Hello and welcome to this meditation to relieve something you're stressed about or ruminating on.
In this meditation,
We'll guide you through a strategy to address any dark thoughts,
Deep-seated fears,
And insecurities,
Whatever they may be.
Dark thoughts are perfectly normal.
Deep-seated fears and insecurities are also perfectly normal,
And worrying about them is perfectly normal.
It's all a part of how your mind processes these things so that you can move beyond them.
But at times,
Our monkey minds can become trapped by them and be unable to focus on other priorities in our lives.
And all of this is perfectly normal.
This meditation is designed to help you reposition the things that scare or worry you the most so that it softens and lets go of their grip on your mind,
Your body,
And your spirit.
This meditation is particularly helpful to allow you to sleep,
Letting go of the things that worry you without trying to pretend that they don't exist.
Ignoring or burying your worries may make them fester and get worse,
And sitting with them is important for long-term processing.
So let's begin.
Start by finding your comfortable meditation position and being sure to eliminate anything that will distract you so that you can peacefully go through this exercise.
Whether you are seated or lying down for this meditation,
Ensure that the spine is nice and long,
Envisioning a long clear channel from your tailbone all the way up to the crown of your head.
If it feels safe to you,
Begin to close your eyes or soften the gaze and settle into your meditation.
We'll start by taking three deep breaths to fully arrive,
Starting with a deep inhale through the nose as slowly as you can to fill your abdomen fully.
When you feel completely full,
Let the breath go as slowly as you can and out through your mouth.
Inhale again through the nose,
This time a little more slowly.
When you've inhaled enough and feel like your belly is completely full,
Hold it at the top for just one second,
Sip a little more air through your nose and hold before letting the air out the mouth as slowly as you can.
No major effort to extend the breath,
Just allowing it to fall away naturally.
When you've exhaled all the air,
Pause for one second at the bottom,
Push a little bit more air out through your mouth and pause.
When you feel the need to inhale,
Allow the air to naturally flow in through your nose,
Inhaling as slowly as you can,
Filling up your abdomen.
Slowly exhale out your mouth,
Allowing the air to fall away from your body.
By now you should feel most of your body letting go of tension.
Return to normal breathing and notice how your body feels heavy and relaxed.
Now picture yourself walking into a clean room.
Imagine the walls.
Is there a trim?
Are the walls a particular color?
Is there a window?
Envision everything as clearly as you can and focus on the details.
Now imagine there's a table sitting by itself in the middle of the room.
It can be any kind of table that you want,
So long as it's clean.
Imagine the details of the table.
How do the legs look?
Is the table wood?
What color is it?
How big is it?
Now envision a container on the table.
It can be anything,
As long as it closes.
It can be a cooler,
A cardboard box,
A book,
A bookshelf,
A box,
A safe,
A crate.
It doesn't really matter,
So long as you can envision it clearly and it has a lid that closes.
Note as many of the details of the container as you can.
Then you begin to notice that this container is open and empty.
Now bring to mind something that stresses you.
Any negative thoughts,
Insecurities.
With compassion,
Focus on one thing that is prominent in your life and that occupies your thoughts regularly.
Know that you are not the stress or negative thought,
But can hold it as something separate from you.
Make that issue into something physical,
Something that embodies the issue that you're worried about.
It can be a tree,
A cat,
A snail,
A person.
It doesn't really matter what.
So long as to you,
The object you envision represents the issue.
Now imagine taking that object and shrinking it down so that you can hold it in the palm of your hands.
Hold it,
Smile at it,
And send it love.
Tell it that it's safe and that you'll be back soon to take care of it.
Once you and this issue in this object are calm enough,
Put the object into the container and gently close the lid.
It'll still be there when you're ready to see it again tomorrow or at another time.
But for now,
You can rest.
May this help you let go of the day's worries and allow you to sleep better at night.
Thank you for joining us in this meditation.
