This meditation can be used at any time but may be especially helpful when you are experiencing difficult emotions such as disappointment,
Anger,
Frustration,
Anxiety,
Or sadness.
If you are experiencing very intense emotions or have experienced a trauma,
It might be important to do this exercise only with the guidance of a licensed mental health professional.
Get into a comfortable position in a place where you will be undisturbed for the duration of this meditation.
Allow your body to settle in where you are seated.
Let the sound of the bell signal the beginning of this meditation.
Take a moment to feel the sensations in your body where your body is making contact with the surface you are sitting on.
Feel the softness or hardness underneath you.
Feel the sensations in the soles of your feet as they rest on the ground beneath you.
Feel the pull of gravity as it keeps you seated right where you are.
Feel at the same time being aware of your body upright and your spine straight.
If you are aware of experiencing a difficult emotion right now,
Take a moment to name it.
Allow the feeling to be there.
Know that you will have the opportunity to turn your attention toward what is there throughout this meditation.
Often our first inclination is to push these feelings away,
But it can be helpful to learn to allow ourselves to feel and be with whatever is there.
Take a moment now to find an anchor for yourself.
For some people the breath is a very helpful anchor.
Direct your attention to your breath as it comes in and as it goes out.
As you do this,
You might visualize dropping your anchor from a ship.
Knowing this anchor will keep the ship secure and safe even in the stormiest of weather.
Let your breath be that anchor that is always there for you to return to again and again.
If you prefer,
You might imagine your body as a strong tree with roots coming out through the soles of your feet,
Growing down deep into the earth,
Creating a strong sense of stability.
With each breath in,
Imagine drawing up nourishment through your roots and into your body.
With each breath out,
Imagine drawing the light from the sun down through your body,
From head to toe.
Take any image or focus of attention that works for you.
For some people,
It might simply be focusing on the sensations on the bottoms of their feet,
Creating a feeling of being grounded.
Take a moment to find your own anchor right now.
Once you feel some sense of stability from within,
See if you can imagine a space large enough to hold your emotions.
You might picture inviting your emotions into the room in which you are sitting.
You might picture a vast ocean large enough to hold your emotions.
Whatever works for you,
See if you can allow yourself to be present to whatever you are feeling.
You are a non-judgmental observer looking with curiosity and compassion.
It can be helpful to imagine observing your emotions from a little bit of distance.
This way you can be with your emotions without being swallowed up by them.
Some people find it helpful to imagine observing their emotions as waves at the ocean rising and falling as you are standing safely on the shore.
You might notice how big or tumultuous your emotions are.
Do they build and crest or perhaps they are smaller and more steady?
Notice the moment to moment passing of your emotions.
You might also imagine your emotions as weather passing by overhead.
How intense is the storm you are feeling right now?
Does it feel like a hurricane,
A steady rain,
A cloudy day or something else?
As you notice your experience,
Hold the larger awareness that whatever you are experiencing is temporary and changing.
Turn your awareness into your body.
Where are you feeling the strongest sensations?
What does it feel like?
Emotions often show up as physical sensations within our bodies.
Can you simply be with what you are feeling?
Notice the tendency of your mind to perhaps want to create a narrative about your feeling,
To pull you into a story about why you are feeling this way.
See if you can notice the narrative but let it go.
Bringing your awareness back into your body,
Just feeling what is there.
Be present as you notice how what you are experiencing may shift and change.
Make space for all of your emotions.
There is nothing you need to do.
Just allow yourself to be present to each moment as it arises.
Imagine now sending some compassion and kindness to yourself for whatever you are feeling.
Send caring feelings to yourself the way that you might do so for someone you care about who is struggling.
See if you can allow those caring feelings to settle into your body and surround you.
Send some softness and kindness around the area of your heart.
Relax into any open space you may feel around your heart.
If it feels tight and closed,
Just send an invitation for it to feel more ease with the passage of time.
At the sound of the bell,
Begin to bring your awareness back into the room at your own pace to conclude this meditation.
