Inner Smile - Forgiveness

Inner Smile Meditation is designed to release stored emotions. Whilst all emotions are as important as communication tools, they should be short-lived. When we hold on to emotions, we store them in our bodies, which may result in physical complaints or emotional challenges. In this meditation, we visit the five major organs and use sounds to release the emotions that are associated with each organ. In this particular version, we make a link to forgiveness. Time to let go!

Transcript

We're doing an Inner Smile Meditation with a focus on forgiveness and I'll explain more in the course of the meditation. For the moment I'd like you to take up a position of actively sitting. If you can, Sit on the tip of your chair and otherwise make sure your back is straight but don't strain yourself and then clasp your hands together but gently. When you're ready, Close your eyes and start by beginning that you are seated comfortably. Make sure and even though you're active you're comfortable and then take three breaths in and out in your own tempo. No need to change anything. And then we focus on our feet. We feel our feet firmly on the ground. Connect to the ground. Move your attention up through your legs, Knees, Upper legs into the hip area and just observe your body or observe your mind if it's trying to distract you from what you're doing and whatever is happening be gentle on yourself and bring your attention back to the meditation. Bring your attention to your belly area, The back of the body, Up to your shoulders, Down through the arms and observe. Are you warm, Cold? Bring your attention back up through your arms into the heart area. From here slowly move up through neck and throat, Through your face and focus on your forehead. Try to relax your forehead and let that relaxation flow down for your whole face. Make any adjustment you'd like to make. Now place your tongue, The tip of your tongue behind your upper teeth, Against the roof of the mouth and ever so gently curve the edges of your lips up. Just imagine the tiniest of smiles. It does not have to be visible. And here is where we will focus on forgiveness. Think of something, Someone that you like to forgive. This can be yourself or someone else. But realize that forgiveness is always for you. If you want to forgive someone else you will not know the effect on them. But you will set yourself free by forgiving. Now if you have someone or yourself in mind try to make it very specific what you would like to forgive. Bring back the memory of a particular situation in interaction or period in your life. Now if you find that this memory is painful that's okay. Do try to bring your lips into a gentle smile even if it feels a bit forced. I'm gonna walk you through the five major organs. They are associated with certain emotions and certain sounds. I'd like to link all of this to what you would like to forgive. This is of course mainly up to you how you do this but I'll try to guide you. And as I said every organ is related to a sound and will make the sound three times. Bring your attention to your heart, The mother or father of emotions, The house of love and joy. But sometimes a place for hate and resentment. Now when you think of the particular person situation you chose, Explore these emotions. If you feel any resentment or even hate we're going to let go of that or starting to let go by making the sound of like a very deep sigh. I make this sound three times. Let go. Let go. Or accept if you're not ready to let go. Things are a work in progress. We expand our attention to the lungs surrounding our heart and we take a moment to explore the emotions of courage and grief and sadness. Being disappointed by yourself or someone else can bring sense. Now is the time to accept that you or they did what they did and they probably meant well even though they got it wrong. And if you need courage to overcome let's release the opposite of grief and sadness by making the sound and again repeat three times. When you're ready move your attention down the right side of the belly to the liver area. The liver represents anger and all these organs are related to each other where for example lungs feed into liver so any unresolved sadness may affect anger as well. The positive emotions associated with liver are kindness and generosity. It's very obvious that we need to let go of anger and let in kindness and generosity towards the person that we would like to forgive. So think of something kind that you or the person you're thinking of did. Embrace the whole of you and them and to release any potential anger or make the sound of like deflating a tire. Repeat this three times. We bring our attention to the left side of the body towards playing where we store our worries but which also stimulates openness and trust and these things we need to cultivate to come to a point of forgiveness. And to let go of any worries you may have make the sound. Gently move your attention to the back of the body to your kidneys. Where anxiety may find a place and from worries obviously anxiety can come. The positive emotions associated with the kidneys are calmness and silence which can be seen as a full acceptance of what is, What may have happened, What you or someone else could have done better. To stimulate more calmness and silence we make the sound. If you have finished just linger here a little bit longer and notice any sensations, Thoughts, Emotions. Allow your mind to maybe take over so you can observe any thoughts and feelings and whatever just happened a lot, A little, Nothing. It's all okay. Things will happen in time. Once more focus on all the organs together, How important they are for your well-being, Physical function, Harboring our emotions and send them a smile, Appreciation, Anything you want to send. Then focus on your whole body. Notice how you're sitting. Notice how the body is feeling and we'll finish like we started by taking three conscious breaths in your own time. If you like you can stay where you are for a little bit longer or if you need to start your day very gently open your eyes take your time and I'll finish with namaste.