Dissolve Difficult Emotions - 20 Minute Daily Insight

The SAFE meditation focuses on a 4-step self-compassion practice that stands for Soften into your body, Allow things to be as they are, Feel into your needs, and Expand into connection. It will help you transform difficult emotions and uncover the happiness and confidence within you.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to The Daily Insight.

My name is Elisha Goldstein and today's meditation focuses on a four-step self-compassion practice called SAFE to soothe difficult emotions and uncover happiness.

Starting off by getting in a comfortable position,

Either seated or lying down,

And taking a couple deep breaths in through the nose,

Out through the mouth,

Just releasing where you came onto this moment right now.

And bringing awareness into your body and noticing if there's any difficult emotions present,

Whether it's a feeling of sadness,

Anxiety,

Grief,

Anger,

Shame,

Or just some general stress or tension in the body.

Taking a moment to gently bring awareness into that area of your body right now and just softening.

If it helps you can say,

Breathing in,

I'm aware of this vulnerability or tension or holding.

Breathing out,

Softening,

Softening,

Softening.

Taking a few moments to just feel into this space.

If it's difficult to soften the feeling,

Seeing if you can soften the edges around the feeling.

Knowing that as we're doing this,

We're not really striving to change this feeling or make it any different.

We're just allowing and letting be.

So even as we're softening,

It's this sense of acceptance that's here.

And acceptance doesn't imply that you're okay with or want it to be here.

It's just simply acknowledging the reality of its existence,

The feeling that's here.

So here as we're moving into this sense of allowing and acceptance,

You may say to yourself,

Breathing in,

Just this awareness of what's here physically,

Emotionally,

Mentally.

Breathing out,

Just allowing,

Letting be.

Settling into the mindset and essence of allowing and letting be.

And noticing if your mind has wandered off at any point during this practice,

When that happens,

Just taking a moment to notice where your mind went to.

And then softening your body,

Releasing with the exhale,

Very gently bringing your attention back to just your body and the feeling that's here.

And just this practice of allowing and letting be.

And now taking a moment to go a bit deeper into the feeling that's here.

Being aware of where it is in your body,

How big it is,

The shape of the feeling itself,

The depth of it,

Really being curious,

Feeling into this area of your body.

And seeing if you can bring a kind,

Warm attention to it.

You may choose to put one hand on your heart or both hands on your heart to support this.

Or maybe just a hand on wherever you feel the sensation,

Sensing into the contact that's here.

This physical connection applies a love or a kindness to the feeling that's here and to yourself.

You might take a moment and ask yourself,

What is this feeling believing right now?

What am I believing?

Is there a belief here that I'm unlovable or unworthy?

Or perhaps if I allow this feeling to be,

It's going to consume me in some way.

Something bad is going to happen.

Just see if you can be aware of the belief that's here.

Maybe if there's not an awareness of it,

There's just confusion and that's okay too.

And also asking yourself the question,

What is it that I'm needing right now?

Am I needing to feel cared for?

To feel safe and protected?

Am I needing to just feel generally more at ease,

More confident,

Stronger?

Maybe I'm needing to accept myself just as I am.

Or feel a sense of connection and belonging.

What is it that I'm needing?

Taking a moment to listen to your mind and heart.

Whatever arises for you,

Turning towards yourself,

Maybe keeping the hand connected on your heart or both hands or on your body or just allowing them to come down.

Turning towards yourself and saying,

May I feel loved.

Whatever it is that you were needing.

May I feel safe and protected.

May I learn to accept myself just as I am.

May I learn to live with ease.

I feel a sense of belonging.

Make these phrases or friendly wishes or kind intentions towards yourself personal to whatever your needs,

Whatever your needs are,

Whatever you've uncovered.

And if the words feel clunky in any way,

You can just use it with your breath,

Breathing in whatever it is that you're needing to feel loved,

To feel cared about,

Sense of belonging,

To feel safe and protected,

To feel strong and confident.

Breathing out,

Just allowing and letting be.

Continue bringing these kind intentions,

These supportive wishes with a great sincerity of heart.

If the sincerity ever drifts,

If you can just take note of that,

Soften your body,

Come back.

No one is more deserving of this love than you.

And now taking a moment to expand your awareness from just yourself to a greater circle of people.

Whatever your vulnerability is,

Whatever you're holding,

Whatever difficult experience you're holding,

It's important to know that you're not alone.

Feeling vulnerable is part of the human condition.

Millions of people struggle with this same source of vulnerability that you're experiencing or that you experience in your life.

Now is an opportunity to make this realization real by imagining all the other people who struggle with the same feeling of vulnerability either in this very moment or in general in their lives from people you may know personally within your circle of family or friends or co-workers to people in your country,

To people all around the world.

There's a common humanity to human struggle just as there is to human joy.

But for now,

Imagining all these other people who struggle with that same feeling of vulnerability and wishing them all the same prayers and tensions that you just wish for yourself.

So imagining all these people in your mind and saying may we all feel loved.

May we all feel a sense of safety and security.

May we all learn to accept ourselves just as we are.

May we all feel that sense of belonging,

Connection.

And you can make it so that these phrases or intentions are personal to whatever your personal needs were and are.

Allowing your loving awareness that's intrinsic to you to spread out across all these people.

May we all.

Thank you.

Now even seeing if you can expand this beyond all people,

Maybe to all animals across the planet,

Maybe even to the planet itself who we are so deeply interdependent with.

May all beings experience a sense of feeling cared about,

Feeling loved,

Feel safe and protected.

Feel a sense of connection and belonging.

Sensing into this generosity of heart.

Allowing this to expand across all people,

All beings,

This planet.

Sensing into the deep interconnection and belonging that's here.

Thank you.

So I'm beginning to take this into your heart and bringing both hands to your heart if they're not already there.

And acknowledging the feeling of loving presence that's here.

That loving presence that is you and always has been.

Feeling it in your body.

Allowing just for a lingering in this space that's here.

Thank you.

So so and in a few moments you'll hear the sound of a bell and that'll be the end of this practice.

Just taking a moment of deep appreciation for yourself.

Just for taking this time out of all your daily busyness for your own health and well-being.

This is a great act of self-love.

So just this final moment of acknowledging yourself for taking this time and bringing this sense of love,

Confidence,

And belonging into the rest of your day.

So

Reviews

A very helpful meditation. Thank you 🙏