Welcome to this guided meditation.
My name is Dr.
Vanessa Lee and I want to show you today how we can work through times of overwhelm and anxiety by slowing down and tapping into something that brings us into the present moment.
Being in the present moment allows us to let go of our attachment to the past as well as release some of the worry that comes from feeling fear or anticipation about the future.
In less than five minutes,
You can start to slow down your whole system and shift yourself out of fight or flight.
One of the ways we come into the present moment is by engaging in something that can be only experienced in the now moment.
And that aspect is our five senses.
The senses bring us into the present moment because they cannot be experienced in the past or in the future.
You can only smell the scent of toast that's around you right now.
So a quick way to remember this is that in less than five minutes,
You can use your five senses to find your way back to feeling grounded and present.
Start.
By just placing yourself in a comfortable position where you will have very few distractions or interruptions for the next few minutes.
Your first sense to engage is sight,
And so,
With your eyes open,
Slowly gaze upon one thing.
Just observe it in this moment.
For instance,
If you have a cup.
Or your hand.
You just gaze at it softly and notice things about it.
Notice the silhouette of it.
The color,
The textures,
The feel of it.
And then slowly shift your gaze to a second item.
And in the same slow,
Soft,
Calm way notice things about it.
It's shape.
The way the light reflects or hits it.
Wrinkles,
Scratches,
Textures that you can notice.
And none of these things you see have any meaning.
They're just something in your visual sight.
Choose a third item.
And slowly repeat the process.
While you allow yourself.
To feel.
Nothingness.
Of having no attachment.
To the meaning of these items.
Choose a third item.
And in the same way gaze upon it softly.
With no objective,
No judgment,
And no story.
It's just a thing.
And repeat this with a fourth and fifth item.
And once you have looked at five different things,
You may wish to close your eyes and notice four things that you hear.
And in the same way.
Notice.
The first thing is loud,
Quiet,
Sharp,
Dull.
And just be with the sound.
Choose a second sound.
Be in the moment of just listening to the second sound.
And choose a third sound.
Notice any textures within the sound.
Notice how the sound makes you feel.
And then notice a fourth sound.
And as you move from sounds,
Shift into three things that you can feel.
These may be tactile items around you,
Like your chair,
Your desk,
Your clothing.
You may feel them with your fingers or just notice how your skin already feels as you contact the item.
Slowly choose the second item.
And it may even be.
.
.
Engaging your sense of feeling within.
It could be an emotion or just a sensation.
That you notice.
Such as a temperature shift.
Or the flow of energy within your body.
And lastly,
Choose.
A third thing that you can either touch or feel,
And with no judgment,
Experience that to its fullest.
Notice your body getting softer and calmer as you shift out of fight or flight Engage your sense of smell and notice one thing that you can smell right now.
Release any stories that arise and just smell it.
And as you feel your breath helping with your sense of smell Choose a second smell that you may detect.
Notice its richness,
Sharpness,
Location.
Memories that may come up as you smell it and also release the stories related to any memories.
And lastly,
Notice one thing you can taste.
Fully immerse yourself in the sense of taste.
And as you're tasting it,
Let the sensation of the taste travel throughout your whole system.
This may take a little practice,
But any sense that you engage can actually change the energetic flow within your body.
So as you practice more and more and become more aware of your internal sensations,
You may notice things softening,
Releasing,
Shifting and moving with each time that you engage your senses.
So practice this regularly.
You can do it in the shower,
You can do it while you're walking,
You can do it while you're engaged in food prep in the kitchen.
Anywhere where you can do this safely really helps to bring you back to the present moment,
Bring you out of the distortions that occur from dwelling on the past and worrying about the future.
And over time you may be able to do this at a faster pace and still achieve the same level of calmness that may have come up for you today.
Thanks for joining me and if you want to experience more meditations that help you soften back into yourself,
Feel free to follow me and I'll see you at the next meditation.
