Mindfulness For Chronic Diagnosis And Pain

We can learn to find space in the pain, in the diagnosis and in the journey. In this meditation, let Laurie guide you in finding rest and renewal in a quiet place of peace. We will bring kind awareness to your present experience with mindful awareness, and by meeting yourself with acceptance and gentle self-compassion.

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Laurie Cameron.

I'm glad you're joining me as I guide you in a meditation for navigating pain and illness.

In this meditation,

We will bring a kind awareness to the sensations,

Thoughts,

And emotions in your experience,

And be here with gentle self-compassion.

Let's begin.

Find a comfortable position,

One that allows you to be as relaxed as possible.

Make adjustments as needed.

Sit in a way that's relaxed and at ease.

You can do this meditation sitting or lying down.

If you're seated,

Feel your feet on the floor.

Notice your feet making contact with the ground beneath you.

If you're lying down,

Feel the contact points where your body meets the floor or bed.

Feel your legs in contact with the chair,

The bed,

Or the floor.

Now bring attention to your back.

Notice where your back is making contact with the surface.

Now move attention to the process of breathing.

Feel the expansion and contraction of the body as your breath rises and falls.

Where do you sense it most easily?

Is it the air coming in at the nose or the rise and fall of the abdomen?

Just feeling the breath,

Feeling the gentle rise and fall of your body as you breathe.

Now gently turn your awareness to the pain in your body.

Where is it located?

Where do you sense it?

Is it in one area or more?

If it is in more than one place,

Choose one area that calls your attention the most.

It might be the strongest area or it might be another place.

Just bring a kind attention here.

As you're aware of the pain,

What else is present related to the pain?

Notice any emotions that rise when you bring attention to the pain.

How do you feel about the pain in this moment?

Notice the thoughts that are here,

Thoughts about the past of this pain or the source or perhaps about the future.

Notice the sensations of the pain,

Noticing the emotions and the thoughts.

For many of us,

The thoughts,

The story surrounding the pain is the hardest part to tolerate.

Let's start there.

How do thoughts show up in your awareness?

Where do you notice thoughts?

Do you hear them like a voice in your head?

Or is it more visual?

Or words that you see?

Maybe they're word fragments that surround you around your head.

Just bringing awareness to thoughts.

See if you can observe the thoughts without being caught up in them.

Just witnessing them.

Try labeling the thoughts.

It's like giving the story a headline.

You might say,

Thinking,

Thinking or worrying,

Worrying or planning,

Planning.

Seeing the thoughts,

Allowing them to be there,

Coming and going.

As if you're sitting on the bank of a river,

Seeing the thoughts float past.

As you see thoughts rising,

Passing,

Floating by,

See if you can say to the thoughts,

Thank you,

Not now.

Just letting them go.

Now let the thoughts fade to the background and turn attention to emotions.

What emotions are here?

Choose an emotion that is calling your attention.

Where do you feel it?

Where in the body do you notice the physical sensation that's associated with this emotion?

Really noticing the emotion,

Allowing it,

Feeling it in the body.

Bring awareness to where you feel the emotion without the need to change it.

See if you can allow the emotion to move in any way that it needs to.

Just being with it.

Allowing emotions that are present with your experience to be just as they are,

Accepting that they're here right now.

You can name the emotion.

Sadness is here or fear.

Really naming fear,

Fear,

Fear is here.

This is what fear feels like in the body.

This is what people feel like when they feel fear.

You can say to yourself,

This is a natural emotional response for someone in my situation.

Witnessing the emotion,

Allowing it to be here.

Not getting lost inside the emotion or identifying with it.

Sensing that emotions are not you.

They rise and fall.

They come and go.

They're impermanent like the weather.

Let the emotions move into the background.

Now bring attention to the actual physical sensation of pain.

Where do you feel pain in your body?

Simply scanning the body.

Noticing seeing what's here.

Choose a place you feel pain that wants your attention and gently bring awareness here.

What characteristics do you notice?

Bringing a gentle curiosity to the experience of the pain.

You can notice temperature.

Is it hot,

Warm,

Or searing?

Is it heavy,

Dense,

Or light?

Is it sharp or blunt?

Is it throbbing or constant?

Does it have a color,

A shape?

Is it solid or fluctuating?

Does it come and go?

What other characteristics do you notice?

Simply observing,

Sensing,

Bringing awareness to pain.

Now see if breathing into the pain is helpful for you.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Bringing kind compassion to the experience of this pain.

With gentle awareness,

Bring curiosity and kindness to the pain.

As you do so,

Notice if there's any contraction or resistance.

Resistance is often a big part of the experience of chronic illness or pain.

How much we don't like this,

Or we resent it,

Or you wish things were different.

Just noticing that too,

Noticing resistance,

Naming it.

Allowing this too,

This is here.

And letting those thoughts pass by.

Allowing yourself to name their whole experience.

This is a moment of pain.

Pain is here.

This is hard.

Just allowing the truth of this experience to be here.

Now,

Widen your awareness.

Imagine others that are in pain right now or who are navigating a chronic illness.

It might be the same pain or a different one.

Just bringing them to mind.

Imagine the others in your mind's eye,

Around you,

Or at your back.

Many people are experiencing this pain,

Navigating a similar situation.

This is what it feels like to experience this.

It's like this right now.

Invite kindness in your voice,

Speaking to yourself as you would to a loved one in the same situation.

You might say to yourself,

Feeling this pain is part of being human.

It's a common human experience.

I am not alone in this.

Giving yourself kind attention.

If you like,

You can place your hand on your heart.

Feeling the weight of the hand.

Breathing here with kindness.

Bringing a caring friendliness to the pain,

To your body,

To the situation that you're navigating.

Breathing.

Breathing yourself with kind,

Gentle awareness.

Softening.

Letting go.

Allowing.

Accepting this is here.

Inviting ease into the body.

Feeling yourself in kindness.

You can say to yourself,

May I be peaceful.

May I be at ease.

May all of those who are going through a similar experience,

Or having a similar pain,

Be peaceful.

May they be at ease.

Now bring attention back to the breath.

Feeling the breath in the body.

The inhale and the exhale.

Notice it.

Well done.

Thank you for practicing with me.

May you be peaceful,

And may you be at ease.

Reviews

So grateful to have found you yesterday…while scrolling/searching through IT. That was a very beautiful, meaningful meditation that touched me deeply 🙏 Thank you

Thank you, Dear Heart. As always, your soothing, love filled voice eased my pain. Many blessings to you always. 🙏🏻🍃🌺🍃

I say thank you from the inner of my heart for this great meditation, Laurie ☺️🙏
It helped already so often …. but after having had a really bad time during all the Easter days lying in bed the most of it, I today could finally find peace again with myself, my body and my pain 💛💚☀️💗

So validating and calming. This really helped me feel better ❤️

Thank you 🙏 Lovely 💞

Thank you for this practice! I found it very supportive and am very grateful.

That was so helpful. Thank you.

This is among the best self-compassion guided meditations for chronic illness or pain! Please consider recording a 2nd version without the bell. Many of us would love to listen to it on ‘repeat track’ mode, and to be able to fall asleep to it if it’s late at night.

Simple,sensible, helpful

Thankyou this really calmed me and brought me back to center

Thank you kindly for this meditation.very helpful✨️
Namaste🙏🏼✨️🌷🤍🌻🕯🕊

Thank you dear Laurie. I’m healing from MS and having a rough time right now. This was helpful. So grateful for your loving kind presence 🙏🤍✨✨✨

I feel better thank you.

This is easily the best meditation for dealing with chronic pain.. I will be saving it and listening to it often.

So helpful navigating my anxiety around body symptoms . This is going to be a favorite! Thank you 🙏

Thank You❤️🙏❤️