Hello,
This is Barbara Murray-Lane,
And welcome to my guided meditation,
Finding Calm in the Mist of Chaos.
How do you maintain a sense of well-being in your internal landscape when life on the outside feels chaotic,
Unsettled,
And threatens to rock your internal sense of safety and balance?
Where can you go to find a sense of peace,
A deeper sense of calm,
A place that feels more settled,
Grounded,
And balanced,
Restoring you to yourself once again?
I practice a brief and simple breathing and visualization exercise for a few minutes when I feel chaos creeping into my internal world.
This allows me to once again organize my thoughts,
Regulate my emotions,
And restore a state of balance in my body so I can once again feel rooted in myself.
I invite you to join me now in my practice,
Especially if you need a moment to come back to a place of well-being.
Beginning with the basic but essential tool of focusing on your breath,
By placing your hands on your belly,
Can you notice each inhale and exhale of breath?
Observe its rise and fall.
Now the pace and rhythm.
Notice it rushed or shallow.
Are you breathing into your belly?
Perhaps it feels hard to catch your breath.
Let's try deepening the breath by paying attention to the rise and fall of your hands on your belly.
Breathe slowly and then repeat this until your breath becomes steady.
This may take several inhales and exhales.
Be patient as you allow your body to return gradually to a calmer state.
Now place your hands on your heart,
Our emotional center,
And feel its rhythm and pace.
Is it pounding,
Perhaps rapidly beating or fluttering?
Perhaps,
Though,
It feels more settled as you have begun to regulate your breath.
Either way,
Continue to utilize your breath once again,
Allowing the rhythm of your heart to slow with each inhale and exhale.
Can you bring your focus to the up and down pattern of your hands while sensing the beating of your heart,
Letting the breath synchronize with the rhythm of your heart,
Repeating this until you feel your body is calmer,
Your emotions more regulated,
And your thoughts quieter.
And most importantly,
You feel you're once again back in a more comfortable and settled state of well-being.
Now,
Let's take a moment to deepen this state of well-being by imagining your favorite safe and peaceful place in the natural world.
Picture nature's beauty surrounding you,
Capturing your senses and enveloping your whole being in a bubble of white light,
Wonder,
And natural beauty,
Encompassing the entirety of you,
Extending to the sky above,
The earth below,
To the right of you,
And the left,
And of course,
The natural world where you are.
Taking a moment to acknowledge your sacred place with this affirmation.
This is my sacred place.
Here I am centered.
I am safe,
Calm,
And grounded,
Rooted in myself.
Let's repeat that.
This is my sacred place.
Here I am centered.
I am safe,
Calm,
And grounded,
Rooted in myself.
Continue to envision yourself standing in this sacred place,
Breathing slowly and generously,
All that it has to offer.
Now your body is calm and grounded,
Your emotions regulated,
And your thoughts content and coherent.
You are now rooted once again back to the self you know,
Your well-being restored,
Chaos banished.
Continue to let the state of being wash over you as it renews and strengthens your sense of calm and balance to your inner landscape.
You are home once again.
Remember this place is just a breath away when external chaos threatens to rock your inner world.
You now have the power to bring you back to a place of well-being,
A sacred place where you are safe,
Calm,
And grounded,
Rooted in yourself.
Stay here for as long as you need.
Then take leave when you are ready.
With gratitude,
Barbara
