This is a guided meditation for welcoming all parts of us into the present moment.
When we are experiencing pain,
Whether it be emotional or physical,
It can easily become all consuming.
And so it is so helpful and important to allow our system to become expansive and remember that yes,
Pain exists and we have the capacity at any moment to connect into many different feeling states.
I'd like to invite you to start with a gentle breath in to a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One and a slow,
Easy release to six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And welcoming in that soothing haven in touch if that feels comfortable for you or simply inviting a hand to rest gently on your heart space.
I invite you to turn inward with compassion and love.
We're going to move into a state of gentle awareness in this present moment.
Allow your attention to drift from the tippy top of your head all the way down to the tippy toes of your toes,
Inviting in all parts of you,
Welcoming all information into the here and the now.
Letting in another gentle deepening breath to the count of four,
Three,
Two,
One and a slow,
Easy release to the count of six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
I invite you to imagine that as you're scanning through your thoughts,
Your mind,
Your feelings,
Your body in this moment,
You're gathering up all of the experiences of your internal world.
If you like,
You can even imagine that every thought,
Sensation or feeling,
Whether it be preferable or not,
Is a flower.
As you notice each experience,
You're picking that flower and welcoming it into a bundle in this present moment.
And as you invite your attention to flow gently and lovingly through your mind and your body,
Finding those flowers,
Those thoughts,
Those feelings,
Continue that gentle four-count breath in and the slow,
Easy release to the count of six.
I invite you to notice that all thoughts and feelings are welcome.
They are all valuable.
I also invite you to notice that the very fact that we can have multiple feeling states,
Thoughts,
Areas of tension,
As well as excitement,
All coexisting,
Means that nothing is all one thing.
We are fluid in our capacity to experience the world around us.
And as you're gathering your beautiful bouquet of flowers,
Notice that each flower represents a part of you and that all parts are welcome.
And as we welcome in another gentle breath to the count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And slow,
Easy release to the count of six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let's turn our attention now to this beautiful bouquet and notice if some flowers are a little more vibrant than others.
Some draw your attention a little bit more.
And invite those specific flowers to turn into beautiful butterflies.
And as we welcome in another gentle breath,
I invite you to imagine those butterflies slowly unfolding their wings and taking flight.
These parts of you here fluttering,
Dancing,
Expanding beyond the stunning bouquet of emotions and thoughts and feelings.
And just as we're able to invite these experiences to take flight,
Notice the opportunity to invite your breath and your very awareness to expand.
Imagine now as we breathe in that your breath is coming from every part of your mind and your body deepening and grounding you into the here and now.
So breathe in four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And release six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And allow those butterflies now to just gently float away,
Carrying with them anything that needs to be let go.
And turn your attention back to the beautiful bouquet that you've gathered and notice if there are any flowers that you'd like to spend a little extra time with.
Any feeling state seemed like a little bit more of.
Or even if there's a feeling state that wasn't gathered as part of the original bouquet,
Perhaps a feeling of gratitude or self-compassion.
And if there is something that was missed on your first little gathering of flowers,
Bring that energy forward now with intention,
Incurring into your mind and body a sense of gratitude,
Self-compassion,
Or self-love,
Perhaps joy or calm.
And as you identify these flowers that you'd like to spend a little bit more intentional time with,
Invite them to expand and grow within the bouquet.
What types of flowers are they?
Maybe they're not even flowers at all.
Perhaps they're greenery,
Baby's breath,
Scented evergreen.
Invite your mind to explore the possibilities of what these beautiful feeling states feel like,
These loving thoughts.
And as you invite them to expand,
Notice one by one where each flower lives in your mind or your body.
And similarly,
Notice the unique colors,
Vibrant greens or fuschias,
Rosy reds,
Faint violets,
Bright yellows.
Invite your mind and your body to move into relationship with these beautiful flowers.
Inhaling,
Breathing in to a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And releasing to a count of six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And notice that taking these moments for intentional attention to welcome in all of your feelings,
All of your thoughts and gathering them into the here and now,
Gives you the empowered opportunity to invite some of them to soften or even fly away and to invite others to become bigger and bolder and brighter.
We are designed to coexist amongst many thoughts and feelings to guide our attention and to regulate ourselves.
And anytime you'd like to invite yourself back to this bouquet and notice,
Are there some butterflies that need to fly away?
Are there some flowers that you'd like to invite to grow bigger and more vibrant?
Please do so.
And as we draw this exercise to a loving close,
Invite you to find one flower that represents a feeling state or thinking state that you'd like more of right now.
And as we welcome in one final,
Gentle,
Deep breath,
Invite that experience to become the center of your attention,
Breathing in and welcoming in this energy to a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And releasing to a count of six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
