Hello,
And welcome to the releasing fear meditation.
You can prepare yourself by finding a nice and comfortable position,
Allowing your hands to rest where they fall most naturally.
Allow your shoulders to roll up,
Back,
And down away from the ears.
And once you've found a comfortable position,
Gently close your eyes.
Now take a slow,
Deep breath in through the nose,
And a long,
Slow breath out through the mouth.
At your own pace and your own speed,
Breathe in fully,
And breathe out slowly.
Breathe in fully,
Breathe out slowly.
One last time,
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
So now that you've allowed your breath to settle,
Take a moment to check in with your physical body,
Noticing any sensations,
And then focusing on each part of your body,
Noticing how it feels today,
Recognizing that areas may feel tense,
And if so,
Taking your breath and sending it to those areas,
Allowing that breath to soothe and soften any places of tension in your body.
Spend a few moments with your body using this time to soothe and rejuvenate any tension you're carrying,
Just by breathing deeply and sending your breath to the areas that feel most tense.
As you do this practice,
Thoughts may arise,
Memories may emerge,
Sensations may appear.
This is all part of the practice.
You came to this meditation because you are experiencing fear right now,
So there will likely be thoughts and feelings that attempt to pull your attention away from the breath.
If this is happening,
Notice it instead of resisting it or trying to change it.
Even if that resistance or thinking about changing it is another thought or perception in the mind,
See if you can be welcoming of these thoughts and feelings,
Allowing them to come and go before returning to your breath.
Now let's imagine you're outdoors on a warm sunny day.
The sky above you is bright blue,
And it has just a few occasional clouds passing by.
Focus on the sun's warmth on your skin and allow it to help you relax all your muscles.
Allow the soothing sensation of this warmth to flow through your body,
Starting from the top of your head and working its way all the way down to the tips of your toes.
Enjoy this warmth calmly taking over now,
Relaxing your entire body.
Now I want you to picture yourself walking through a field of fresh green grass and vibrant flowers.
Take a breath,
Smell the nature around you,
Smell the beautiful fragrant flowers,
And you can see yourself lying down in the soft grass,
Surrounded and relaxed by this vast field of life.
You are safe,
You are loved,
And you are just laying here enjoying the warmth of the sun,
Feeling that gentle refreshing breeze as it tickles your skin,
Allowing yourself to feel even more relaxed and rejuvenated as you continue to rest in this beautiful and peaceful place.
As you continue to dive into the deliciousness of this beautiful scenery,
Allow yourself to bring to mind at the same time what fear means to you.
Start by giving fear a shape,
A color,
A texture,
And a name.
Notice how it makes you feel picturing fear in this way.
Are there any emotions that are arising to the surface?
Know that any feelings you may be experiencing in this moment are totally okay.
You are safe here,
So take a couple of deep breaths,
Remain in your body,
Keep your mind grounded,
And you can also acknowledge to yourself,
I am scared,
I am afraid.
When we know what we think or we feel,
There's a sense of having dealt with those difficult emotions,
Which makes it easier to release.
So now that you've given fear a shape,
A color,
A texture,
And a name,
Try to notice where it's located in your body.
Is it in your belly?
In your chest?
In your throat?
Wherever it may be,
Just picture where you feel it most in your body and send your calm and soothing breaths to this area.
With each breath,
You feel yourself becoming more relaxed and more comfortable.
Now that we've taken some time to understand our fear,
Locate where it is,
Allow yourself to now approach fear through a kind and nurturing lens.
When we name our fears,
We create a bit of distance and space between ourselves and our fears.
We lessen the intensity of this emotional reaction that fear cultivates.
So try now to just observe your fear with curiosity and interest.
You can ask yourself things like,
Tell me more about why you're feeling afraid.
What's happening right now?
What are we scared of most?
We give power to our fears when we hide from them,
But there are ways of working with your fear to befriend your fear and get to know it better.
Fear is very natural and primitive human emotion.
It's here to protect us.
Be kind towards yourself for being afraid.
Approach fear with friendliness and continue to ask your fear questions.
Maybe it's things like,
What's the worst that can happen?
Can I do anything to change the situation?
Is this fear tied with memories or past experiences?
Am I afraid of something happening now?
Something that happened before or something I think will happen in the future?
Just take this moment to sit with your fear.
Notice how it feels in your body.
Notice if your breathing changes,
If there's any physical sensations.
Observe without any judgment.
Just sit with your fear,
With this curiosity.
Don't grasp onto it or try to get rid of it.
Just simply observe.
At this moment,
You may still find some lingering thoughts in your mind.
Once again,
Don't try to suppress them.
Just allow them to float about in your mind,
Noting and observing any feelings that are invoked with these thoughts.
And just acknowledge their existence before allowing them to be let go.
By practicing mindfulness and sitting with our fears,
Our feelings of fear and anxiety become a passing experience that simply comes and goes.
And whenever you may experience these feelings,
Always know you can return to the breath.
Breathe in and then let it go.
When we can learn to allow without judgment,
What is there rather than fighting,
Denying or controlling it,
We can reduce our stress.
We no longer struggle against the thoughts and the feelings that may cause us to worry.
We learn to acknowledge,
Accept and let it go.
We never remove all fear from our life.
As long as we can remain compassionate and friendly with our fears,
We can approach them without getting caught up in them.
And then we're better equipped to manage our feelings of fear.
And with a little distance,
We adopt a calmer,
More tranquil perspective.
We can experience fear in our bodies and still find peace within it.
So now it's time to gently reawaken your body,
Keeping your eyes closed.
Notice any sounds around you.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes,
Shrugging your shoulders gently.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
You are strong,
You are safe,
And you are loved.
Come back to this meditation anytime you need.
