Welcome to this 20-minute turning towards the difficult meditation.
It is best to do this meditation in a warm and protected place in which you feel comfortable and secure,
And in a time you are not interrupted by anyone or by electronic devices.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position for you.
You may choose to sit on a meditation cushion in a cross-legged position or on a chair with the feet flat on the floor,
The spine straight and self-supported,
And away from the back of the chair,
The head balanced on top of the spine with a sense of ease.
Hands might be placed on the laps or on the knees,
Palms facing up or down.
However,
If sitting upright is too much for us today,
We can always allow ourselves to lay down on a mat on the floor or on the bed,
Finding the position that feels right for you today.
Once settled in,
You might want to gently close your eyes,
Or if you prefer,
Lowering the eyelids and just bringing a soft gaze to the eyes.
Simply focusing on a point on the floor a few feet ahead of you.
The intention of this meditation is to soften into,
Allowing,
And accepting the moment-to-moment experience,
Especially if unpleasant.
That is why we focus our attention to becoming aware of the unpleasant,
Pleasant,
And neutral aspects of our moment-to-moment experience,
And to the best of our ability,
Bringing an attitude of calm,
Openness,
Acceptance,
And kindness towards whatever is there for us in each moment.
By leaning in,
Allowing,
And accepting unpleasant experiences,
We are able to be in a calmer state with the very things that upset us.
Being with unpleasant things in a calm state and allowing them to be instead of resisting them will significantly reduce our stress.
This is key for recovery and healing.
Remembering that this is a process that takes time and requires effort,
But with consistent practice we can be with unpleasant things in a calm state.
We start now with the meditation by bringing our attention to what is actually happening in this present moment.
So perhaps just asking ourselves,
What is our experience right now?
When it feels right,
Gently noticing the movement of the breath,
It's such a constant feature of life that it's easy to ignore.
So taking time now with it,
Actually feeling the sensations as the breath rolls in and rolls out.
No need to control the breath,
Simply allowing it to flow in its natural way.
Moving awareness now to the physical sensations in the body,
Becoming aware of the sensations of touch and pressure in the body,
Where it makes contact with whatever we are sitting or laying on,
Simply exploring.
When the attention wanders,
Which is what minds do,
Noticing and practicing making a choice to come back with care and kindness to the awareness of the body and present moment experience.
Now as best we can,
We gently turn towards the unpleasant aspects of our experience and to the best of our ability see if we can simply allow the unpleasant.
So maybe saying to ourselves,
It's okay,
Let me feel it,
It's okay.
And can we soften any resistance to that experience?
Maybe saying to ourselves,
Soften,
Soften.
Or allow,
Allow.
Maybe breathing into the unpleasant sensation and breathing out of it,
Just being with what is.
And if sensations,
Thoughts or feelings become too difficult or too overwhelming,
Then maybe grounding into our anchors,
Our safe havens.
Maybe putting a hand on the heart area for a while or bringing our attention to the breath or the places our body touches whatever we are sitting or laying on,
Grounding ourselves.
Until we are ready to return to the meditation and once again bringing the attention to any difficulty or unpleasant aspects of our experience.
Maybe saying to ourselves,
Pain in the body,
Unpleasant,
Fatigue,
Unpleasant,
Feeling of not being understood,
Unpleasant,
Worrying,
Unpleasant,
Dizziness,
Unpleasant,
Unrefreshing sleep,
Unpleasant,
And to the best of our abilities,
Softening,
Allowing,
Letting go,
And then gently bringing attention back to the breath.
And when we notice any emotional pain or discomfort,
We may choose to explore any physical echo of that in the body and take our awareness there,
Breathing into that area of the body and breathing out of that area.
Breathing towards,
Softening,
And practicing being in a calm state with the unpleasant.
And when we drift off into the past or the future,
Noticing this and bringing awareness to the present moment,
Awareness gives us choice and we might choose to come back to the unpleasant aspects of our experience right now.
Moving onwards now and exploring any pleasant experiences,
Allowing the unpleasant to fall into the background of our awareness and allowing in the pleasant.
We don't have to invent anything,
It is already here.
Perhaps saying to ourselves,
Quietness in the room,
Pleasant,
Warmth in the room,
Pleasant,
Sensations of air against the skin,
Pleasant,
Certain areas of the body without pain and tension,
Pleasant,
Feeling of the breath,
Pleasant,
Feeling the places where the body makes contact with whatever is supporting us,
Pleasant.
Gently practicing allowing the pleasant in,
Absorbing it.
And if there are no pleasant sensations for us right now,
That is okay.
That is just how things are.
Simply staying with the breath,
The body,
And the present moment experience and practicing allowing things to be as they are,
Noticing any resistance,
Striving or fighting,
And practicing letting go.
And when the mind wanders away,
Simply bringing it back to the breath and the body,
And practicing bringing our attention back to the pleasant aspects of our experience,
No matter how small or insignificant they might be.
And when we are ready,
Moving on now and noticing the neutral aspects of our experience,
Maybe aspects that we haven't noticed before.
No need to invent something,
Simply bringing a calm and broad awareness of the unfolding of this moment.
And now we are moving on and practice opening up to the whole of our experience.
So becoming aware of the unpleasant,
Pleasant and neutral aspects of our moment-to-moment experience.
Practicing being with the totality of our experience with a calm attention.
Whatever is happening right now,
Feelings,
Sensations and thoughts,
Simply allowing and observing it in a broad and open awareness.
Is it possible to allow our experience just to be?
No need to change or fix.
Practicing,
Holding it all in a gentle and allowing awareness.
As best we can,
Practicing not getting caught up by thoughts or emotions,
But simply dwelling in awareness with all aspects of our current experience,
Pleasant or unpleasant.
That is our whole experience right now and that is okay.
Simply noticing how unpleasant and pleasant experiences,
Thoughts and emotions arise,
Stay a while and then dissolve.
Noticing the ever-changing nature of experience itself.
Simply observing in a kind and patient way.
And if the mind has wandered gently and kindly,
Bringing it back,
Practicing being fully present,
Practicing open up to the totality of our experience,
Opening to what it means to be fully human.
We all have unpleasant thoughts,
Emotions and bodily sensations.
Resisting them causes more stress.
Easing into that resistance and allowing those unpleasant aspects to be,
Decreases stress and is the foundation for healing.
Simply allowing those unpleasant aspects of our experience,
They are part of us being human.
And as we draw this practice to a close,
Perhaps now allowing the breath and body to move to the foreground of our awareness.
Being fully present with the aliveness of the body.
Being awake.
Perhaps noticing the expansion of the body with the in-breath and feeling how the belly or chest contracts with the out-breath.
Practicing coming home to the breath,
The body and the present.
And now expanding our awareness further to include the body sitting here,
Becoming aware of your physical position in the room,
Your posture,
Your facial expression.
And now broadening our awareness further into sounds,
Sounds close by and sounds far away.
And now maybe starting to gently wiggle the hands and toes,
Moving the head from side to side and stretching whatever way feels good to you right now.
And slowly opening the eyes.
Maybe resting here a moment and congratulating yourself for taking the time and effort to do this meditation,
To nurture and heal yourself.
The turning towards a difficult meditation is now complete.
