I'm glad you're here to practice with me.
On a recent retreat,
I had the privilege of sitting with Pascual Eau Claire,
An insight meditation teacher from Montreal.
In a small Q&A group,
I shared one of my current challenges and he responded,
Of course you would feel this way.
There was such a deep quality of kindness and listening that really touched me in a profound way.
I felt heard.
I felt that whatever I was feeling was really okay.
Things didn't have to be anything other than what they were right now.
I knew I wanted to continue this practice with myself and offer it to you as well.
Let's begin.
Come into a posture that will support a kind practice today with eyes open,
Softened,
Or closed.
Take a few breaths to help your body settle,
If that works for you.
Or become aware of a body sensation that offers you some solidity and grounding.
Your seat on the surface beneath you,
Your feet on the floor,
Or your hands in your lap.
Invite your attention to come to your heart space and notice what emotions are present right now.
Any emotion is welcome.
A difficult emotion,
A positive one,
Or even the feeling of no emotion.
Pick one emotion to work with and sense into it,
Noticing any body sensations that are connected to this feeling.
Then hear yourself kindly say,
Of course you feel this way.
What begins to happen inside of you with your body,
Your breath,
Your muscles?
As you hear yourself respond,
Of course you feel this way.
Without going too much into the story,
You can add to this phrase in some of these ways that matches your current situation.
Of course this is upsetting.
Of course,
It's difficult to have this much pain.
Of course,
It's so hard to wait.
Of course,
You're feeling overwhelmed.
Create any other statements that accurately reflect your particular situation.
Of course,
You feel this way.
Feel the quality of being held by your wiser self with kindness and non-judgment.
Of course,
You feel this way.
Your feelings are welcome.
They are appropriate.
There is nothing wrong with them.
Of course,
These feelings are here.
Now imagine an interaction with a family member or friend who is upset.
See yourself passionately responding to them and their emotions in the same kind way that you just offered to yourself.
Of course,
You are stressed.
Of course,
This is hard.
Of course,
It feels like too much.
Imagine the response or reaction of the other person upon hearing your words.
Whatever the imagined response is,
Notice your feelings in this situation.
Of course,
You feel this way.
Practice a few more rounds of of course with the same or a different emotion that you're feeling right now.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
Thank yourself for inviting this new response to your heart.
This practice can be so helpful if you have a strong inner critic or a negative internal dialogue habit.
Bringing a kind,
Non-judgmental,
And compassionate response to any feeling you have is such a deep healing practice.
Thanks for spending this time with me and be well.
