Welcome to a moment of meditation.
Thank you so much for joining me.
My name is Carrie with JJ Dack.
I hope you celebrate yourself for giving yourself this gift of a moment of meditation.
This is a demonstration of self-care,
Self-love.
I think it's especially important to celebrate yourself for doing this particular meditation because the topic can be very challenging for us and is one we often avoid.
That's because today we are doing a Dealing with Grief and Loss meditation.
Meditation can be used anytime you have experienced loss.
Most people think of loss and grief as only occurring when you lose someone to death,
A breakup,
A divorce.
However we are going to define grief and loss a little differently.
We're actually going to use the definition suggested by the Grief Recovery Institute,
Which says that grief and loss are the natural and normal emotions we experience anytime there is a change in a pattern of behavior.
It happens anytime we wanted something to be better,
More,
Or different than it was.
The Grief Recovery Institute has identified over 40 losses that we experience in our lives.
This meditation is for anyone that has experienced a loss or a situation in which they had hoped things to be better,
Different,
Or more than they were.
The emotions of grief and loss can be overwhelming and unfortunately most of us have never been shown or taught what to do with these emotions.
All this meditation will not fix the pain because honestly there's nothing to fix.
It will help you to create the space to acknowledge the emotions and then create space for relief from those emotions.
Go ahead and get into a comfortable position.
You can be seated or lying down on the floor,
In a bed,
On a chair,
Wherever you feel most comfortable.
You can now slowly close your eyes.
We will begin with a few deep inhales and full complete exhales.
Let's take a deep full breath in and full complete exhale.
Another deep full breath in and a full complete exhale.
Continue with a few more of these deep and complete breaths at your own pace.
While you do this,
Check in with your heart area.
How does it feel?
Is it tight,
Light,
Heavy?
Take notice without judging what you discover.
As you connect with your body and are aware of your breathing,
Go ahead and let your body soften.
If seated,
Keep your back straight while softening your shoulders.
You're lying down,
Just focus on relaxing those shoulders.
Relax your jaw.
Soften your eyes.
Relax your eyebrows.
Soften your entire head.
Keep breathing.
As you inhale,
Focus your awareness on your breath and on your body.
And as you exhale,
Focus on softening.
Inhale awareness.
Exhale softening.
Keep going at your pace.
Inhale awareness.
Exhale softening.
Now,
Breathe in deeply and say silently to yourself,
I can handle this even though I feel I can't.
Breathe in again and say silently to yourself,
I can handle this even though I feel like I can't.
Keep breathing naturally and continue to say this mantra,
I can handle this even though I feel like I can't.
We handle things and learn from them by moving through them,
Allowing ourselves to fully feel our emotions.
That lets us move through these emotions.
Move into the next phase of life.
Breathe in very deeply again and as you exhale,
Let go of any stress,
Any emotion.
Keep breathing at your own pace.
Something to remember or know is grief is very tiring,
So be easy on yourself during these times.
That exhaustion,
That overwhelm that you might be experiencing is normal and natural.
Do not expect yourself to have a lot of energy.
It's okay that you don't.
Take in another long and slow deep breath.
Exhale letting the tension melt away even more.
Take another deep breath in and a full complete exhale.
Once again,
I want you to notice your heart.
How is it feeling?
Is it tight?
Is it light?
Heavy?
Take notice without judging what you would discover.
Now we are going to move into thinking about the loss,
But only for a short time,
I promise.
Think about the loss.
It can be anything you were wishing was better,
Different,
Or more than it was.
It could be the death of a loved one,
A family,
A friend,
A pet,
The loss of a relationship,
Breakup,
Divorce,
Or some other life change.
Could be the loss of a job,
The loss of a home,
The loss of safety,
The loss of trust.
Whatever your loss is,
Bring it to mind.
Take a big deep breath in and a big deep exhale.
Take a deep breath in and a big deep exhale.
Once again,
Notice your heart.
How is it feeling?
Is it tight?
Is it light?
Heavy?
Take notice without judging what you discover.
All you are doing with this time is quieting your mind and stopping the pressure you feel from others to deal with your loss.
In this quiet space,
You might discover something new about the loss.
You might experience a lesser emotion around the loss.
Maybe it's more intense.
Maybe there's no change at all.
Again,
What you experience is natural and normal.
Now go ahead and quietly ask yourself,
What do I need to comfort myself in this moment?
Be silent and notice the answer.
Once again,
Notice your heart.
How is it feeling?
You considering how you could comfort yourself change your heart experience?
Is it tighter,
Lighter,
Heavier?
Take notice without judging what you discover.
I'm now going to give you a few moments to quietly sit with whatever has come up.
If you notice your mind wandering,
That is okay.
Invite yourself kindly and gently back to the moment and to your breath.
At your own pace,
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
If your mind has wandered,
Gently bring your attention back to your breath and to your heart.
Breathe out and breathe out.
Thank you.
As we enter this final moment of this meditation,
Thank yourself for giving yourself this space.
The space to be with your grief and your emotions around the loss.
You are caring for yourself in a time where self-care is paramount.
It can be very difficult to prioritize self-care when in the grips of grief and loss and you did it.
You took that time.
I invite you to now reconnect with your body.
Notice the chair or bed or floor against your body.
Notice the sound of my voice.
Notice your presence,
My presence,
Our presence.
Notice your seat.
Notice your feet.
Wiggle your toes.
Wiggle your fingers.
Slowly move your neck,
Your shoulders.
Slowly open your eyes and look around the room for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And close your eyes again.
Bring your attention to your breath and take a deep breath in.
Slowly exhale and release your breath.
When you are ready,
Go ahead and open your eyes and move your body in whatever way feels right.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
I hope you found this moment of meditation helpful.
If you did,
Let us know in the comments.
