Welcome,
Today's meditation will help you deal with difficult or disturbing emotions.
So to begin the transforming discomfort meditation,
Get comfortable in a seated position,
Or even laying down,
Allowing your eyes to close gently,
Or softening your gaze,
Whatever is most comfortable,
And just begin to sense the breath,
Sense your body seated on earth,
And then choose a situation that's difficult for you,
Or a place where you're feeling stuck.
And with kind and loving attention,
Notice any feelings that arise from this circumstance and situation.
Observe kindly whatever emotions are present,
Just breathe and let the emotions be,
And begin to notice how they feel in your body.
Tuning in to whatever part of your body feels the discomfort,
Getting curious about the discomfort and the quality of the sensations,
Saying aloud and labeling the emotions the best that you can.
Fear feels like this.
Time feels like this.
Frustration feels like this.
Anger feels like this.
Sadness feels like this.
Gently naming the emotions present in your body.
Anxiety feels like this.
By naming your emotions,
You become the witness to them.
You become the greater awareness that can hold them.
So select one emotion to focus on,
And notice the physical sensations in your body related to this emotion.
Is it hot,
Cold,
Dense,
Prickly,
Heavy,
Constricted,
Searing,
Clenched,
Achy?
Gently labeling the sensations,
Whatever you notice,
Saying them quietly to yourself.
Oftentimes we feel anger around the jaw and the neck,
Or sadness across the chest and in the heart area,
And fear in our belly.
I want you to invite the sensations to become stronger,
To grow and increase,
Making space for all the little bits to do what they want,
To open and to grow bigger.
Let the emotion expand even further,
To fill the vast space around you,
To fill the entire room,
Your entire home,
The whole neighborhood,
All of the sky.
Let that feeling become vast.
Notice how it changes.
It might intensify and grow stronger,
Or then it might begin to soften.
Maybe it'll feel less personal.
It might begin to feel more like a current of energy,
Or maybe another physical sensation or another emotion will begin to show itself.
Now that you've felt the discomfort in your body,
You have an opening into compassion.
Compassion naturally moves towards suffering and pain.
Place your hand on your heart with tenderness and care.
This natural gesture of self-kindness releases oxytocin,
Which will help you feel more peaceful and calm.
See if you can hold this difficulty with compassion,
The physical discomfort of the emotions in your body.
And now repeat the following phrases of self-compassion to yourself,
Saying gently,
I'm having a hard time right now.
Everyone feels this way sometimes.
May I be kind to myself in this moment.
May I give myself the compassion I need.
Now really accept the compassion that you're giving yourself.
Letting this energy flow through your entire being.
Continue to sense this warm and gentle compassion through your body as you comfort yourself with the phrases of self-compassion,
Kindness,
And care.
I'm having a hard time right now.
Everyone feels this way sometimes.
May I be kind to myself in this moment.
May I give myself the compassion I need.
Notice how your heart feels gently beating beneath your hand and placing your hand back at your side or in your lap,
Just tuning into the sensations in your body.
Maybe you've felt a sense of release,
And if you're feeling good,
Feel free to stop the meditation at this point.
But if you're still feeling some challenging emotions,
Still feeling some discomfort in your body,
I invite you to join me for the Soft and Soothe Allow practice.
Identifying that physical discomfort in your body caused by the challenging situation and then letting yourself just soften around the edges of this discomfort.
Softening around the edges like a pool of water overflowing,
Letting the edges be soft.
Or you could say gently to yourself,
Soften,
Soften.
And just letting your belly be loose and soft too.
And then soothing that area of discomfort,
Saying gently,
Soothe,
Soothe.
Or imagining a warm towel or a gentle touch.
Imagine being able to actively soothe this area.
Soothe,
Soothe.
And then allowing the sensations to be present,
Just allowing them to be exactly as they are without making them wrong or wanting to change them.
Just accepting whatever is going on in your body right now.
Allow.
Allow.
Noticing what happens to the emotions and the feelings as you allow whatever is present just to be.
Notice how the energy in your body transformed by allowing it to simply be.
Emotions like this will come back,
Sometimes in waves,
But don't be discouraged.
They are the energy of life coming to teach you,
Coming to help you grow and learn.
And all of these strong emotions arise from your deep care and concern.
Letting the belly be soft and loose.
Knowing that with loving awareness,
These sensations can lead you to more compassion for yourself and the world around you.
I invite you to use this technique anytime you're experiencing challenging emotions.
Knowing with this loving awareness,
You can start to transform your relationship with these big and challenging emotions and begin to get more comfortable with the discomfort.
Thank you.
You can gently open your eyes.
