My name is Jane Leonard and I'm a Certified I-Rest Meditation Teacher.
Exploring loss and grief,
Even in a celebration of life,
Can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Our thoughts try to draw us into the past or into the future,
Where we have no control,
No agency.
It helps to have tools to ground ourselves in the moment,
Right where we are now.
Here and now,
We can welcome feelings from a place of curiosity and wonder in the spirit of personal healing and the healing of the collective.
Like most things,
Grief arises,
Unfolds,
And dissolves.
But grief has its own way and its own time.
The path through grief is often non-linear.
Getting into our somatic,
Feeling body can help us shift out of our narrative of grief and into the language of symbols,
Colors,
Textures,
Dreams,
Where we may find more freedom of expression.
In creating something that represents our grief,
We also make a place for our grief in the world and outside of us.
We may even start to feel the sensations of grief lifting off of us.
This offering to our grief,
This ofrenda,
Becomes a touchstone.
We can revisit it whenever we feel grief arising or when we wish to gently unfold our grief in the service of further healing.
For this exploration,
Create a comfortable,
Cozy,
Supportive environment.
Whether you are alone or with a creating partner,
Set up your space thoughtfully and intentionally,
And have meaningful items of remembrance close at hand.
Make yourself comfortable.
Feel free to lie down if that's available to you,
Or feel free to stay seated.
The key is to make yourself as comfortable as you can.
Closing your eyes is completely optional.
It can help to quiet the overthinking mind.
We know that when we close our eyes,
We are not thinking about the past.
Overthinking mind.
We know that when the eyes are moving,
The mind is moving,
Which can lead to thoughts arising.
In this gentle centering,
We are inviting the somatic or feeling sense of the body to step to the foreground while the thinking mind takes a back seat.
If you'd like the full effect,
Put something soft over your eyes like an eye pillow or a lightweight scarf to help block out the light.
This is an invitation to welcome yourself to the here and now.
Through your senses,
Drink in what is around you.
Color,
Light,
Sounds nearby and far away.
Welcome any tastes left over from your day,
Any smells in the nostrils.
Let the eyes close gently or let your gaze be soft.
Bring your attention to a felt sense of well-being in the body.
If it's helpful,
Feel free to recall a memory in which you felt seen and heard,
In which you felt a sense of belonging or felt a sense of being connected.
Invite the feeling of this inner resource to move into your entire body,
To anchor you,
To ground you.
This is your inner resource.
It is always here whenever you need to take a time out to feel at ease,
Present,
Grounded.
Welcome the sensations of breath in the body,
Inviting attention into the exhale,
Letting go of thinking,
Just bringing attention to the exhale,
Moving all the way out to that tiny pause before it dissolves into the inhale,
Which takes care of itself.
Invite the exhale to lengthen without pushing or forcing,
Just opening to space in the exhale.
Welcome spaciousness in the exhale,
Welcoming how the body softens in the exhale.
Bring your attention to the left sole of the foot,
The undersides of the toes,
The ball of the foot,
The heel,
Giving up thinking,
Just feeling the entire left sole of the foot.
Now feel the right sole of the foot,
The undersides of the toes,
The ball of the foot,
The heel,
The entire right sole of the foot.
Now welcome the sensations of both soles of the feet simultaneously.
Feeling grounded,
Welcome a sense of gentleness here and now,
Surrounding you,
Embracing you,
Warm,
Supportive,
Loving.
This gentleness is a container for meeting whatever arises with deep self-compassion and without judgment.
In this grounded gentleness,
Welcome now the rich tapestry of sensations in the body,
The rich tapestry of sensations in the body,
Physical sensations,
Thought sensations,
Emotion sensations,
Sensations that come and go,
Sensations that are arising,
Unfolding,
Dissolving while you are grounded in gentleness.
What is present for you now?
What is calling your attention?
Where do you feel this sensation in the body?
Letting go of any labels,
Just feeling sensation.
Welcoming the qualities of the sensation,
For example,
Warmth or dullness.
Perhaps finding an opposite sensation in the body.
Coolness or sharpness.
Feeling both opposite sensations at the same time.
Welcoming and allowing whatever arises,
Unfolds,
Dissolves.
Sensations of memories,
Sensations of emotions,
Allowing these sensations to play within this greater field of gentleness and well-being.
Honoring your loved one.
Your loved one.
Remembering you can return to your anchor,
Your inner resource at any moment.
You can return to the exhale.
You can feel into the soles of your feet.
You can return to the sensations of being held by gentleness.
Welcoming whatever is present with curiosity and wonder.
Slowly now,
Bringing attention back to your exhale.
Bringing the exhale to lengthen.
Slowly now,
Opening to your senses.
Sounds,
Smells,
Tastes.
Feeling the support of the surface beneath you.
Feeling air on your skin.
Fluttering your eyes open slowly.
Coming back slowly.
Supported by your inner resource.
Supported by your exhale.
Supported by sensations in the body.
Feeling held by gentleness.
