Compassion Meditation For Holding Ourselves More Lightly

In this meditation, we use a gentle visualization to imagine and sense the 'grip' or 'hold' we can have against ourselves. We allow the washing in and out of waves at the ocean side, to softly let go of this grasping and contraction, and open to a greater sense of kindness and lightness in our own conversation with the world.

Transcript

This meditation is dedicated to cultivating the softness and ease that comes from letting go,

From allowing and listening.

We spend much of our time actively trying to edge ourselves a little closer to the life we think we are meant to be leading,

The love that we think we are meant to be experiencing.

And amidst the deadlines and expectations we place on ourselves and we have placed on us,

It is a rarity to experience the joy,

Ease and flow that comes with letting go and letting come.

Nothing is always forever changing,

Nothing natural ever stays the same,

You know this.

Yet we try to cling to our identities,

To other people,

To places,

To outcomes.

So let's see if we can touch the joy that resides in letting go and let's remind ourselves that we know our way there,

In this practice.

So just finding a comfortable posture that will allow you to be both relaxed and attentive.

Maybe you're seated or maybe you're lying down,

Either is perfectly fine.

Wherever you are,

Just gently closing down your eyes on your exhale,

If you're comfortable to.

And just turning your attention inwards,

This is your time and your space and you're choosing to be here.

So maybe just sending a bit of gratitude towards yourself as well,

For carving out some space in the dense forest of your life.

And on your next inhale,

Just know you're inhaling.

And as you exhale,

You know you're exhaling.

Just taking a couple of breaths like this,

Having your mind come to rest with the body.

Just arriving and settling for your practice.

As you breathe in,

Know you're breathing in.

And as you breathe out,

Knowing that you're breathing out.

Now that your attention is a little more soft,

Just noticing what has become obvious or at least a little more clear.

Is there tension somewhere in the body,

Holding,

Tightness?

Just making any small adjustments to allow yourself to feel free and light in your posture.

There's nothing worse than trying to be gentle and compassionate and still minded when all you're doing is aching.

So just notice if there's any tension or holding in the body and just take a moment to soften wherever you can.

When you're ready,

Taking your gaze on the inside of your eyelids and attention up to the forehead,

The space between your eyebrows.

And in your mind's eye,

Can you imagine yourself laying on a beach,

Facing upwards towards the sky?

You can feel the sand between your toes,

The warmth of the sun beaming down on your face,

Your arms,

Your legs,

Your torso.

It's fairly warm and you can feel the aliveness of the sun on your body,

That sharpness to the sun.

There's a light sea breeze,

You can smell the saltiness of the oceanic breeze,

Drifting softly across your face.

The sound of the waves gently lapping up against the shore,

Being closer and closer to you.

Hearing the birds in the distance as they fly over,

But you've got your eyes closed.

As you take a couple of deep breaths,

The sensation of descending into the sand beneath you on every exhale,

Just allowing the beach,

The sand to hold you.

Now for a while,

You start to hear the lapping of the water on the shore,

Getting a little bit closer.

You feel the water just softly roll up in over your toes and ankles,

Just a light chill,

And returning back to the ocean.

Again the water comes up,

This time halfway up your shins,

And as it washes back into the ocean,

This time you feel it take with it your concept of time,

That there could be anywhere else you might need to be.

So as the water rushes back out into the ocean,

It takes with it this idea,

This concept of time and urgency,

And needing to make the most of it.

So as it's washed out to sea,

You feel just that little bit lighter,

That little bit softer.

Again the sensation of sinking even a little bit deeper into the sand beneath you.

Inhaling this time the water washes up all the way to your knees,

And as it returns to the ocean you exhale,

And this time it takes with it one of the capes we sometimes like to wear.

The cape of having all of our things together,

Knowing what we're doing,

Being seen to be mentally strong.

So letting the water take with it just one of the capes you might like to hold.

Inhaling and this time it washes up to your thighs.

Exhaling as it returns and taking another cape with it,

Bringing to mind another idea or identity you'd like to hold close and dearly.

Even as it washes back into the ocean,

Feeling the sense of weightlessness,

You're lighter,

You're softer,

Greater sense of ease,

Letting go of a sense of self or something that we hold close and cling on to.

Just allowing the holding of the beach and the sand to bolster you up as the water washes away and all of these things we cling to.

And breath by breath the water slowly comes all the way up to your shoulders,

Neck and head,

Washing away all of your holding,

The musts,

The shoulds,

The people,

The goals,

The outcomes,

Leaving you lighter each time,

Until now you're floating,

Held by the water itself.

There's no more clinging to identities or people or outcomes.

Thoughts come and they go.

Emotions come and they go.

Sounds come and they go.

All just weather systems passing through the open blue sky of your mind.

And so you take this opportunity to rest in this great openness,

Allowing life to flow through you without holding or grabbing at it in any way.

And so you take a moment to practice laying here without needing to know,

Without needing to grasp or hold on to anything.

Practicing resting in your own living presence.

And you may notice your mind drifting off,

Being taken somewhere else,

Somewhere other than here,

Into a sort of virtual reality.

And if that's the case,

That's perfectly normal.

Just bring a gentle smile to your mind,

To your body,

To your heart.

Noticing where it's drifted to,

And then just allowing it to come back to the sensation of floating here,

Of resting in the openness,

The space in between.

And just taking a couple of deep breaths just here.

The stomach expanding on the inhale and contracting on the exhale.

Seeing if you can notice the inhale,

The exhale,

And the space between,

Just for a couple of breaths.

And maybe just taking a moment to reflect on what this experience brought to you.

Did it remind you of something?

Did it teach you something?

Or did it just bring about a feeling that was comforting,

Inspiring,

Grounding?

Maybe it was just a reminder.

A reminder that you know your way back to this feeling.

Or maybe it was a sense of permission,

That it's okay to let go and to not know,

And to live and exist in this vast openness,

In the space between.

So I'll close with a reading from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.

And just allow it to wash through you,

Touching you in the way that it will,

And bringing you back to the day ahead with a sense of renewal.

Colors blind the eye,

Sounds deafen the ear,

Flavors numb the taste,

Thoughts weaken the mind,

Desires wither the heart.

The master observes the world,

But trusts their inner vision.

They allow things to come and go.

Their heart is open as the sky.

Reviews

Thank you for this meditation on letting go. So soothing. 🙏🏻

So liberating! And also thought provoking. Thankyou ❤️

Great visualization.
Love the letting go.
Thank you.

Wonderful

This provides a reminder for during the meditation and the day to let go and live. It is an aspiration for living in awareness.

A wonderful guided meditation presented effectively and gently presented without affect. Namasté

I hospital for emergency gallbladder surgery, needed to gently get my breathing deeper, and this was perfect!
Thank you. Will save to my favorites and recommend.
✨🙏🏼✨

Your imagery-analogy and guidance are wonderful! Thank you, Al. Namaste.

…permission to rest here,
“in your living presence”…

Thank you

Letting go when you feel SO responsible for way too much is difficult, but necessary for wholeness. Thank you for this experience, the lovely metaphor of the movement of the sea connecting us ultimately with themost powerful gravitational forces of the All…I am grateful. Linda

I liked this very much

Wow! Just wow! So freeing. I loved the part about letting go of the cloaks we wear. The imagery was especially powerful. It truly settled my heart and spirit. Thank you!

Beautiful practice 🙏💙✨

Thank you 🙏