Hi,
I'm Dr.
Diana Hill.
I'm a clinical psychologist,
Author of the Self-Compassion Daily Journal,
And host of the Wise Effort Podcast.
In this meditation,
We're going to be practicing sitting with an uncomfortable emotion.
As humans,
We have all sorts of emotions that show up in our day.
We have irritability,
Anger,
Sadness,
Anxiety,
Joy,
And physical discomfort.
Avoiding our emotions or closing off to them,
And also lead us astray from listening to the underlying need of our emotion or the values that it's pointing to.
So in this practice,
You'll explore how to practice observing,
Bringing warmth to,
And offering compassion to a difficult feeling.
Go ahead and find yourself in a comfortable position.
You can do this practice lying down or seated.
Your eyes can be closed or looking softly at a spot in front of you.
And begin to slow your breath down,
Landing here in the present moment.
Breathing in,
I'm aware that I'm breathing in.
And breathing out,
I'm aware that I'm breathing out.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Feel your body where it makes contact with the floor.
Feel the air around you on your skin.
And listen to any sounds inside or outside your room,
All orienting you to the here and now,
In your body,
In your breath,
In this moment.
Breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I am here,
Arrived here.
And as you breathe in this moment,
You also may start to notice that there's discomfort.
Maybe there is an uncomfortable pain,
Physical pain.
Maybe there's an uncomfortable emotion.
Climb inside your body and notice where there's some form of discomfort for you.
Something that maybe you wish weren't there.
And the first step in being present with an emotion in your body is to observe it.
Notice where it is inside of you,
Its weight.
If it has a shape or a texture,
Or if it had a color,
What color would it be?
And where would that color be most intense?
Where is its epicenter?
Breathing in,
I'm aware of my uncomfortable feeling.
Breathing out,
I observe my uncomfortable feeling.
Just bringing awareness to and observing this discomfort.
And then you may notice as well that often with our discomfort,
We're bracing around it.
We're tensing up.
We're contracting.
So the next step is loosen up a little.
Loosen your grip.
Soften around the edges of your discomfort.
Let go of the tension and make more space for whatever it is you're feeling.
Breathing in,
I'm aware of my discomfort.
Breathing out,
I soften and make space for this discomfort.
Practice letting go around it.
And any discomfort,
Any pain deserves to be cared for,
To be acknowledged,
To feel warmth.
So bring some care,
Acknowledgement,
Validation,
And warmth to your discomfort.
You can place your hand on your body where you feel it,
A warm hand.
You could use some warm validating words like,
It's understandable that you feel this way.
I'm here for you.
You could even imagine your warm heart,
Your warm eyes,
Loving eyes,
Sending some care to this feeling.
Bringing some warmth.
Some acknowledgement that this is a moment of discomfort.
And you're here for yourself with it.
And sometimes we need additional warmth,
Not just our own,
But a feeling of not being alone.
So if you'd like to bring in any imagery of people or pets or nature to surround you and be with you with this discomfort,
You can bring that imagery in now.
The warm eyes of a loved one,
The warm embrace,
The softness of a pet,
The safety of nature.
You can feel that present with you as well.
As you're making space for and bringing warmth to this discomfort.
And once you've made contact with it,
You've observed it,
You've made space for it,
You let go of the tension,
And you're starting to cultivate a feeling of care towards yourself.
The last step is to ask yourself,
What is it that's important here?
What is it that's important here?
Maybe this pain,
Physical or emotional pain is trying to tell you something,
Something that you need or something that you value.
What is important here?
And as you make contact with what's important to you,
Your value underneath this discomfort,
Where you care underneath your hurt.
You now have the capacity to act on that value,
To act on that thing that is important to you.
Even with this discomfort.
If you were to act on this value,
This care,
Even with this discomfort today,
What would that look like?
Imagine yourself moving throughout your day,
Acknowledging and observing any discomfort you have,
Softening around it,
Bringing warmth to it.
And then acting on that thing that's most important to you.
What would that look like?
What you care most about often will bring some discomfort with it.
And sometimes our discomfort becomes so overwhelming,
We lose touch with what we care most about.
By being with,
Softening around,
Caring for our feelings,
You can better take action in the areas of your life that are most important to you,
In the ways that you want to act in the world.
Observing the discomfort in your body now,
You may have noticed that it's changed,
Its form,
Its shape,
Its weight.
Or maybe it's moved to a different spot.
Such is the nature of impermanence.
Such is the nature of our feelings.
They shift and change over time.
And you have the capacity to make space for them.
You have the capacity to be with them,
With whatever shows up.
And you have the capacity to act from your heart.
Breathing in,
I'm aware that I'm breathing in.
Breathing out,
I'm aware that I'm breathing out.
In.
And breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I'm here.
Bringing your awareness outward now towards sounds in the room.
Temperature of air on your skin.
Your body making contact with the floor.
And when you are ready,
You can bring your full awareness into the room.
May this practice be a benefit to you,
But also to all that you encounter in your day-to-day.
Many blessings and more good to come.
Namaste.
