This is a meditation for turning towards difficult emotions.
So often when we feel upset or angry or afraid,
Our instinct is to turn away from these emotions,
To push them away.
But for many of us,
This ends up making us feel worse.
Another way is to turn towards these emotions,
To create space for them,
To allow them to be there and to move through us.
Start by finding a comfortable seated or lying down position.
And take some moments to notice your body as it is in the space.
Start to tune into your breath in your body.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Notice how your whole body expands a little on the in-breath and relaxes a little on the out-breath.
And I invite you now to turn your attention to something in your life that's troubling you.
Something that's causing you some difficulty or some pain.
It could be a relationship issue or an issue at work or something you don't like about yourself or just a sense of something wrong in your life.
And take your time to just get close to this,
Remembering that there is no wrong choice.
Whatever you choose is going to be right for this meditation.
And once you've found the situation or issue,
See if you can identify the feeling about this issue.
Is there anger or fear,
Sadness,
Confusion,
Anxiety?
What's there for you in this situation?
And as you locate this feeling,
Just repeating to yourself,
I'm stressed or I'm angry or I'm afraid,
Whatever that emotion is,
Taking some moments to just acknowledge it.
And once you've acknowledged this emotion,
Seeing if you can drop down to locate it in your body.
When I feel this emotion,
Where does it show up in my body?
Perhaps it's in your chest or your stomach or by your temples in that mind space.
What do you sense in your body?
And as you notice this emotion and sensation,
You may notice that your instinct is to want to move away from them,
To push them away,
But instead see if you can create some allowing for this emotion,
This feeling.
Give yourself permission to actually feel this in this moment with softness and gentleness.
Maybe there are some words like it's okay to feel this.
Or maybe you place just one hand on the heart,
A gentle touch of acknowledging it's okay.
Or perhaps it's just a deep and loving breath into the body to create space for this emotion in this moment.
Allowing this emotion to simply be there.
Recognizing that accepting that it's there doesn't necessarily mean that you like it,
But letting go of the struggle in this moment.
Continuing with gentle breaths,
Softening your reaction to this emotion.
And as you breathe and allow this emotion to be there,
Drop down even further and see if you can sense what you need in this moment.
What is this emotion asking of you?
Perhaps it's forgiveness or space or love.
What is this emotion asking of you?
Inquiring with curiosity and compassion.
What's being asked of me?
And from this place,
Seeing if you can turn to yourself with what you need.
So maybe there are some words.
It will be okay.
Everybody feels this way sometimes.
Or if you've been being particularly hard on yourself,
Maybe it's just I'm sorry and I love you.
Or perhaps it's that hand on the heart again,
That gentle,
Soothing touch.
Or just that gentle and loving breath in and out of your body.
Let yourself spend some time here,
Giving yourself what you need in this moment.
Resting deep into your body with these gentle and loving breaths.
Resting deep in the body and in the breath,
Allowing yourself for these few moments to simply be as you are.
And then wherever you are,
Gently guiding your attention back to my voice.
Becoming aware once again of your breath in your body.
Becoming aware of your body as it sits or lies in the space.
Becoming aware of sounds in your room or outside of the room.
And before you close this meditation,
Just taking a final moment to give thanks to yourself for taking this time out of your day and for having the courage to turn towards your difficult emotions.
And as you move into your day,
Just remembering that whatever difficult emotions arise,
Whenever fear is there or anger is there or sadness is there,
That you can always turn towards it.
Create space for it and reminding yourself that whatever you're feeling is okay.
There's nothing wrong with it and there's nothing wrong with you.
So whenever you feel ready,
Gently bringing some movement back into your body,
Your fingers,
Your toes,
Your shoulders.
And finally,
Gently opening your eyes and coming back into the room and closing your meditation.
