Find a comfortable seat,
Pay light attention to the breath,
Tune into how you're feeling today.
Going into your feelings can be very vulnerable,
So go very gently.
With any sensations,
Emotions,
Memories that arise,
Notice the intensity.
And if the intensity is high,
We can be afraid of being overwhelmed.
We might see the emotions that come up as a wave coming towards us,
And it might feel too scary to face.
So the first tool of meditation is slowing down.
Slow everything down.
If there's a huge wave that we imagine coming towards us,
We can combine the imagination with the breath to slow down the wave.
Whatever you see or feel as the overwhelm,
And with every breath,
Stretch each moment to start seeing the wave of overwhelm shrinking.
By breathing calmly,
You're speaking to the wave and saying,
It's okay.
I know you want me to know there are big feelings,
And it's okay.
I'm here to feel them,
In my own way,
In my own time.
With every breath,
Send calm energy towards that wave.
See it reach its crest,
And it's listening to you.
It's hearing.
I don't need to be so big.
You're feeling me.
And watch it begin to settle back into the ocean.
Maybe as it settles,
It changes color from dark gray,
And as you watch it recede back into the ocean,
It becomes lighter blue or green or turquoise.
And the clouds,
The ominous black clouds,
Disperse also.
They don't need to overwhelm you either.
And the blue sky is revealed,
Calming the ocean,
Letting the clouds part,
And now you can interact with the ocean.
It's still there,
Still so vast,
That you can be with it now.
You might even walk towards this now very calm ocean,
With the waves lapping gently at the shore,
And you can sit on the beach and watch.
Or you can walk towards those waves,
Feel the wet sand beneath your feet,
Let the waves wash over your toes.
Maybe this is enough for you.
This is enough emotion.
Or maybe you want to step a little more into the water,
And go as far in as feels good to you.
So maybe walking in,
Letting the waves lap around your ankles,
Looking out at the horizon,
The beautiful panorama.
You can see the depths of emotion.
You can go as far into or as far away from them as you need.
Maybe you go further and further and decide you want to swim in it,
Immerse yourself.
It's perfectly safe.
It's perfectly safe to be with the feeling.
You can spend as much time as you need here.
You can come to the ocean every day for the rest of your life,
And when the tsunami comes,
You can slow it down.
Slow everything down.
Let's take the next few breaths to slow down and be with the great ocean of emotion and love.
Gently coming back.
Maybe you've experienced that you can calm the ocean and be held by the ocean.
You can be with your feelings without being overwhelmed by them.
And maybe one day,
Love and loss and joy and grief are the same thing.
They are the way we connect with and hold the preciousness of life.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
