To begin this meditation,
Please bring kind awareness to why you chose this topic.
How your belly,
Chest and head feel when you reflect on the topic of grief.
The emotions that you can associate with these visceral feelings.
The positive or negative impact of any stories you believe in regarding this topic.
The fact that many others are feeling similarly about grief as you are.
Think about how you might feel with increased awareness around this topic and when you can apply increased mindfulness to this topic in your day to day life.
We want to talk about releasing grief and bringing in the positive.
For times of grief,
It can be helpful to allow what's there to be there and to open into a space of wonder and gratitude.
You may ask,
How do you allow what's there to be there?
When we feel very challenged by something,
All we can do sometimes is simply to wait it out,
To be with our actual feelings as they happen,
To experience them in the body and to let them flow.
In a safe,
Protected place with loving people by your side,
This can be easier.
It can be very healing to allow yourself to fall apart,
To sense the humility in yourself,
Knowing that many terrible things have happened in the past and will happen in the future and that you have the courage to acknowledge your losses,
To know it's a cycle of life and that we're all imperfect.
We ride the waves of grief with mindfulness and self-compassion,
Over and over,
Breath by breath.
There is no way to know when grief will end,
But with caring presence,
It will.
It will get better.
It's also important to remember that what is moving through the mind is part of a vast,
Complex physical and mental process,
Which has many sources.
As you know,
Grief has its own way of unfolding.
No one can plan it or get rid of it.
Sooner or later,
It can feel appropriate to want to let go,
To release those heavy feelings.
Sometimes the grief might be so heavy that we have to set it down for a while,
Take a walk outside,
Eat some healthy food,
Talk with a friend,
Watch something funny,
Play with an animal,
Something,
Anything positive that doesn't remind you of your sadness.
Having a friend to yourself will give you the energy you need to come back to process your grief.
After that,
It can become possible to bring awareness to some of the positive aspects of life,
Which can empower you to see more of your mental experience more clearly and to also feel your bodily sensations more viscerally.
All the while,
It is meaningful that there can be an underlying sense of the unknown,
The uncertain,
The mystery of life in which we find ourselves in the middle of with a sense of wonder and gratitude.
It's important to be loving in ways large and small,
Like a balm to your own heart and to reflect on and receive the caring support of others.
So with all that in mind,
Let's do a guided mindfulness exercise.
Begin by finding a posture that feels relaxed and alert.
You may want to sit in a chair or on a meditation cushion,
Or you may want to lie down with an eye pillow over your eyes.
So take a few deep breaths.
And now see if you can observe your mind and your body from a small distance,
Allowing the sensations to be however they are.
Try not to be negative about anything that doesn't feel good.
And after a while,
Shift into gently releasing the negative.
And then really open to and encourage the positive.
It's okay to bring in the positive in your time of grief.
And remember that when you can bring attention to feeling the positive,
Even when sadness or other feelings are also present,
Opening to wonder and gratitude for the mysterious ways that life unfolds as we allow our grief to unfold alongside our awareness.
Take another really deep breath.
You did great.
So remember,
For times of grief,
It can be helpful to allow what is there just to be there.
Try to limit what is painful or harmful.
Try to do what is more enjoyable and beneficial,
And to open into a space of wonder and gratitude.
Thank you for your courage to be with your grief,
With caring awareness that is mindfulness.
Thank you for spending this time with me.
