So,
You can begin to arrive wherever you are,
Seated or lying down.
You can let your eyes be softly closed if that feels right.
You can begin by noticing any sounds that are around you in this moment.
And if it's comfortable for you to pay attention to your breathing,
You can bring your attention to your inhale and your exhale.
And just following the sensation of the inhale and the sensation in your body of the exhale.
Breathing in,
Feeling the inhale,
And breathing out,
Feeling the exhale.
And then bringing your attention to your whole body.
And just sensing your body from your head to your feet,
To your hands,
And getting a read on how is my body in this moment.
And you might just invite your body,
If it feels right,
To settle even more into your seat or your lying down.
Just letting it feel a bit heavier.
There's really nothing you have to strive for here.
It's a chance to rest.
And if this is where you'd like to stay for the rest of the meditation,
Just resting,
That's perfectly fine.
So you can just feel free to keep resting and breathing,
Letting your body settle more and more.
Or you can choose to come with me on a journey in your mind.
Really up to you.
So if you're coming with me,
You can bring to mind one of the situations of speaking or listening that you haven't felt have gone as well as you would like.
And just bring that into your awareness.
And as you do,
You might notice what happens in your body.
You might notice if there's tension or tightness anywhere as you remember these situations.
And if there's any tension or tightness,
You might choose to place a gentle hand where you feel that tightness.
Just like you're saying,
I know,
This is hard.
Just giving yourself some compassion for the difficulties that you've faced in communicating.
Not by judging yourself at all,
By just knowing human communication is challenging.
And just really letting yourself know,
It's okay,
It's okay how it's been.
And you might see if you can notice what the feeling is that's there when you think about this communication pattern or this situation.
You might notice what kind of reaction your body is having.
Is it fearful about the conversation?
Is it angry?
Scared?
Whatever it is for you,
Just naming it maybe.
And breathing in and out with whatever is there.
Not trying to get rid of anything,
Just trying to learn.
Exploring inside.
And maybe also noticing what kind of thoughts are there.
What are you telling yourself about the situation?
You might just notice,
What am I telling myself about this situation or this pattern?
And maybe what kind of attention you need from yourself.
What do you need?
Is there something you can say to support yourself?
Like,
Oh dear,
I know this is hard,
Or I'm here.
And then before we come to a close,
You might just make a note for yourself to how you might record this later.
You might want to write this down or take a note about what you discovered.
And then we can just hear the sound of the bell before we come back together.
