Welcome to the Journey Inward.
Today I would like to bring you a short guided method that is useful for times of being overwhelmed and perhaps may even shift the state of overwhelm that you experience when you're in a panic attack.
Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by life,
A variety of stressors or instabilities happening in our life may bring us a sense of overwhelm.
Other times it could be situational.
Maybe you need to go into a place or a circumstance that brings you memories of trauma or stress,
Increases your anxiety levels until your state of overwhelm maybe reaches a peaking point and you just need a method to ground your emotions and thoughts and take you out of the external circumstances and the turnings of the mind surrounding them and ground you into this moment.
We want to use today a variety of sensory explorations.
I'm sure there's many methods to manage panic attacks and overwhelm.
This simply is one that I have found effective.
This is a very short meditation.
You'll have the opportunity that you can download it and try it in different circumstances.
Perhaps when you are seated,
Maybe lying down trying to get to sleep or if you're not able to become still,
You could use this in a very slow mindful walking meditation where perhaps you're just pacing and you increasingly slow down that pace until you might find your body standing still,
Quiet.
Let us begin.
Wherever you are at,
Become still.
The eyes are opened and the gaze is soft.
I'd like you to notice five things that you see right now.
Take in with your eyes the vision of each thing that you see.
Noting the details.
Try to slow the eyes so you're just shifting from one object that absorbs your attention to the next.
Noticing the texture,
The color.
Trying not to head down a story about what that thing means to you or any experience or emotion related to that item.
We want to slow down the stories and simply name,
Notice.
Once you've named five things that you can see,
I'd like you to turn your attention to the sense of sound.
You will need to be perhaps very still or being very slow with your movement and notice the first thing that you hear.
Again,
Avoiding any stories.
Really listening and zeroing in on what you hear.
And as you listen,
Expand that awareness.
We want to name five things that we can hear.
If you listen carefully,
These could be sounds in your external environment or they could be sounds in the internal environment of your body,
Your physical space.
Listening.
Noticing.
Five.
Turn your awareness now further inward.
At this time,
You may want to close your eyes if you haven't already.
This is going to help us narrow in on the experience of feeling.
If you've experienced any personal trauma in your life and closing your eyes feels unsafe,
Gently open your eyes and try to soften the gaze as much as possible.
Noticing what you feel on your body.
Perhaps the sensation of the clothes touching the skin.
Where the body touches the earth or any other support.
Can you feel your hair touching the scalp,
The body,
The ears,
Any jewelry,
Accessories that you have on?
Can you feel them?
Try to name five things that you feel.
The air touching the skin.
Can you feel a sense of warmth or chilliness?
Damp.
Clammy.
Dry.
Texture.
Again,
Depending on your personal experiences,
This may be hard to do at first.
Be gentle on yourself.
Maybe you can feel three things.
Maybe you can imagine how it is to feel.
And we move to smell.
Breathing in through the nose.
Noticing the scent of the room that you're in.
Any lingering aromas on the skin,
The clothing.
Try to notice five odors.
And again,
If you are struggling to find those five after a few moments of being in the space,
Because your senses will open and begin to notice more the longer you're in this meditation.
Maybe bring to mind an aroma that you find peaceful.
A certain flower.
A comforting meal that's.
.
.
.
.
.
Aromas so freshly imprinted in your mind.
The scent of a soap or a lotion.
Maybe something that you don't like the smell of.
Try to identify five aromas and really connect to your sense of smell.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Grounding.
Staying in this moment.
Shifting to the interior of the mouth.
Notice how the mouth feels.
Coming to your sense of taste.
Is there any lingering taste in the mouth?
Maybe from something you just drank or ate.
Visualizing even the taste in the mouth.
Does the saliva have a quality to it that is distinguishable?
Just noticing the interior of your mouth.
How does that feel?
You may visualize a taste as well.
A lemon.
Notice what happens when you bring to mind sour.
Salty.
Bitter or pungent.
Sweet.
Tangy.
Again,
Coming to a place of comfort.
Is there something that you can visualize the taste of in your mouth that brings you comfort?
Freshness.
As though you've washed your mouth with mouthwash or brushed the teeth and drank a cool glass of water.
Notice the neutral sense.
Fresh.
Clean.
Noticing again the sense of your mouth right now.
Your sense of taste.
Breathing in.
Noticing the sense of smell.
Just a few deep breaths.
Sensing the breath moving through the body.
Comforting.
As the breath touches the skin,
Notice your sense of touch.
The feeling of the skin touching the breath.
Moving the skin to touch whatever the skin rests on and meets.
Noticing any sound that you hear.
Finally,
Gently opening your eyes very slowly and taking in five more things that you see as you slowly expand your awareness to the space around you.
And with your eyes opened,
Bringing your hands to your heart.
Noticing the effects of this meditation on your personal state of being.
I recognize the sense of being overwhelmed,
The feelings of panic.
And I hope that this has helped you today.
I hope that you can use this as a tool to repeat and turn to.
If this hasn't helped,
Please don't be discouraged.
Please reach out.
There's so many means for support to help you in this community and beyond.
You have the tools to get through this.
Just like the clouds passing over emotions and difficult times pass and we know that a new cloud will arise,
Bright skies will come in.
Sometimes we have darkness,
But the morning always follows.
That we know is true.
I hope that you can remain in this moment.
I hope that you've found comfort,
Peacefulness and ease from this moment that you are in.
My heart reaches out to you and surrounds you with light.
Please bow and honor the light that resides within you.
These practices may shine that light,
Clearing away the cobwebs and clutter so that you can see truly how beautiful life is and how beautiful you are.
Namaste.
