As I've been looking for meditations on grief,
The ones I've found have all focused on the fact that it's okay to feel sad.
It's normal to feel sad and in giving permission to people to feel their feelings.
That has not been what I've been looking for.
I've been looking for something to help me with the pain and the overwhelm of grief.
And so that's the intention of this meditation.
I hope you never need it.
And if you do need this,
I hope this helps you.
Come into your meditation position.
You can leave your eyes closed or staring at a fixed point maybe on the floor or a few feet in front of you.
And just arrive.
Start by thanking yourself for being here,
For being here,
For doing this for yourself.
And call in your loved one.
Ask them to join you.
You may feel their energy right away.
It might be harder to feel the energy.
Either way,
We are going to drop into our bodies and drop into the breath.
Grief can feel overwhelming.
It hurts so badly and it hurts everywhere.
The pain can flow throughout our bodies.
And a lot of it comes from the thoughts in our heads.
We're going to take a moment and drop away from those thoughts into our breath.
So if it helps you,
You can put your hand on your belly and start by taking a few deep breaths here,
Breathing in and letting your belly expand,
Breathing out and letting it sink in.
Take your time on these big breaths,
But do them at your own pace.
If there are thoughts that keep tugging at you,
Maybe with your exhale,
You actually blow those thoughts away.
Because right now,
We're breathing.
All we need to know is that we are breathing.
The only truth that we know right now is that we are breathing.
Allow your breath to come into a natural relaxed rhythm.
Notice it.
Follow the inhale all the way from the start of an inhale through the middle of the inhale to the end of the inhale.
Notice if there's a pause and then notice the exhale from the start of the exhale through the middle of the exhale to the end of the exhale to the pause to the start of the inhale.
Stay with your breath.
You may feel like you're tracing the same shape over and over again.
As I do this,
I feel like I'm tracing an infinity symbol.
Just staying with the breath.
Every breath is going to be different.
Notice that.
Every breath is going to be different.
Notice that.
Some will be longer.
Some will be shorter.
The pause sometimes will be more pronounced.
Other times,
You may find yourself wondering if you forgot to pause.
Some breaths will be deeper.
Some will be shallower.
The truth is you are breathing.
Just stay with the breath.
If it feels good to you,
Start to explore the breath a little more.
Notice the temperature of the breath.
Notice the texture of the breath.
Notice where you feel that breath in your body.
Is it just your belly,
Your chest,
Your nostrils?
Or does your whole body respond to the breath?
Can you feel that breath in your fingers and in your toes?
You can explore these avenues or just stay with the breath.
Just keep tracing that breath.
The inhale and the exhale.
All you have to do right now is breathe.
Inhale.
The exhale.
The inhale.
The exhale.
The inhale.
The simplicity of it all.
Just breathe.
You can stay here for as long as you need.
You can come back to the breath whenever you need it.
It is always with you.
Try to keep with that inhale and that exhale.
Keep tracing the breath as you slowly come back to the present,
Opening your eyes and observing the world around you and staying with that inhale and that exhale.
I love you.
