Welcome to your meditation.
This is a space for grief.
You are welcome to be here just as you are today.
You don't have to pretend to be okay.
You don't have to push anything away.
Everything you're feeling is allowed.
Give yourself permission to feel it all in this space.
Grief is a tough thing to move through.
Especially when the world around you is asking you to push past it.
Or everyone else's life seems to be moving on,
When you might feel held up by all the feelings that come along with grieving.
It's completely normal.
Whatever you're feeling.
Everyone's life is their own.
And there is no one timeline for moving through grief.
You are right on schedule.
No matter what you're feeling today.
I promise you.
I've heard people say that grief is leftover love from what has been lost.
Some kind of love,
Attachment,
Or hope that feels like it has nowhere to go when someone's lost or something ends.
And in my experience,
That leftover love needs to be felt.
Even when my heart has physically ached with sadness.
Longing,
Or even desperation.
I've always needed space to feel what's there.
When I was 15,
My dad passed away.
And my grief was so big that I couldn't hold it alone.
But yet the grief I experienced,
When,
Expressed vulnerably and openly to others,
Was met most of the time with a need from another person for me to be okay.
For me to pick myself back up and just keep going.
For me to show up fully for life's demands,
Even when my heart felt shattered in a million pieces.
When there is just one person.
Who would let me move through,
Instead of turning away from my grief.
Those hands reaching out.
They helped carry the heaviness.
Even if it was just 1%.
They reminded me that the grief I was feeling for what I had lost deserved space to be fully felt in all of its realness,
No matter how messy it may have looked to others.
And that's why I'm sharing this practice today.
I'm here in this moment to help be the hands that will support you right now.
The hands that can take even just 1% of the weight off of your heart so that your emotions can move.
I'm here to help you carry the heaviest of grief you might be going through.
You're not alone,
My friend.
We are here together.
It is said that some of the most personal experiences,
The ones that feel like no one can understand but you,
Are some of the most universal.
It may seem on the outside like other people have it all figured out.
Or that they can quote-unquote handle life with more ease.
But the truth is,
We all have a story.
And other people's story as well as our own.
May be one that others never see.
But it's still there.
I've personally lost my favorite person to cancer.
I've been through breakups and a divorce.
I've struggled with fertility.
I've lost a pet.
I've moved away from places that felt like home.
I've had best friendships come to an end.
I've had my dream job abruptly and without warning taken from me.
I've had the feeling of being safe in the world shaken to its core by death of loved ones,
Deep systemic injustices,
And people taking advantage of my kindness.
And through all of this,
Somehow.
I'm still here.
And,
I wouldn't be able to share these things without bursting into tears if I never let myself feel the grief of these waves in life.
All of these waves in life deserve space for me to grieve.
All of the waves in your own life deserve room for your grief as well.
You are still here too.
We are here together.
All we have to do is take our grief one teeny,
Tiny step at a time.
But we are taking steps.
Feeling what's coming up without pushing it down or hiding from it.
Helps us to move through the grief that comes with life's waves of sorrow.
Feeling it.
Even if it's slowly and in bite-sized pieces.
So that it can transform.
From love to grief,
And then into a new form of love.
Let's come into our practice together.
Get comfy.
Maybe sitting or laying down for this one.
Perhaps wrapping a blanket around yourself.
And laying your head on a comfortable pillow.
If you'd like to close your eyes,
You can.
But if that doesn't feel safe right now.
.
.
Keep them open.
And gently let your gaze rest on something that's not moving.
Something that feels calm.
There is no right or wrong way to practice this meditation.
So let it just be as it needs to be for you today.
If there are tears,
Let them flow.
If there is anger,
Feel the fire inside.
If there is an emptiness.
There's no need to try and fill it.
Just notice it.
Be with it.
There's nothing to change or hold back.
There's just things that need to be felt.
Scene.
And acknowledged.
Let's take a deep breath together.
And let it out.
Two more.
Take as many slow breaths as you need throughout this meditation.
And come back to your steady breathing anytime.
As you sit or lay here right now.
Begin to notice how you are feeling today.
Not yesterday.
Not the first moment the loss happened.
Up right now.
Be honest with yourself.
Without pushing anything away.
Or without creating something that's not there today.
Some days are harder than others.
So whether this is a lighter day or a really,
Really tough one.
It's okay to feel however you feel right now.
Let's be here with what is present.
Notice the emotions and feelings,
Just as they are.
And try not to get too wrapped up in the stories of what happened.
But be here with the emotions you are feeling right now.
Now,
Let's see if we can name how we're feeling in one word or phrase.
I feel.
Deeply sad.
I feel exhausted.
Mad.
Frustrated.
Empty.
I feel everything.
I feel nothing.
Name what you feel in this moment.
When you think of what you're feeling,
Does it hurt?
Physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally or on a soul level.
Acknowledge that hurt.
Try not to turn away.
Say to yourself.
This hurts.
You might even say it out loud.
This hurts.
It hurts.
And feel it if it hurts.
And if it doesn't hurt,
That's ok too.
Just name what is there for you.
Let it be seen and felt.
If something becomes too big and too much.
Come back to your breathing.
You are not alone.
And see if there is something else that can be felt.
That isn't too much right now.
Now,
Take a deep breath with me.
Gently say to yourself internally or out loud.
I feel this way because I lost something I love or wanted.
Beautiful job acknowledging that.
Let's take another deep breath.
I'm here with you.
Now gently say to yourself,
It's normal for me to feel this way.
It's more than ok for me to feel my grief.
I don't need to force myself to feel any other way.
I don't need to change how I grieve.
I give myself permission to feel exactly how I feel.
Take a deep breath with me.
When our emotions have space to move,
They can also transform.
No one's asking us to get over it.
But there is a way through this.
We are going to breathe deeply together.
And this time,
We will implement the psychological PSY.
It's that sound that we make as we cry,
Or after a deep cry.
You don't have to be crying for this to help reset your nervous system.
But if you are crying,
This can be very helpful.
We'll take short sips of air in,
About two to five times,
Whatever feels natural.
And then exhale like we're blowing our breath out slowly through a straw.
Let's do this together a few times.
Short sips of breath in,
And then out the straw.
Continue with as many of these sighs as you need.
Slowing your breath down.
Even if it doesn't feel like it right now.
Feeling the emotions that come with your grief.
Even for short moments.
Helps to ease the heaviness over time.
It's like a release valve slowly opening to alleviate the pressure we feel in our hearts.
So imagine in your mind's eye slowly turning a valve to release a little pressure on your heart.
Mind and spirit.
Just letting some of the pressure gently release.
I now invite you to wrap your arms around yourself.
Or gently rub your hand on the opposite arm.
Or place your hands over your heart.
And softly say to yourself.
I don't have to hold this alone.
I am supported.
I'm releasing the pressure and heaviness I'm carrying.
Even if it's just a tiny little bit.
Moving through my grief does not take away the love that I have.
Nothing can ever take that love away from me.
I'm simply learning how to share some of this love with myself right now.
I'm sharing some of this love with myself.
Let's take three more deep breaths together.
Notice how you are feeling right now.
Maybe a little bit different than when we first started.
Without any expectations or need for things to feel or be a certain way.
Just simply notice.
Maybe you feel a little bit lighter.
By inviting a little bit of the pressure to release.
And maybe for some of us.
We feel that heaviness of our grief even more.
Because we've opened the door to allowing ourselves to actually feel what's there.
And again,
However you feel is okay.
There's no right or wrong.
This is just part of the process.
Of us moving through these emotions together.
If your eyes are closed.
Take your time to blink your eyelids open.
And slowly look around the space you're in.
Notice the support of what you're sitting or laying on right now.
The Earth is here,
Catching your grief.
Transmuting it into more love.
And supporting you through every moment.
You are never alone.
This kind of practice might take time.
A lot of time.
For it to really feel like there's any sense of relief from the grieving.
That's normal.
The more familiar we get with feeling our way through every emotion that arises.
The more that release valve gets opened up,
So that our heart isn't carrying as much heaviness behind closed doors.
But please be patient with your grief.
Give yourself grace.
Moving through grief is not a linear process.
Some days we feel okay.
Others,
We really don't.
Let yourself feel however you feel.
That's the key to slowly healing over time.
Feeling.
I've got you.
Anytime you need a pair of hands to hold even just a little bit of the heaviness with you.
I'm here.
Grief is part of our human experience.
It's a very challenging part.
But you're doing so much better than you might think.
Just by showing up for yourself today,
You are doing exactly what you need to take care of your heart through this difficulty.
Keep feeling that love within you.
And I promise.
It will transmute into a more integrated energy.
It just needs to be felt.
It needs some space.
And it just needs you to process it in your own timing.
You are allowed to feel everything that comes with your grief.
Keep feeling.
Let's take one more breath together.
And if it feels right for you.
Maybe you smile just a little bit.
Knowing that you are perfectly human.
Just as you are.
This practice is always here for you.
I'll see you again soon.
