Welcome.
May we arrive here and now just as we are.
Let us begin by welcoming the breath,
Inviting it to deepen and slow as we breathe in together and out.
Next,
Welcoming the body,
Allowing it to soften as you settle in for this meditation,
Relaxing and releasing any muscles that are clenching as best you can,
Especially those in the face,
Jaw,
Shoulders and belly.
Closing your eyes if that is safe and comfortable.
Now welcoming the mind,
Gently asking it to set aside any thoughts rooted in the past or future.
Those can always be picked up again later.
Inviting it to become fully present in the here and now.
Finally,
Bringing loving awareness to the feelings of fear that you are experiencing at this time.
No judgment,
Just observing.
If you were to choose a number between 1 and 10 to describe your current level of fear,
1 would be feeling a little nervous and 10 would be feeling terrified.
What number would you choose?
Just make a mental note and let's take another slow intentional breath together.
In and out.
Fear is one of the most ancient emotions of the human experience and while it is certainly not pleasant,
It does usually carry the purpose of trying to keep us safe.
However,
As both you and I know,
Life in the modern era has become oversaturated by many,
Many things that seem to keep fear running fast and hard in our daily lives.
It can be so difficult to simply relax,
To feel comfortable or safe.
For the next few minutes,
We are not going to try and shut the feelings of fear out or make them disappear.
Instead,
We are going to observe and accept in order to move through them.
This is a simple and powerful process that can be used to help find your way through any challenging feeling.
Those feelings,
They come up so they can be felt.
And if we take a little time to actually do that,
As opposed to ignoring,
Distracting or numbing ourselves,
Then they tend to come and go.
Sometimes,
Gifting us with valuable insights along the way.
Okay,
Another breath here.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Letting go of everything I just said and bringing your awareness back to the feelings of fear you are experiencing at this time.
First,
See if you can identify where exactly in your body you are feeling the fear.
For example,
Maybe in your chest or stomach.
If it's feeling more mental,
Where exactly in your brain is it?
And how deeply do you feel it?
Is it just below the surface of the skin or maybe in the muscles or deeper like inside of the stomach,
Inside of the bones?
Is it sitting still or moving?
Noticing more about that.
If it's still,
How large is it?
Can you find the outer edges?
And if it's moving,
What way is it moving?
Maybe it's bubbling,
Throbbing or something else.
Take a few moments to observe.
Can you sense a temperature?
Perhaps it feels cold or warm,
Burning hot or neutral with no sensation of temperature at all.
Just notice.
And if you were to envision this fear as a particular color,
What is the first color that comes to mind?
If more than one comes or if it changes,
Just let it.
This is only an exploration.
You are allowing,
Inviting the fear to show itself and fear like everything else changes.
One more.
What if there were a texture?
If you could reach out and feel it with your fingertips,
Do you think that it would feel smooth,
Scratchy,
Bumpy or jagged?
What would the texture be?
Any physical sensations that we experience or envision as we move through fear are temporary because no feeling is final and no feeling,
However strong,
Can define who we are.
For in our natural state,
We are relaxed,
We are comfortable and safe and at peace.
Now that you have become more aware of the way the fear is presenting in your physical body,
Let's see if there's anything it wants to express.
It's important not to think too hard here.
This is a chance for your intuition to step forward.
In a moment,
You're going to ask the fear you are feeling if there's anything it wants to express.
Then allow it to answer,
Ideally through your voice,
Perhaps with actual words or sound,
Maybe even humming or through breath,
Releasing any big expectations.
This is to help it move.
So let's take a slow deep breath in and out and then ask yourself,
Fear,
Is there anything you would like to express?
Okay,
Bringing that to a close.
So you have become more aware of the way your fear actually feels.
You have offered it an opportunity to express itself and now I'm going to share a mantra with you.
You can think of this like a bridge helping to relate to the fear in a healthy way.
I will repeat it eight times and you can simply listen or say it along with me.
You might also like to explore moving your hands at the same time.
The infinity symbol is one possibility,
However this is another chance for your intuition to step forward.
This is the mantra.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
Now to repeat eight times.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
I accept this feeling and allow myself to move through it.
At this time I'd like to invite you to tune back in to the fear you are feeling as we did in the beginning by giving it a number between one and ten.
One meaning you are feeling slightly nervous at this time.
Ten feeling terrified.
Zero is also a possibility.
Take a moment to choose your number and now think back to what you chose when we started.
Whatever changed or didn't change,
Please remember this.
You are not your emotions.
They are a temporary state.
You can always move through them,
Often receiving valuable insights along the way.
Learning to invite awareness and acceptance of all our feelings is a process and like any process the more we practice the easier it becomes.
I invite you now to gently bow your head toward your chest as a gesture of gratitude honoring the wisdom found within and everything that your beautiful beating heart helps you to feel.
Let's bring this meditation to a close with one final breath together in and out.
Slowly opening your eyes as ready,
Bringing awareness to the space around you.
Thank you for joining me.
