In this meditation,
We will be exploring feelings and emotions in the body.
Let's begin with a mindful centering practice.
Whatever you just came from or whatever you were just doing before this moment,
Let go and let's fully settle into this space now.
First notice your body posture at this moment and begin to make subtle adjustments to sit in an upright position that will allow you to pay attention fully in the next few moments.
You can let go of anything you may be holding onto such as worries,
Stress,
Concerns.
Bring your feet flat on the floor,
Back straight but not stiff,
Shoulders relaxed,
Facial muscles relaxed,
And hands resting comfortably on your thighs or in your lap.
And now gently close your eyes.
When it happens that our body is here but our mind is wandering somewhere else,
The intention of mindful centering is to bring your mind back to the body and to this very moment.
To do that,
Let's take a few deep breaths as an invitation for the mind and body to come together.
Experience a deep breath through your nose and let the breath come out through your mouth.
Make the exhalation slow and long.
Let's do this two or three more times and watch the body relax as you exhale slow and long.
Now let your breath move at its own relaxed pace and just pay attention to the flow of the breath in and out.
Notice the different sensations of breathing for a few moments.
And remember as you do this,
You may notice that your mind starts to wander.
You may start thinking about other things.
If this happens,
It's not a problem,
But instead it's quite natural.
Just notice what took your attention away without any judgment and then simply let it go and redirect your attention back to the breath.
In this practice,
We will be exploring the feeling of a few specific emotions within our body.
Thinking,
Happiness,
Worry,
And peacefulness as our starting points,
We will pay close attention to where and how the feelings show up in the body.
Remember that we're just observing the sensations in the body as they reflect the energy of these feelings.
We're not trying to change anything.
Remember also that at any time you can bring your mind back to focusing on your breath,
Using your breath as a stable anchor.
Let's start with happiness.
See if you can experience.
What happiness feels like in your body.
To help you do this,
You can remember a time when you felt happy or you can simply evoke a general feeling of happiness in your body and mind.
Notice the sensations in your body.
Where are they present?
What are the sensations like?
They could be warm,
Light,
Bright.
As you sit here feeling happiness,
Be curious about this feeling.
Notice if it gets stronger or if it fades away.
Try and stay present for this feeling of happiness in your body.
Now choose to investigate a mild but slightly uncomfortable feeling.
Perhaps some small concern or worry that you have.
And see if you can begin to experience this mild dis-ease in your body that signals a worry.
Notice any sensations,
Perhaps in your belly or in your shoulders or your back or in your forehead or jaw.
What are the sensations like?
They could be slightly warm,
Tight,
Feeling of burning,
Maybe cold,
Maybe sharp.
Do you feel that these sensations are moving around or are they in one place?
As you sit here,
Be curious about this feeling.
Notice if at any time it gets stronger or notice if it starts to fade away.
And see if you can just observe it without pushing it away or getting entangled in it.
Now completely let go of the worry.
Take three deep relaxing breaths.
Long breath in and a long breath out through the mouth.
Let your body relax with each breath.
Now allow a feeling of peacefulness to come to your mind.
What does peacefulness feel like in your body?
To help you do this,
Allow time to arise in your mind when you felt peaceful.
Or just let a general sense of peacefulness come into your mind.
And notice the sensations of peacefulness in your body.
What do they feel like?
I'm being curious about this feeling.
Notice if it gets stronger or if it fades away.
And notice the connections between your feelings and the sensations in your body.
Perhaps different feelings are connected to different sensations.
We can learn to notice the feelings and sensations and watch them move and change.
And at any point,
We can return our attention to our breath as an anchor so we can feel more balanced and secure.
To close our practice,
Let's bring to mind a sense of gratitude for emotions.
All our emotions are a part of life and all of us experience a wide range of emotions.
They have a tremendous value for our survival by learning us and preparing us for urgent needs and threats,
For enabling and enhancing relationships with others,
For providing rich texture in our experiences,
And for making possible the experience of art and beauty.
Take a moment to also appreciate our ability to not simply be driven by emotions,
But also to be aware and reflective towards the whole range of emotions without having to judge them or alter them.
As humans,
We have this amazing opportunity to be aware,
To notice,
And to be reflective about these emotions as they occur in our experience.
Now slowly begin to bring some subtle movement back into your body by moving your fingers and your toes.
And then gently begin to move your whole body,
Stretching gently,
Releasing your posture.
And when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes and come out of your meditation.
Amen.
