Returning to Now Meditation

A meditation to help you let go of the past. Using your imagination, you'll head to a special place.

Transcript

Welcome to this short guided meditation which I'm going to call letting go of the past.

We fall into various patterns like the pattern to compromise when we get busy and our tendency to believe our thoughts without ever questioning their validity.

So we're going to talk about another pattern,

Our tendency to get pulled into automatic responses without really thinking about them.

There's lots of things that trigger us,

Right?

There's some things that test our patience more than others.

For instance,

There's that one person in your life that frequently really gets underneath your skin.

Most of us have someone in our lives who does this.

Most often it's family or a co-worker,

Even sometimes a friend.

Some of us respond to people who trigger us with anger and very harshly lash out.

Others might just withdraw into themselves and are passive aggressive.

Others might bury their irritation with food,

Alcohol,

Or smoke.

We all have very different responses to things that trigger us.

But the problem is that the more frequently we react in a certain way,

The more automatic and habitual these responses will become.

If we grab a drink or just yell and storm out of a room so fast we don't have a chance to catch ourselves,

Each time we repeat a certain response,

The more it becomes ingrained in our general behavior.

So very early in life it's easy to change this,

Right?

There are little lines drawn in the sand that you can just wash away,

But the more you repeat this over the years and decades,

These lines become permanent as if they've been chiseled out of granite.

And it takes a lot of restraint and a lot of training and practice to get rid of this,

To change this.

How can we break our habitual reactive patterns?

We have to stop the momentum of reactiveness before we get too caught up in it.

If we practice,

We can start catching ourselves before we react.

It's very important,

Especially if we tend to overreact.

If we can catch ourselves and question why are we reacting a certain way,

It can really help,

Even if it's before,

During,

Or after we respond.

It's being aware that we responded and reacted in a certain way that we actually don't want to respond in.

So we're going to try and learn today how to notice that we're going to react in a certain way before we get lost in this unstoppable momentum of reaction.

So sit comfortably in a chair.

Sit up straight.

I always like to pretend as if I have strings pulling on the crown of my head and my shoulders.

Sit up straight.

Close your eyes and turn your attention to the feeling of breath.

Don't force your breath.

Just inhale and exhale in a natural way.

Observe your breath though.

When you're breathing in and out,

Notice how there's a small gap between your in-breath and out-breath.

Breathe in and follow it all the way until there's this short pause.

Allow for it and begin your exhalation.

You breathe in,

Pause,

And breathe out.

To me,

It reminds me of someone jumping on a trampoline.

It's this tiny little moment where you're at the peak of your jump and you're neither ascending nor descending.

You're just hovering weightlessly and then you exhale.

Breathe in,

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Start with a pause and breathe out.

As you breathe,

Notice how your attention is being pulled left and right and all over.

You have distractions coming from everywhere.

Ideas,

Thoughts,

Body sensations,

Sounds outside.

Every time you notice how your thoughts wander,

Try and notice that.

Become aware that your thoughts are pulling you away from your breath.

Notice every time you have a thought that appears.

Try and catch yourself as fast as you can and bring your mind back to the breath.

Repeat them and again and again.

Don't penalize yourself for your thoughts coming.

Just take them for what they are.

Practice them and come back to your breath.

Recognize your thoughts are wandering.

Catch yourself.

Come back to your breath.

Notice where your mind is.

Were you just drawn away by a thought or distraction?

Did you hear some kind of sound or feel a sensation?

Were you caught up in an emotion?

There's lots of distractions that can pull you away from your focus.

Just observe the distraction as a witness from the outside.

Watch how you're pulled away from this distraction.

And then return to your breath.

When we first notice the pull,

It's usually long after we've been pulled away from our breath.

It can be for seconds or minutes or the entire practice.

But as we continue paying attention to the pull,

We'll begin to notice earlier and earlier.

After a while and after a little bit of practice,

We will notice the pull happening as it happens.

Before it's too late,

We will realize we are being pulled away and we get to return to our breath.

Where is your mind now?

Return to your breath.

Sometimes,

There are going to be really strong emotions that arise during your practice.

They might trigger you,

Just like things do on a daily basis in life.

Bring awareness to your response though.

See if you can break the momentum and return back to your breath.

You might also just be replaying an event in your mind that occurred in the past.

Something that really upset you,

That triggered you.

Or you might be planning ahead.

Thinking about a future event that might be happening.

Something you're nervous about.

But it hasn't.

Feel how you're about to react.

Realize there's no good if you worry about events in the past or upcoming events because you have no power over either of them.

So bring your mind back to the present moment.

To the now.

This is what you have power over.

This is what you have power over.

This is what you have power over.

This is what you have power over.

This is what you have power over.

This is what you have power over.

This is what you have power over.

Some ways to stop the pull are to bring our attention back to our breath or go for a walk.

Or do anything else that might help de-escalate what might happen.

We are so set in our ways and the less we do about it,

The stronger these negative thoughts and negative behavioral patterns we exhibit will get.

The older you are,

The harder it's going to be.

But even stone that is had writing chiseled into it can be reformed.

It just takes more work.

So as our practice ends,

With your eyes still closed,

Gently wiggle your fingers,

Wiggle your toes,

Start listening to your surroundings,

And slowly open your eyes and come back into the now.

And remember,

It's the now that counts.

This is your now.

You have power over now.

Have a wonderful day.

Reviews

Perfect. Great to listen to daily.

Perfect. Great to listen to daily.

Thank you..... very helpful.

That was very calming and soothing

So very helpful. I have this bookmark and will use it continuously. I do have a problem reacting in a negative manner toward my ex-husband who constantly pulls my strings and I react on impulse. I will concentrate more on staying in the now and becoming more aware of the consequences of my negative reactions. Thank you so much

Nature is my happy place and loved the message 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Relaxing and soothing after a not too restful night. I liked the flowing water remaining for over a minute
Thanks 😁