Dear friends,
Welcome to a meditation on sitting with difficult emotions.
Before we begin,
Please note that this meditation can be emotionally heavy,
So this might be best saved for a day when I'm feeling okay to deeply connect with my feelings.
And if you'd like to go with another meditation,
Please feel free to do so.
If you're still here,
I hope you do find healing as we together practice being okay with sitting with difficult emotions without trying to change things.
Great.
You can take three deep breaths to let out any tension you might be experiencing right now.
Notice where in your body you feel your breath the strongest.
Your nose,
Your chest,
Your belly.
And bring to mind now a situation for you that's causing you distress or suffering.
You might be experiencing some craving,
Or blaming yourself for something,
Or having difficulties in a relationship,
Or there's something else in your life that's just hard to deal with.
And if you're new to this type of meditation,
It's recommended to try picking something that's not too difficult or too painful,
And just choose something that causes you to feel a little stress in your body when you think about it.
So imagine the situation in as much detail as you can from an observational point of view,
And just look at it and visualize the situation without getting too lost in the story.
And just get in touch with your feelings about the situation.
Do you notice any emotions you feel when you think about this situation?
And there may be more than one emotion when you bring this situation to mind.
You can label each emotion as you begin to notice it.
Anger,
Or fear,
Grief,
Sadness.
What emotions are coming up for you right now?
And now choose one emotion that feels the strongest for you.
Where do you feel this emotion in your body?
There may be several areas where you feel this emotion.
Is it a foggy feeling in the head,
A lump in the throat,
Heaviness in the heart,
Maybe butterflies in the stomach?
Where do you feel this emotion the strongest?
And still holding ourselves with self-compassion,
Focus on that area and describe for yourself how it feels.
Is it tight,
Cold,
Hot,
Maybe tingly or heavy,
Even numb?
And bring all of your attention to this emotion and how it feels in the body.
And see if you can soften this sensation,
Relaxing any tension or stress.
If the emotion feels too intense,
Maybe focus your attention around the edges of the emotion rather than softening the whole feeling.
You might try softening the edges or the borders of the emotion in the body.
Even partially is okay.
And notice if your mind drifts off into thoughts or tries to distract you from the feelings.
And it's normal to want to distract from painful feelings.
If your mind does wander off,
You can gently bring yourself back by reminding yourself of the situation and getting back in touch with your feelings about it.
The goal is to not try to make the sensation disappear.
This meditation is intended to allow you to be with the painful feelings,
With love and self-compassion.
You can acknowledge for yourself how difficult this is.
Part of being human is experiencing painful and difficult emotions.
The good news is we can learn how to comfort ourselves for the suffering we experience in this life.
And if you'd like,
You can place a hand or both hands gently over your heart and feel your heart and feel your breath and feel the warmth of your own hands against your chest,
Offering yourself love,
Gentleness,
And compassion.
Offer soothing and comfort to this difficult emotion,
Telling yourself you know how hard it is to feel this way.
Try out some kind,
Compassionate,
Loving phrases,
Such as this is really hard right now,
Or this is a moment of suffering,
And it's human to experience suffering.
May I be kind and gentle with myself.
And you can use these phrases or choose your own,
Repeating the phrases to yourself.
This is a moment of suffering.
It's human to experience suffering.
May I be kind and gentle with myself.
These feelings are a natural reaction.
You are allowed to feel this way.
Try not to resist or blame yourself for these feelings.
This is simply what's happening right now.
Offer yourself comfort and compassion for how hard this is.
And you can use these phrases like a mantra,
Reminding yourself to be gentle and kind toward your suffering.
This is a moment of suffering.
It's human to experience suffering.
May I be loving and gentle with myself.
Alright,
Letting the phrases go,
You can allow yourself to just feel what is happening right now without trying to change anything.
You can allow the emotion to be there.
Even remind yourself that in this moment you're safe.
As an observer,
Your body is experiencing an emotion,
And you can give yourself permission to allow this emotion to be there.
And it can be really empowering to allow ourselves to not have to fix it or try to change it.
Just notice if any feelings or sensations change on their own,
And allow any discomfort to come and go,
Like waves in the ocean,
Clouds in the sky.
Great.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
You can bring your attention back to your breath.
Bring yourself back into this time and place,
And feel yourself in this moment feel your feet against the floor.
You can wiggle your fingers and toes if you like,
And slowly open your eyes whenever you're ready.
You're safe.
Okay,
Thank you for your practice today.
