Hello,
My name is Hilary Lafon and I'm so grateful that you've joined me today for our morning meditation.
Today's topic is on grief.
About our lives,
Humans and animals that we love come and go.
Sometimes we're left with overwhelming feelings that we don't know how to manage.
We're not sure how to get through.
Sometimes it can really hit us first thing in the morning when we wake up.
So let us begin by sitting or lying comfortably.
As always we'll start with the breath,
Relax the body,
Observe the mind and listen to our heart.
Maybe today you choose to close your eyes,
Placing your hands over your heart and begin to breathe deeply into your stomach.
With each breath,
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Feel your chest rise and fall.
Blow your hands with your breath and at any time if your attention wanders,
Gently bring it back to your breath.
Allow the muscles around your face to soften as you breathe deeply,
Noticing if you're clenching your jaw,
Grinding your teeth.
Allow space in between the top of the mouth and the bottom,
Allowing even the root of the tongue to soften and expand.
Noticing any sensation in the neck or throat.
If you can with this next breath,
Visualize a wave of relaxation washing over your shoulders,
Down your arms,
Out your fingers,
Down your back and either out your seat or all the way down your legs and out your toes,
Feeling your whole body relax just 1% more.
If there's any tightness in your stomach or legs or hands or feet,
Invite kindness and comfort into your body and allow these areas to soften.
Now breathe deeply in through your nose for a count of four.
Exhaling through your nose,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Allowing the breath to flow through your lungs and into your stomach,
Holding your breath just for a moment and then slowly exhaling through your mouth for the count of eight,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Let's do this a few more times,
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Holding for a moment and then exhaling,
Sighing it out completely for eight,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
One more time on your own,
Inhaling the deepest breath you've taken all morning,
Holding and exhaling slowly.
Continue to breathe in this manner with each exhale feeling your body relax even more deeply.
Allow yourself to sense your grief or any other emotion that might come up.
Exhale,
Where in your body this sensation arises.
Welcome the sensation with a sense of curiosity and with self-compassion.
You may feel judgments about your emotions and if so,
Gently let them go.
Let the awareness that anything you feel right now is completely natural.
Allow any and all emotions that arise to come with love and self-compassion.
Learn and know that no matter how you feel,
You are safe,
Supported and deeply loved.
Now visualize the one you are grieving.
Imagine them in front of you,
Ready to have a conversation.
What would you like to tell them?
What would you like them to tell you?
In your mind,
Have the conversation you need to have without judgment.
Say what you need to say and hear what you need to hear.
Remembering to breathe deeply,
Relaxing any muscles that have tensed up.
Where can you let go in your body?
To allow this practice to help,
To nurture.
Feeling in your heart area,
What is your heart telling you?
With your body as relaxed as you can be in this moment.
When your conversation is over with your loved one,
Know that if you need to see them again,
You can return to this safe non-judgmental space of communication.
Wish your loved one goodbye for now and allow them to fade from or step out of view.
As your loved one fades from view,
Once again allow yourself to experience whatever emotion arises without judgment or fear.
There is only one way to move past grief and that is to go through it.
Give yourself love and support for being brave enough to start your day this way,
Facing,
Feeling,
Being fully present.
As you breathe,
Again notice any emotion you are feeling.
Visualize drawing that emotion into your heart and allow it to have the energy of love and compassion.
Return your attention to your breath once again,
Breathing deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And as you breathe in,
Visualize white,
Loving light entering in your breath,
Moving into your heart and your lungs and pumping through your entire body with every beat of your heart.
And as you exhale through your mouth,
Visualize pain,
Sadness and negative emotions flowing out with your breath where they are surrounded with the loving light of the universe.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth,
Inviting any emotions that surface and allowing them to be released as soon as you are able to.
Let us take a few more breaths together before we end our time.
Inhaling deeply through the nose,
Exhaling completely through the mouth.
Two more times,
Inhaling love and peace.
Inhaling completely,
Letting all the sadness and the grief to leave your body.
One more time together,
Inhale and exhale.
When you are ready,
Open your eyes,
Come back to the present moment knowing at any time you can revisit this meditation,
This exercise to help you work through the emotions.
Knowing you can visualize your loved one at any time and say what you need to say and hear what you need to hear.
Thank you so much for allowing me the precious gift of your time.
Until next time.
