Welcome to this guided practice on emotional expression and perspective change.
So often we go through our lives needing to fit into a mold.
To get by.
As Gabor Maté would say,
We optimize for attachment instead of authenticity.
These situations that we go through where we aren't fully ourselves can create a sense of powerlessness,
Shame,
Fear.
But often when we go where the fear is,
Amazing shifts can happen.
In this guided practice,
I'm going to invite you to go into a situation or memory that holds emotional charge.
We'll feel and express the emotions that are associated with it.
And by the end,
You're going to have a different perspective on the situation,
On the memory.
Let's get started.
So think of a situation,
Could be in your life right now or in the past,
Where you felt a lot of emotion.
Something that you recall that brings up an emotional charge in you.
Could be past experience with a partner,
A breakup,
A trauma.
Anything that comes to mind that holds some emotion,
A loss.
And as you imagine that,
As you bring it to mind,
Just notice what happens in your body.
Maybe you have a sense of uneasiness in your stomach.
Maybe it's a feeling of constriction in the chest.
Whatever sensation that memory evokes,
Actually open up to it.
Lean into it.
Breathe into it.
You can notice if that sensation has a texture.
Does it have a size?
Just allow that feeling to grow or to change.
Allow it to do what it is going to do without trying to fix it.
Without trying to make anything happen.
Just feeling it and allowing it to dance its dance.
And what you'll notice is that this sensation is constantly changing.
As you breathe into it and open up to it,
You'll notice that eventually it will decrease.
Maybe it already is for you.
Just continuing to allow it to move and change.
And allow it to make its way through you without trying to fix it.
Without trying to change it.
And as you notice that sensation decreasing,
You might notice that there's another emotion or sensation in your body.
That starts to arise.
Maybe it's a sense of grief or loss.
Maybe it's anger.
Maybe it's a sense of tenderness.
Whatever you feel in your body,
Bring kind,
Open attention to it.
And let it be there and let it grow.
Noticing what texture or color this sensation is.
Does it have a size?
Is it the size of a golf ball or a beach ball?
Is it heavy or light?
Are there any words or any expressions that are associated with this sensation?
Is there anything that wants to be said or acted out,
Expressed?
And allow yourself to feel that energy as well.
Just giving this sensation your full attention.
Loving awareness.
Allowing it to do whatever it wants to do.
You're not trying to fix it,
Not trying to make it go away.
Instead,
You're meeting it.
And as you meet this challenging sensation,
You're teaching your brain,
Your mind,
That it's actually safe to do.
You are repatterning your brain and your body in this moment.
Just by approaching this difficult sensation.
And eventually,
You'll notice that this feeling,
Like all feelings,
Will change.
It'll start to decrease.
Maybe it already has.
Just breathing into it and facilitating this energy and allowing it to move through you.
And noticing if another sensation starts to take its place.
It might be another challenging feeling,
Like anger or grief.
Sadness.
Or it might be a lighter feeling.
Of joy.
Of compassion.
Desire.
Just allow whatever that sensation is to be there.
Meeting it with curious awareness.
Awareness.
Kind attention.
Not needing to fix anything.
Just feeling.
Not thinking about the sensation.
Actually feeling it.
And you'll notice that eventually,
Like all sensations,
This one will start to change as well.
It might take more or less time.
It's perfectly okay.
Just allowing it to move through you.
Allowing it to dance its dance,
Do its thing.
And as this sensation changes,
Notice how you feel in your body overall.
What has changed within you as you've brought your awareness,
Your attention,
To these challenging emotions?
And I invite you to bring to mind,
Once again,
That memory that we started with.
Bring it to mind and just notice,
Is anything different?
After having met these emotions,
How has your perspective changed?
Does it hold the same emotional charge?
As it did when we started this process.
Or has your perspective on this memory altered the memory itself?
Just notice what feels different as you imagine this memory.
And whenever shifts you notice,
Just giving yourself credit for meeting these challenging emotions,
Doing this work.
Noticing how you have the resources and the capacity to meet challenges in your life.
And when you're ready,
You can let that image fade.
And start to come back into your body,
Into the space around you.
Wiggling your fingers and toes.
And in your own time,
You can open your eyes.
What we've done in this exercise is change the way that you're holding a memory,
Holding a belief.
Oftentimes we're seeing memories not as what actually happened,
But through the lens of certain emotions.
Shame,
Powerlessness,
Fear,
Grief,
Anger,
Whatever it might be.
And when we go into these emotions,
When we feel them and let them move through us,
The memory itself changes.
This is the principle of memory reconsolidation.
And you start to recognize that there can be multiple truths in these situations.
That maybe we have more power,
More strength,
More agency than we thought we did.
Our perspective on the event is forever changed.
It might take multiple instances,
To get to full expression of these emotions from these events.
And that's perfectly normal too.
But what you've done in this practice is re-pattern your brain,
Your body,
Your mind,
And resolve to yourself that you can meet challenging sensations,
Challenging emotions.
Instead of having them take your power away,
They can actually add to and amplify your power.
So great work.
I'll see you next time.
