Thank you for joining me today in this meditation for grief.
I want to thank Claire Roslington also for her beautiful musical accompaniment for us today along our healing pathway.
To begin,
Please bring your hands together in Namaste position and then relax the palms of your hands so that you just have your finger and thumb tips gently touching and then lower your hands to your left to relax comfortably there on the midline of your body.
And now close your eyes and relax your face,
Especially between your eyebrows and also your lower jaw,
Allowing it to open slightly while leaving your lips closed.
And now please take a slow and deep breath in through your nose and then breathe out through your mouth with a gentle and quiet sigh,
Almost like you're whispering it.
Let's do that again.
Take a slow and deep breath in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth with a sigh.
And one more time,
Breathing in and out with a quieting sigh.
And notice your shoulders wanting to relax down and lower as you breathe normally again.
Finger and thumb tips still touching.
And we'll just take a moment here to be still,
Breathing softly and easily as you allow yourself to settle comfortably into a quiet moment of stillness within the virtual space that connects us.
Letting your breath easily moving in and out in stillness.
Moving into the quiet space that is deep within you now.
Finger and thumb tips still touching on your lap.
Breathing softly and easily.
Sensing your deep need to spend time here in the comfort of your own inner home space.
The space inside of you that nourishes you in the places you need it the most.
Just rest here for another moment.
Breathing into this nourishment within you.
And letting it fill you now.
Relaxing.
And with eyes still closed,
Finger and thumb tips still touching gently,
I invite you to imagine a beautiful pathway in nature.
It could be a pathway that is very familiar to you and that you enjoy visiting.
Or it could be a pathway you are seeing in your mind now for the first time.
Take a moment to see yourself on this pathway as I read you a poem about a healing pathway of grief,
And as I read,
Try to imagine where you might be at this time along the pathway.
Like a healing pathway along an open field,
The soul winds its way through life,
Sometimes hiding in the bushes that surround the path,
At other times stepping out into the sunshine,
Taking it all in,
Wearing it,
Sharing it,
Until something causes it to retreat again.
Grief causes the soul to hide,
Grief's powerful energy that is raw,
Unbelieving,
Desperate,
Alone,
Lost,
Paralyzed.
Some or all of these things for a time render the soul destined to remain in the bushes,
Hiding from the sunshine,
Unable to take it in,
To wear it,
It seems,
For a time ever again where words like peace and joy,
So foreign to the soul now entombed,
Are frozen,
Waiting for the sun to revive them again so the soul can emerge from the bushes and step out into the sunshine,
To wear it again and take it all in,
Then return to the pathway,
Healed of this time and able to enjoy the sun once again.
And now with eyes remaining closed as we continue,
Just be aware of how you're feeling throughout your being now.
How are you feeling physically,
Mentally,
Emotionally,
And spiritually?
Just acknowledge inwardly all of your feelings.
And I would ask you to release your fingertip position now,
Eyes still closed,
And move the palms of your hands to the area on your body that hurts the most when you feel sadness,
When your inner sun is hiding in the bushes,
As our poem suggests.
It may be that you hold the energy of sadness in your chest or in your throat,
Or perhaps lower on your core,
Such as in your stomach region,
Or maybe somewhere else in your body.
Just place the palms of your hands tenderly against those areas you know so well that cause your physical unease when you experience the raw emotional energy of grief.
And then try to relax into this new position.
So bring your focus again to your face,
Letting your lower jaw be loose,
Letting your forehead relax,
Noticing your shoulders,
Letting them lower again,
And letting your arms completely relax now into this new position you were using with your hands.
Breathing slowly and gently now,
Making sure you are completely comfortable so you can receive energy healing comfort from your very own hands that are resting on you now.
Letting your hands comforting you,
Warming you,
Soothing you,
Your very own hands that are always available to help you in ways you may never have realized before,
Serving you now in self-care touch,
In loving,
Comforting,
Self-care touch.
As you simply relax,
Breathe easily now and gently,
Your hands completely relaxed on your body and with nothing else you have to do,
Just soak in your very own loving self-care,
Filling you with the warmth of the sunshine in our poem.
And breathing into this sunshine,
Imagining it is warming you and consoling you now.
And returning to your healing pathway again,
I would like you to just look all around you,
Noticing everything you can see in this location.
And as you adjust to this slot,
I would also like you to imagine that you can see a very large smooth rock along the pathway.
The rock is in a warm and sunny location and is almost inviting you now to walk towards it and to sit down on it.
You are quite safe here.
Can you see yourself going there now and sitting down on it comfortably?
Feel its warm surface with your hands as you sit down and allow its steadfast,
Strong and solid presence to immediately distract you from any heaviness you may still be feeling in your body or mind as it gently offers you its supportive,
Ancient and elemental energy of solace.
Your rock has been here for millions of years.
You can talk to it if you like and tell it how you feel.
It will not judge you.
Instead,
It offers you its timeless strength.
It is simply there for you now,
Ready to console you with its silent and constant presence to you in its grounding support.
Please take the next few moments to enjoy this healing space in nature you are visiting and your mind.
Breathing into whatever it is you are seeing in your mind now.
Breathing into whatever it is you are feeling now.
Respecting how you are feeling.
Receiving as you gently breathe.
Sensing the warmth from your loving hands on your body.
And breathing this warmth throughout your body.
Leaving your rock now and rejoining me on the pathway as you take another slower and deeper breath.
Eyes still closed.
And taking a moment to look back along the healing pathway at your rock.
Knowing that this is a place you can visit in your mind any time you need comfort,
Especially in times of anxiety,
Sadness,
And the many aspects of emotion that accompany grief and perhaps even fear.
Your very own rock has the potential to stabilize you in the energy of your thoughts and to comfort you in its ancient and firm foundation of familiarity.
Just gently breathe into this awareness now.
As I repeat,
Your very own rock will be waiting for you to help to stabilize you in the energy of your thoughts and comfort you in your times of need through its ancient and firm foundation of familiarity to you.
And with eyes still closed,
Please relax your hands from where they have been and bring your palms together in front of your chest in a gesture of gratitude for our time together along the healing pathway.
And then take a deep and cleansing breath of gratitude with me.
Breathing in and breathing out through your nose this time.
And one more time,
Take a deep breath in and out.
And then relax your hands to your lap to rest palms down along your thighs and feel your support beneath you where you are sitting and become aware of your surroundings again.
And in your own time,
Only when you are ready,
Open your eyes and fully return to your home space again.
And take another moment in gratitude for this special time together.
And as we bring our meditation to a close,
May you remember to be gentle,
Kind,
And loving with yourself and with others this day and every day.
Namaste.
