Hello and welcome.
This is Jen,
And I'm so glad you're here.
This meditation is about creating a bit more space between ourselves and our feelings or emotions.
On any given day,
There's usually some mood or emotion or feeling present at various points throughout the day or sometimes multiple feelings or emotions.
And they may be strong,
They may be more subtle.
But sometimes.
.
.
Our mood or emotion can feel a bit overwhelming.
And sometimes it can have more of an impact on the way that we engage with the world,
The way that we interact with others,
And just have generally more of an influence on our experience than we might like.
It's not to say that we don't want to feel our feelings or that we shouldn't acknowledge what's there,
But sometimes we can get almost swept away in it,
Which can decrease our feeling of control.
One of the things that contributes to this can be the way that we talk to ourselves and talk to other people about the way that we're feeling.
In English.
We tend to describe our feelings using the words I am.
Right?
I am anxious.
I am happy.
I am sad.
I am frustrated.
Right.
And while that might be an accurate description of our experience in the moment,
We know that feelings are transient,
Right?
They change.
So some feelings stick around just for a moment or two.
Others might be longer lasting.
But no matter what we're feeling right now.
.
.
We can think of a time where we felt differently.
So we know that there's more to us than how we feel in the moment.
And sometimes identifying with the feeling so strongly.
Can sort of give it extra power in a way that may not be helpful.
So let's settle in for our meditation and we will briefly walk through a quick strategy.
That can help us create a bit more space between us and whatever it is that we're feeling.
So finding a comfortable seat.
Back upright,
But not too rigid.
Gently softening the gaze.
Or closing the eyes,
Whatever feels best to you today.
And just noticing how it is that we feel right now.
Maybe what feeling is present.
Any sensations in the body.
Noticing any thoughts that might be going through our minds.
Not trying to change anything,
But just noticing.
Aware of what's going on for us in this moment.
Maybe noticing the breath.
How is the breath right now?
Is it deep or shallow?
Fast or slow.
Just noticing.
And now the strategy that we're going to try out today.
Is Instead of using the words I am to describe how we are feeling,
Using the words there is.
So instead of,
I am nervous.
There is nervousness.
Instead of I am happy.
There is happiness.
Instead of I am excited.
There is excitement.
And so on.
So just taking a minute to notice whatever feeling or emotion is here.
Maybe it's more than one.
We often feel more than one thing at a time.
For me right now,
I'm feeling.
.
.
STRESSED and also grateful.
So just changing those words from I am stressed There is stress.
From I am grateful.
To there is gratitude.
And doing the same for yourself.
Whatever it is that you're feeling.
Just noticing that with the words,
There is.
And whatever it is that's most predominant for you today.
Sometimes it can be helpful to even picture your feeling.
Maybe it's something that you can imagine holding in your hands.
Or sitting down on a table in front of you and examining.
Maybe it has a shape.
A color.
Await.
Imagining it in this way again can help us.
Just put a bit of distance between that feeling and ourselves.
And can help us get a little bit curious about what it is that it's like.
Without being so connected to it or weighed down by it.
And without so strongly internalizing it.
We can honor the way that we feel.
Not trying to push it away or cling to it.
But just noticing there is.
Grief.
There is fear.
There is.
Joy.
Again,
Just remembering that our moods and emotions are like the weather.
They evolve.
They move through.
And we're still here.
Underneath that.
In these last few moments of the meditation.
Maybe setting an intention to return to this a little later in the day.
Just checking in with ourselves about how we're feeling now.
A few different times throughout the day.
And as we notice what we're feeling,
Just changing that language,
Playing around with this strategy of saying there is instead of I am.
And just seeing what that might open up for us.
Noticing if our experience changes a bit.
When we help create that space.
In a moment,
I will ring the bell three times,
Concluding our formal practice.
But just remembering that we can take this strategy with us.
And we can take this spaciousness with us throughout this day and into the days that follow.
Thank you for your practice.
You you
