Clearing The Space

This is a practice for inviting space and steadiness into the mind and body in the midst of a busy life. It can be used before a meditation practice, before an inquiry practice, or in the midst of a stressful time of life when competing priorities are agitating the mind and body.

The practice was developed by Eugene Gendlin in the 1970s. It is the first step in the Focusing process, and can be used with Focusing or as a standalone practice.

Transcript

This is a practice developed by Eugene Genlin in the 1970s called clearing the space.

I find it particularly helpful before settling into a meditation,

Especially when I feel like I'm facing numerous challenging situations in my life.

If at any point during this meditation the feelings become too intense,

Simply open your eyes and begin to notice what's around you.

You might also sense where the body makes contact with the floor or the seat you're in.

Once the intensity is subsided,

You can return to the meditation if you'd like.

As you begin,

Find a posture that allows you to be upright and at ease.

Notice where your feet make contact with the earth and your seat makes contact with the cushion or the chair.

Allow the body to soften at the brow,

The jaw,

The throat,

The shoulders,

The heart,

And the belly.

Then you might steady the mind by noticing these next three breaths.

As you sit here,

You might ask yourself,

What's in between me and feeling free right now?

It could be something small like you're tired or you're sad.

Could be a conflict with another person or an event that recently took place or something coming up in the future that you're concerned with.

Just note the first thing that arises and sense where you feel it in the body,

Paying particular attention to the face,

Throat,

Shoulders,

Chest,

And belly.

You might see if it's possible to give whatever has arisen full permission to be here.

Once you've given it permission to be here and sensed it in the body,

You might see if you can place it gently outside of the body.

Meaning that you're setting it in front of you or to the side or a little further away if you'd like.

Once you've set it to the side,

Returning to the body and asking yourself the question again,

What's in between me and feeling completely free and happy right now?

Feeling whatever arises,

Large or small.

Really allowing yourself to feel it in the body.

The fullness of this issue or situation.

Feeling where it is in the body,

Giving it permission to be here.

And when you're ready,

Seeing if you can gently place it outside of the body,

Maybe next to the other thing or wherever you'd like to set it.

And once you've done that,

Coming back again and asking yourself for a third time,

Besides those two things,

What's in between me and feeling completely free and happy right now?

Noticing what arises,

Giving it permission to be here and sensing it in the body.

And when you're ready,

Seeing if there's somewhere outside of the body that you can place it.

Not to get rid of any of these things,

But to simply set them aside for a moment.

And we'll do this two more times.

Returning to the body.

And saying,

Besides these three things,

What's in between me and feeling completely free and happy right now?

Noticing what arises,

Giving it permission to be here,

Sensing it in the body.

And when you're ready,

Seeing if you can gently place it somewhere outside of the body,

Maybe with some of the other things or somewhere else if you'd like.

Once you've done that,

Returning to the body again and one last time asking yourself,

Besides those four things,

What's between me and feeling free right now?

If all four of those things were taken care of,

Is there anything that would keep me from feeling totally free and at peace?

It might come quickly or it might take a little longer.

But resting with an open awareness to see what arises.

It might even feel like a vague something in the background.

Not quite clear yet just what it is.

You can just note that,

Oh there's a something here.

Maybe notice where it is in the body and any words or images that are associated with it.

Because you have a sense of it,

Oh there's this something.

You can sense where it lives in the body.

You might set it aside.

See if that's possible to place it outside the body.

Now having placed these five things outside the body,

You might just notice where each of them is.

Note and name each one,

All of those things out there.

They're all seen and known.

And you can come back to them at any time.

But for now you might just return to the body and sense how it feels.

With each of those things set aside.

Thank you.

Reviews

A great meditation to concentrate your breathing and listen to your inner voice

Really lovely and potent - a somatic and holistic way to prepare one for meditation. It's a meditation in and of itself.

Simple and effective. Thank you for sharing this practice. 🙏🏻

What a great way to “see” where ones anxiety might be hiding. Thank you. Loved this! 🙏

Ooh so good. That was very helpful. I feel a bit more grounded, a bit more light. Reminds me of DBT.

I really found that helpful. Thank you, I feel clearer

That was quite interesting. 4 things were set to my left side. The 5th was placed directly in front...in my face. I have to admit that was the biggest issue, which if resolved, would probably take care of the others. Love your voice - love the lesson 💕

A good lesson. 2b used not infrequently. Thank u. 🙏🏽

I felt great afterwards

Thank you. This helped me realize something I hadn't recognized in myself before.

This was a great exercise. I would have preferred instructions at the end to sit with the end feeling longer instead of the abrupt ending. But the process felt very effective. and helped

Fantastic! I felt so much lighter afterwords. I imagined small balls of energy and placed them outside on the deck railing...😊😊

Wonderful way to set aside the multiple worries of the day. Thank you.

Thank you! Just what I needed😊
A great practice❤️

My fav

Great technique to prepare for a long meditation!

Wonderful, tool helpful to prepare for the day ahead, thank you!

Thanks!! That worked wonderfully. I’m bookmarking this.

Thank you.

Found this really helpful. Thank you