So,
Coming into this meditation,
You can start by just gently closing your eyes if that's comfortable or just looking slightly downward if you want to keep the eyes open that's fine.
And let's begin with a few deep,
Full breaths coming into presence,
Taking a moment to check in with the body,
Maybe starting with an overall sense of the body,
Just sitting on the chair or the cushion,
Noticing where the body feels grounded,
Where it makes contact with the earth.
So,
Feet or legs on the floor,
Contact with the seat,
The hands resting in the lap,
Supported,
Just feeling that quality of support,
Tuning into that for a moment,
Bringing your awareness now to the sensations of breathing,
Wherever you feel the breath most saliently.
So for me,
It's usually in the abdomen,
Kind of swelling,
Subsiding,
Or it might be in the nostrils or the throat,
Maybe in the chest,
Just taking a moment to tune in to the sensations of breathing wherever they're clearest for you.
And doing this with a kind and loving attention,
Breathing in,
Aware,
Awake,
Breathing out,
Calm,
Steady,
Being fully present for each new breath with a quality of kindness,
Curiosity,
Right here,
This breath.
And as you sit with the breath,
See if you can bring that gentle,
Loving awareness to whatever feelings or emotions might be present for you right now.
There might be a strong emotion that's salient for you,
Maybe sadness,
Or excitement,
Stress,
Or maybe something more subtle,
Just feeling of restlessness,
Something pleasant,
Something peaceful,
Maybe feeling comfortable,
Whatever it is,
And just slowly tuning in now to the presence of feeling in your direct experience.
Not pushing the feelings away,
Not chasing after them,
Just witnessing with a kind,
Loving awareness,
Mindful of feeling.
You might try sensing how the feelings show up in the body,
Kind of dropping beneath the layer of thoughts and words that we use to talk about the feelings.
Just how do you know what you're feeling right now?
Eyes closed,
Nothing to communicate,
Nothing to comment on.
What's there?
What do you feel?
What's it like?
Maybe checking in with the sensations around the face and head.
Often our emotions can be felt through a kind of tension or clenching in the eyes,
The forehead,
The temples,
Around the jaw and the mouth.
Being curious,
What's there for you right now in this territory,
This field of feeling?
How are the feelings expressing themselves in the body?
Maybe a sense of tightness or pulsing,
Sinking.
And if at any point the feelings become too challenging or it feels like too much,
Sometimes it's helpful to just step back,
Return to the breath or shift your attention to something that feels safe and supportive.
You can always go back to the breath.
And if that doesn't feel comfortable for you,
You might tune into just the feeling of the feet touching the floor or just noticing sounds,
Just finding a steady anchor if you feel unsteady.
And we do what we can,
Gradually learning to be present with our experience,
With whatever arises.
And you might find that whatever feelings or emotions there are,
They're shifting,
Changing,
Moving around in how they express themselves in the body,
How intense or subtle they are,
The texture of the feelings,
It's constantly shifting around.
Sometimes one feeling can shift and change into another one altogether.
So I often find,
For example,
That tiredness,
Sometimes if I'm mindful for long enough,
It kind of dissolves and beneath that is a feeling of sadness,
Judgment,
A sense that I should be doing more,
Not doing enough,
Not doing it right.
And there's a feeling that goes along with that too.
And you can follow that.
It's like there's layers,
Waves rippling in the heart.
And you can follow those ripples with mindful,
Loving awareness,
Getting to know the dynamics of your own experience,
How it operates,
How it moves.
Ordinarily,
Our kind of default response to feelings is to react to them,
Either push them away or get carried away by them.
And we all know the dangers of that,
The stress of that.
Just knowing,
Seeing for yourself that we do have other options here.
That's the beautiful power of mindfulness.
We can learn to relate to our feelings in a way that's more balanced,
More caring.
The difficult,
The unpleasant,
We see it in perspective,
Part of life,
Part of nature.
Everyone experiences this.
Can I be with it in a way that's truthful,
Honest,
Caring?
So I invite you now to slowly come back into the fullness of the body.
Sensing the body,
Sitting,
Breathing,
Broadening your awareness to include maybe the sounds in the room,
Sense of the space around the body,
Sound of my voice,
Just taking all that in with your mindful attention.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me.
