Thank you so much for joining me for this mindfulness meditation.
I say thank you because you clearly have a busy schedule.
And to take this time,
To find this time,
To make this time for yourself,
For us to be together in this way means a great deal.
I commend you for this step toward wellness,
Happiness,
And health.
Today,
This evening,
Our Vipassana mindfulness guided meditation will be focused and centered toward those with addictions.
I think it's clear to say that we all have addictions.
Be it food,
Persons,
Places,
Things.
We all deal with some form of addiction.
Mindfulness is the process of focusing one's attention on the present to become more aware of thoughts,
Feelings,
And bodily responses,
Processing and accepting them without judgment.
While skeptics may view mindfulness and related meditation as new age or mind over matter nonsense,
Researchers for over 30 years now across the country have been examining specifically a mindfulness meditation's potential to treat addiction by curbing cravings and reducing the risk and severity of relapse.
And they've seen promising results.
Meditation has a reputation of being fluffy or kind of an alternative hippie approach that doesn't really have much substance and that's just not the case.
It's actually a very systematic approach to understanding behavior and our minds and habits.
I wouldn't say it's a miracle cure.
It's hard to work,
To meditate,
And to develop wellness.
Sarah Bowen,
An associate professor of psychology at Pacific University who has been studying mindfulness-based relapse prevention since the early 2000s,
Had this to say.
A mindfulness-based addiction treatment trains people to pause and be in the present,
Acknowledging their cravings while reconstructing their natural reward pathways.
What I think therapeutically happens is in order to recover from addiction,
A person has to relearn what is and is not important in life because that's the thing that gets broken in addiction.
The person gives up the things that were once meaningful in their life for the addiction.
In teaching people mindfulness skills,
They may strengthen their self-control and their self-awareness so that then they can become more sensitive to the natural pleasure to cultivate a sense of joy and to reclaim a sense of meaning in life.
Now that's just wonderful and I think this is a perfect time for us to begin our meditation.
So,
If you will,
Please find a comfortable space,
A comfortable place,
Perhaps that is seated or lying down.
Find a place that is comfortable for you,
A place where you can just be still in comfort as you witness your body,
As you witness the sounds around you,
As you witness your existence.
Please let us take a very deep breath now.
Begin with me,
Take a very deep breath and when you achieve the top of that breath,
Exhale with a very soft breath.
And I'll ask you to do that one more time with me.
Take a deep breath in.
This time when you get to the top of that breath,
I'd like for you to exhale out with a sigh like this.
Ahhhhhh.
Oh,
That feels very good.
Now I'd like for you to roll your head around and release the tension in your neck.
Just roll your head from side to side.
And maybe in a circle that feels right for you.
Again,
Just releasing the tension in the neck just now.
And when you feel that the tension in the neck has subsided a bit,
I'd like for you to come now,
Rest your head very firmly but relaxed towards center.
And I'd like to ask you to soften your gaze now.
Release the tension from the eyebrows and the eyelids.
And just allow that tension to flow away from your body.
And now,
In this moment,
As your eyelids are relaxed,
I'd like for you to witness your breath.
The simple elegance of your chest rising and falling.
Rising with breath.
Falling with the exhale.
Rising with the inhale.
Falling with the exhale.
And in your breath.
And in your position now,
I'd like for you to focus as well on the gravity of your body.
The gravity of your planet.
How it holds you in safety.
Holding you firmly,
Securely.
And this dynamic relationship between you and our planet to secure you as you witness your breath and the elegance of your chest rising and falling.
Rising and falling.
And you might hear a few things off in the distance.
But I encourage you to continue to witness your breath and allow those sounds to just be an aspect of your atmosphere.
Continue your focus on your breath.
Your breath is your anchor right now.
And while you are in this state now witnessing,
Perhaps this would be a fantastic time to just whisper a few phrases out loud or to yourself.
If you'd like you can repeat with me or again you can share within you whichever feels best for you.
May I be free and feel peace with my addiction.
May I feel peace.
May my heart be free from the pain of my addiction.
May my heart be free from the pain of my addiction.
May my heart be free from all pain of my addiction.
May my heart be free from the pain of my addiction.
Take a deep breath now.
And when you reach the top of that breath,
I'd like for you to exhale with a sigh like this.
And now again,
Another phrase.
A clearing phrase.
A phrase that generates and nurtures your community.
That phrase is,
May my family and friends be free of the pain of my addiction.
May my family and my friends be free from the pain of my addiction.
May my family and my friends be free from the pain of my addiction.
May my family and my friends be free from the pain of my addiction.
And with a deep breath,
Let's draw it in,
Draw in,
Draw in.
And exhale with a sigh.
Now witness your breath.
And witness what arises in your mind.
And be here right now.
And be here right now.
And be here right now.
And of course the mind,
Healthy,
Will bounce,
Move,
Shake.
Ideas will flow through,
But allow them to flow in,
Allow them to flow out.
And this is an opportunity for you to practice renunciation of emotion for what arises.
Our job now is to but witness and continue to be present right now.
Your breath is your anchor.
And as we near the end of our time together,
I'd like for you to softly now open your eyes wide.
And continue to observe your breath.
Thank you for this time together.
Truly this time was precious.
And you chose to spend it so wisely.
And surely when you give to yourself,
You give to your loved ones.
You give to your community.
You give to our world.
Thank you for your contribution today,
This evening.
I am Kalfani now.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
