Hi,
My name is Karen.
This meditation is created for those times in life,
And we all have them,
When perhaps your heart feels so broken that it hurts to breathe.
If that lands on you,
Know that you're not alone.
If you'd like to join me,
Find a place that's quiet,
And maybe a bit removed from the chaos and the noise,
And you can either lay down or sit.
If you're comfortable,
You can close your eyes,
And if not,
Just keep your eyes half open with a softened and slightly downward gaze if seated.
Let's begin by checking in.
Become aware of your breath and see where you feel it,
Without trying to change it.
Just let it be whatever it is.
Acknowledge any thoughts,
Any emotions,
And any sensations in your body.
Not seeing any of these as things that need to be changed or got rid of.
Instead,
Just seeing them as present in this moment,
Right now,
And holding all of these things with curious,
Compassionate,
Spacious kindness.
Feel the weight of your body resting on the chair,
Or the floor,
Or your bed.
Notice each place that your body connects to the floor or chair.
Your feet.
If laying the backs of your lower legs.
If sitting in a chair,
Your thighs.
Your buttocks.
Notice where your back presses into the floor or chair.
And if laying on the floor,
Notice the weight of your head.
Notice the weight of your head,
And whether perhaps your head is tilted slightly to the right or left.
Or whether your chin is turned slightly downward toward one shoulder or the other.
Notice also the places that your body draws away from the chair or floor.
It could be the ankles,
The knees,
The lower back,
Your neck.
Bring your awareness to your hands.
Have you placed them palms facing up or down?
There's no need to change it.
Just notice what is.
Breathe in as deeply as you're able.
And exhale as best you can.
Sometimes it's hard to do that when it feels as though your heart is bruised or hurting.
Pain.
Discomfort.
Heartbreak.
These things are all part of the human existence.
But no matter who you are,
When we experience pain or suffering,
It's easy to feel alone.
And as though the moment and its challenges are insurmountable.
So let's not worry about how we'll get through this,
Or what tomorrow holds.
Instead,
Choose to be here in this breath.
Breathing in as deeply as you can.
And exhaling until your body is empty.
For some of us,
When faced with these challenges of life,
We look to distraction,
Understanding that it doesn't stop the pain,
But for a brief moment,
We can pretend it's not happening.
Let something else hold our interest.
But inevitably,
We must return.
How to move through life's inevitable pain and challenges?
Breathe in deeply.
And see if perhaps you can open your mouth and sigh the breath out,
Perhaps even making a sound as the breath leaves your body.
One of the most powerful things that we can do for a friend or loved one,
Or anyone who is suffering,
Is to acknowledge that pain.
And in fact,
That's also the best practice for the self.
Rather than denying it,
Pushing yourself to just soldier through.
Allow yourself to grieve,
To hurt.
Acknowledge that this struggle is not what you'd hoped for.
Not what you'd planned.
And even if,
In the end,
You chose to walk away,
The pain you're experiencing doesn't change the fact that you needed to walk away,
And that your choice was right.
That you needed to surrender your hope and expectation,
And come to a place of acceptance of what is.
You may grasp in the dark,
Hoping to find an explanation,
As though you could somehow change the outcome.
And so you ruminate,
Picking through memories of hurt,
Of hope,
Of confusion,
And disappointment.
Perhaps it will give you comfort to know that whatever you're experiencing right now,
Whatever emotion,
Whatever lessons you are learning about yourself,
Or the world,
Or others who are close to you,
Or further away,
These lessons needed to be learned.
That this moment required that you experience it.
And from this moment you will gain wisdom,
Perhaps learning that the path you chose was not the right path for you at this time.
The universe has a wonderful way of showing us paths that we can take.
But I think sometimes the universe steps in to save us from greater hurt.
And though we may feel pain or heartbreak in the moment,
It is much less than what ultimately we would have felt.
Choosing to believe that you are exactly where you're meant to be can offer you some peace of mind,
But it will not remove the experience of hurt or pain or disappointment.
But there is only one way to be able to leave that pain behind.
And that is ultimately to move through it.
You can't rush it.
The path will reveal itself in time.
But by accepting that there has been a change in your life,
Contradicting what your hopes were,
Allow yourself the time to be sad,
To grieve,
To be angry.
You are a spiritual being living a human existence.
You are not tucked away in a drawer or high up in a shelf unreachable by all the turmoil and chaos of life.
As best you can,
You are trying to live a full life,
Rich in many different experiences.
Perhaps you can consider whether or not you were frightened of the possibility of this outcome,
The outcome that doesn't offer you the results that you'd hoped for.
Perhaps you set aside the understanding of possible failure or the risks of becoming hurt.
But a life without challenge,
Without growth,
Without the possibility of falling,
Is not a life at all.
And in time,
You will be able to remember this moment.
You may feel its pangs of discomfort and hurt or remember your anger,
But it will feel distant and different as your perspective changes.
You will begin to hold it in a different place in your heart.
And the purpose to revisit it is to remind yourself of the growth that you've made,
The challenges that you've survived,
And to know in your heart that in this very moment,
Or in the moment when you reflect back to this time,
That you're all right.
There is a message,
Patanjali,
Offered that in life there is pain or no pain.
And when we speak about contentment,
In the West,
We seem to think that that means happiness.
But happiness is a space of balance and equanimity in the mind and heart.
And in fact,
When our body experiences a release of endorphins,
Serotonin,
Dopamine,
And oxytocin,
This will change the body's chemistry,
And the reaction of the body is to level itself once again,
Returning to the balance of contentment,
Which is neutrality.
Likewise,
When the body is subjected to discomfort,
Emotional hurt,
It has the ability to self-regulate and to release then those hormones that help to make us feel so much better.
But giddiness is no more sustainable than is great sorrow.
And you are allowed to laugh just as you are allowed to cry.
By choosing to be present in that moment,
Experiencing all that is within that breath,
You will not have to return to it again,
And you will be able to let go your attachment to that memory.
You are a beautiful soul.
You are a marvel of nature and architecture,
Art and beauty.
But in life,
Just as there is light,
There must be darkness.
Remember,
In this breath,
Breathing in deeply,
Exhaling completely,
That you are alright,
And that for the moment,
This is your path.
But it will change,
Just as the sun will come up,
Replacing the moon.
There will come a time you will be surprised by a smile,
A sense of awakening once again in your heart.
Be patient,
Be kind to yourself,
Give yourself the time that you need to grieve,
And know that when you are ready,
The next path will open to you.
Breathing in deeply,
Exhaling everything.
Namaste.
