opens our hearts and starts to soften the clinging we have to wanting our life to be a different way.
It changes our relationship with the trauma or our life the way it is.
It starts to untangle us from the inner conflict which only holds us back.
It's time to let go of that,
See your life just as it is and start to allow for healing,
Bringing with it feelings of joy and love.
And it's also about starting to cultivate a compassionate and loving holding space for yourself.
Allowing yourself to be just as you are.
So in this meditation we're going to spend a little while allowing ourselves to ground,
To feel relaxed and feel steady and we'll bring our attention to our heart center and see if we can allow softening and opening.
If we can allow the natural,
Innate love in our hearts to radiate out through our bodies.
Before we begin,
Take a moment to find yourself somewhere comfortable to sit where your body can feel supported but relaxed.
You can have your back straight if you can so that you feel fresh and awake but don't be too rigid.
Allow a softness and a sense of movement in your body.
Once you're comfortable,
Bring your awareness into your breath and allow it to support you as you relax and deepen into your body.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the air coming in and out of your nostrils and your throat.
Notice the feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
Whenever you're distracted,
Try not to judge it.
Try to hold a sense of compassion for yourself.
It's absolutely no problem when you're distracted.
You don't need to do anything with the thoughts.
Just let them be and gently bring your awareness back to your breath and back into feelings and sensations in your body as you relax and breathe.
And now rest your awareness on your out-breath as a resting and settling breath.
And you can follow the path of each out-breath down,
Feeling your body rest deeper and deeper with each out-breath.
And now move your awareness to the ground of your body.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the cushion or the chair pushing up from below you,
The feeling of it really supporting you as you relax.
Notice the sensations of the weight of your legs or your body and how it comes into contact with that ground supporting you.
And see if you're really allowing yourself to trust that sense of ground and completely let go into it,
Feeling your body relax deeper and deeper,
Breath by breath.
And again,
Whenever you're distracted,
See if you can hold it with a sense of compassion without any judgments.
Don't need to stop or push the thoughts away.
They will arise and move through and they'll evaporate all on their own.
When you've noticed you've drifted,
Just gently bring your awareness back to your breath and back into feelings and sensations in your body as you breathe.
Whenever you're distracted,
You'll probably notice a feeling of holding or contraction in your body.
So if you do,
Just gently allow it to soften and relax again,
Feeling your body melt back down into the ground.
And then bring your attention to your heart center and notice what is there as much as you can and seeing if you can allow whatever you notice space to be there just as it is.
Notice if you feel any tightening in your body or in your heart.
If you do,
That's okay.
See if you can let it be there.
And then see if you can allow your heart and your body to soften and open.
If it's helpful,
You can keep taking a deep breath in and then a long,
Slow breath out as you do that.
As you do this,
If it helps,
You can place your hand on your heart and hold it there gently.
This can give a feeling of loving support,
Which can be helpful.
So as you breathe,
Gently allow a softening and opening in your heart.
And notice if this allows your whole body to soften and open,
Breath by breath.
As you rest there,
Notice if you feel a sense of love and joy in your heart.
It might be really obvious or it might be really subtle,
But it is there as an aspect of your true nature.
If you notice a feeling of joy or love,
Allow it to radiate out into your body,
Filling your whole body with feelings of love,
Joy and contentment.
And instead of visualizing this,
See if you can really feel it in your body and rest with this for a little while.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
You can notice during your days any feelings of resistance to how things are and how it feels in your body and see if you can bring that sense of love and openness into it.
This will gradually transform your relationship with the trauma or an experience and begin to make space in your heart for feelings of joy,
Contentedness and inner peace.
This meditation is from my course,
Return to Joy Healing from Trauma,
Where I take you through the steps that I found were truly beneficial and rewarding in our journey of healing.
So feel free to take a look.
The courses are a great space for you to take a journey step by step and reflect back at me so that I can deeply support you as you go along.
Thank you.
