In my experience,
Loneliness is one of the hardest emotions to sit with.
To allow loneliness to flow through the body seems incredibly hard.
Other more difficult emotions such as anger,
Greed,
Jealousy and even fear appear to be more socially acceptable.
So for me,
When I experience loneliness,
It brings up feelings of not being good enough,
Not being lovable enough.
Maybe you feel the same.
So we make our lives busy,
With work,
With activities,
With friends and family.
We repel away from solitude in case we feel lonely.
That's certainly been my experience.
But loneliness,
Like every other emotion,
Is just energy in motion,
No more than that.
Feeling lonely doesn't mean you're not worthy or not lovable.
Being able to sit in the discomfort of loneliness can open doors to a deeper awareness.
Today,
In this guided meditation,
We will do just that.
Open the door to loneliness and see where it takes us.
Come into a seated position.
Use any supports you have to be as comfortable as possible.
Gently close the eyes or allow the eyes to have a soft focus at the top of the nose.
Feel your body here and now.
Feel your sit bones making contact with the earth or your chair.
And just take some deep breaths.
Before we begin,
We're going to use a white light visualization practice to support us as we explore with awareness this more challenging emotion.
Continue to breathe slowly.
Allow your exhale to extend longer than your inhale.
Stay here for a few moments,
Focusing on your breath.
Letting go of the awareness of your breath,
Come back to feeling into your physical body.
Feel sit bones making contact with the ground or chair.
Now I'd like to invite you to imagine yourself surrounded by a white light from the crown of your head to your tiptoes.
All around you is a warm white light.
You feel safe and secure.
You are loved and supported.
Now allow yourself to imagine a time when you felt lonely or maybe you feel lonely now.
You don't have to be on your own to feel lonely.
Being with people we don't resonate with can cause us to feel lonely and create a sense that we don't belong.
Just sit with this feeling for a few moments.
Allow whatever comes up to come up.
Try not to follow any stories associated with the emotion,
Memories or thoughts.
If you find that happening,
Gently bring yourself back to the breath.
Your breath is your anchor and the white light is providing you protection as you do this work.
Loneliness is a natural part of being a human being.
It doesn't mean we're not lovable or worthy.
Acknowledging it's okay to be lonely sometimes is so empowering.
So see if you can allow yourself not to run away from this uncomfortable feeling.
Come back to the deep breathing,
Extending your exhales once more.
Allowing now the white light to fade,
But knowing your own divine light is always with you through the highs and lows of living a human experience.
You can visualize this light any time you feel you need a little protection.
Take a moment to acknowledge yourself for showing up today,
For allowing yourself to feel into your loneliness.
As you start to move through the rest of your day,
Just remember loneliness is just energy in motion.
It will pass,
But by not pushing it away,
We can learn from this experience.
If you enjoy journaling,
You might like to journal on what came up for you in this practice.
Bring your hands to your heart,
Thank yourself for being open,
Curious and know that you have so much to offer this world with your insights and bravery.
