Finding Peace In A World Full Of Uncertainty And Overwhelm

If you feel stressed, overwhelmed by all that is going on in the world, and you want a radical way to cut straight through to the very heart of it all and find peace in the middle of the madness, this one is for you. The music and the words have been carefully curated to guide you through the overwhelm into a deep place of abiding peace. (music by Giovanni Bonelli aka Notte Infinita).

Transcript

Meditation for finding peace in a world full of uncertainty and overwhelm.

Life in the 21st century can feel so relentless.

The list of things to struggle to keep on top of keeps getting bigger.

It feels like we're reeling from one crisis to another.

Climate crisis,

A pandemic,

The possibility of a world war.

And there's so much uncertainty about the future.

Everything feels like it's speeding up,

Like we're reaching a tipping point.

It's getting harder to catch our breath,

To find our feet on solid ground.

If you ever feel overwhelmed,

Then this meditation is for you.

I'm going to begin just by reading a short poem from John O'Donoghue.

It's an excerpt from his blessing called For One Who Is Exhausted.

You have traveled too fast over false ground.

Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses.

Open up to all the small miracles that you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain when it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,

Taking time to open the well of color that fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

So I just want to invite you at the start of this meditation just to close your eyes for a moment and just allow your attention to settle.

Wherever all those different threads of attention have been pulled today,

Just take this moment to allow those threads to gently settle back into the center of your being.

And it can help just to notice what quality of energy is in your mind right now.

Just notice if your mind feels busy or quiet or somewhere in between.

And whatever you notice,

Just see if you can allow that energy to be as it is.

You might notice that there's a part of you that wants to fix or change or control things.

You can just say hello to this part and let this part know that we're going to come back to them very shortly.

For now,

We're just practicing the art of letting things be as they are.

So now let your attention drop into your body.

Just get a general sense of how your body feels in this moment.

Does it feel really relaxed or tense or somewhere in between?

And again,

Whatever you're noticing in your body right now,

There's no right or wrong.

Just see if you can allow that energy to be as it is,

Just giving it a space to breathe.

You can even let your attention drop a bit deeper into your body,

Connecting to the sense of your feet on the floor if they're on the floor or legs on the chair or whatever you're sitting on.

You can even notice what it feels like to be held by whatever it is that you're sitting or standing on.

And if your feet are touching the floor,

Just notice that connection to the floor or to the earth.

Notice and honor that connection.

Notice what it feels like to be grounded,

To feel rooted.

Now we've found a little bit more ground,

A little bit more centeredness.

I want you to invite back in that part of you that we all have that wants to control things sometimes,

The one that struggles and strains to keep on top of things,

To keep uncertainty at bay.

Just see if you can notice this part of you that we might call the inner controller.

See if you can notice this part anywhere in your body.

What shape does it have?

Maybe you can get an image of what you imagine this part of you might look like.

If you do connect to this part,

Just allow it to be there and allow any sensation behind this part to be there.

It's really important that in this moment we give our inner controller just a space to be.

See if your inner controller is open to connecting with you in this moment.

You can ask it simple questions like,

What are you here to teach me?

Or why is it so important for you to feel in control of things?

When you do ask these questions,

Just allow an answer to just arise naturally.

Don't try and force it or overthink it.

Trust whatever comes up,

There is no right or wrong.

When you're ready,

You can thank this inner controller for everything it has done for you,

For any way it has tried to protect you from harm.

It would really take a moment to thank this part.

Now ask your inner controller if it's okay for it to step to one side,

Just for now,

Because you want to explore how to be with uncertainty.

You want to explore in this moment just how to let go of a little bit more control in your life,

And find a bit more peace there.

You may notice there's some resistance here from this part of you,

And if there is any resistance,

That's completely okay.

Just stay with the inner controller if it needs to be there,

And just ask it what it needs.

There is no rush.

If your inner controller is happy to step to the side for now,

Take it and just notice what happens when the inner controller does step to one side.

What do you notice in your body or in your mind when the part of you that wants to keep things under control just takes a step back?

Whatever you notice,

Just allow it to be as it is.

Now I want you to listen to the following statements,

And for each one,

I want you to allow the words and the energy behind them to just percolate through your system.

Whatever comes up for you,

Any thoughts,

Feelings,

Sensations,

Images,

Just allow them to be there.

Let them know it's okay for them to be there.

If you notice any feelings of discomfort arising,

Any stress or tension,

You can just put a hand on that part of your body,

And just let that feeling know it's okay for it to be there.

So here is the first statement.

I will never get to the bottom of my to-do list,

And that's okay.

Second statement.

Many of the things I worry about really don't matter so much,

And that's okay.

With each of these statements,

Remember that we're just allowing whatever comes up to be there.

There's no right or wrong,

Just allowing whatever comes up to be there,

And giving it a space to be,

Bringing loving acceptance to these parts of ourselves.

Third statement.

There is no such thing as certainty,

And that's okay.

Again,

Just noticing what comes up for you and allowing it to be there.

Fourth statement.

There is no such thing as security,

And that's okay.

There's no such thing as security,

And that's okay.

Fifth statement.

I can find a deeper peace when I let go of all ideas of how things should be.

I can find a deeper peace when I let go of all ideas of how things should be.

So again,

Noticing what's coming up for you as you practice that statement,

As you let those words percolate around your system.

There's no right or wrong,

Just allowing things to be as they are.

And when you're ready,

You can bring your attention back to the lower half of your body,

Just noticing again the connection between your legs and the chair if you're sitting on a chair,

Or noticing the feeling of your feet on the floor.

You can start to wiggle your fingers and toes as you bring your attention slowly,

Gently back into the present moment.

And have a little stretch if you like,

And in your own time,

You can gently open your eyes.

Reviews

That was lovely. Thank you so much - I’m trying to find peace as we build a New World and the old crumbles around us. May the new be better than the old. Keep the faith and keep your eyes on the prize comrades!

I enjoyed this meditation, I felt like my mind was absorbing the words at times rather than processing them immediately but that’s fine. Feel like I need to come back to this one again 😊

This gave me a lot of food for analyzing my whole life and the relationships that I’ve had. Interesting! Thank you for helping me do this in a vastly different way.

Helpful

Helpful.

Love it ❤️❤️❤️💖fell asleep.

Really helped me to relax in my stressful time of writing prelims 💗

I’m sharing with many friends and family- a wonderful meditation!🙏🏻

Great reminders about letting go of control

Very zen. Just what I needed to remember today

Beautiful verbal ques on visualizations, thank you this was a valuable experience.

A practical, simple & calming meditation. And a perfect reminder about my to-do list and uncertainty. Thank you 🙏