Meditation For When You Want To Feel Different

How often do we try to bury our feelings, change them, or ignore them? When we try to force a feeling to go away, we are rarely successful. Instead, we just add guilt or frustration to whatever challenge is already there. In this meditation, we focus on one simple practice: feeling what we feel. This doesn't mean we have to like our situation or give up on changing it; it just means we take action from a more grounded and honest place.

Transcript

Hello and welcome. This is Jen, And I'm so glad you're here. This meditation is called Feel What You Feel. There have been a lot of people in my work life and in my personal life recently. Who have mentioned to me that they feel a certain way about something and they're trying to make themselves feel differently. They feel bad about something that's happened to them, But they feel like they shouldn't feel bad because someone else has it worse. Or someone is experiencing negative thoughts or feelings in response to someone else that they interact with, And they are trying to make themselves feel differently about that person. Or someone mentioned to me that. They are feeling scared and nervous about something, But they're trying to just not think about that and basically ignore those emotions that are popping up. This doesn't help us. Anyone who has tried to make themselves feel differently about something. Knows that this is almost always a fruitless endeavor. We don't have control over the emotions that pop up. We don't have control over our thoughts that pop up either. What we do in response to those is a different story. And that deserves care and thoughtfulness. But you really can't just snap your fingers and say, I'm going to feel differently about something. It just doesn't work that way. And when we operate as if that were true, We put added pressure on ourselves, We add guilt to whatever it is that we are feeling, And it just increases our struggle. So in this practice today, We are going to just feel what we feel. Let's get started. First, Just settling into a comfortable posture. Back upright but not too rigid. Maybe closing the eyes or softening the gaze. And just feeling what it's like to sit here in this moment. Taking one grounding breath. Inhaling through the nose. And exhaling an audible exhale out through the mouth. Just being present in this moment. Now we are going to ask ourselves, What feeling or emotion is present right now? Not thinking about the answer, Just noticing what comes up. Maybe it's anger. Sadness. Grief. Frustration. Joy. Anxiousness. Whatever it is, Just let it be there. Maybe repeating to yourself, Out loud or in your head, The words. It's okay to feel this. It's okay to feel this. At any point in this meditation. Feeling free to come back to an anchor like the breath, If that feels supportive. Or if we need to take a break from our focused attention on the emotion. But otherwise. . . Just sitting with whatever feeling we have. Sometimes it can be helpful to. Visualize the emotion. Maybe imagining holding it in our hands. Or maybe setting it down on a table in front of us. This can help us to be with the feeling. While also identifying with it just a little bit less. We can accept that we feel this way. And also know that we are not this feeling. It's not that. I'm an angry person. It's that I have anger. I am holding anger. Similarly, Is not necessarily that I am an optimistic person. I have optimism. I'm holding optimism. So just staying with this visualization. Of holding the present emotion. Maybe examining it. With curiosity like a scientist. What is its shape? What is its weight? It's color. It's texture. Maybe it's ugly. Maybe it's beautiful. Whatever it is, We can hold it. We can hold it and know that it's okay because it is what's here. There is no need to try to get rid of it. Or turn it into something else. We're just looking at it. This is what it is. Maybe repeating to ourselves again the phrase, It's okay to feel this. It's okay to feel this. Maybe coming back to the breath. Noticing any sensations in the body that may be present as we focus our attention on this emotion. If there's any tension in the body. Noticing maybe if we can let go of that a little bit. And again, Just holding our emotion as it is. Without trying to change it at all. As we head toward the end of this meditation. The encouragement is to remind yourself throughout the day. It's okay to feel this. This doesn't mean that we tense up and harden. Refuse to change, Or stop hoping that change is possible. We can still take in new information. We can change the way that we relate to our emotion. And of course, We have much more control over. The actions we choose to take. That's where our power is. But our ability to shape our own future. Whether in this moment. In this day or in the longer term is really dependent on our ability to start from a place where we accept what it is that we feel. Because that piece we don't have control over. And once we connect to that emotion. Look at it rather than identify with it. And remind ourselves that it's okay. It can help us feel more grounded. As we move forward. In a moment, I will ring the bell three times. Signifying the end of this practice here together, But just remembering that you can feel what you feel and know that that's okay. Thank you for showing up and joining me in this practice. Bye. You