Bereavement

This meditation is for the person who is grieving the loss of a loved one. May you find comfort, support, and healing through the gentle practice of meditation during your time of bereavement.

You may wish to listen to this in the morning and/or at bedtime. Best experienced with headphones.

Background Music: Adrift by Christopher Lloyd Clarke.

Transcript

Hello again and welcome back.

This meditation is for the person who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

May you find comfort,

Support and healing through the gentle practice of meditation during your time of bereavement.

To begin,

Find a position that feels comfortable for you.

You may be sitting or lying down.

Close your eyes and take a slow deep breath in.

As you exhale,

Allow your body and mind to relax.

Feeling your body touch the ground or the chair or the bed,

Sensing the points of contact with what's underneath you.

Feeling the weight of your body,

Noticing the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe.

Dropping your shoulders,

Softening your hands,

Loosening your jaw and relaxing the muscles of your face and around your eyes.

And sensing into the body.

Taking another slow deep breath in and exhaling slowly,

Softening any tension or tightness.

Take one final deep breath in and as you exhale,

Let yourself sink even further into relaxation.

Your mind is quiet and you find yourself easily letting go of worries,

Doubts and fears.

This is your time to simply be.

Now,

Bring your focus to your heart space and allow your heart to open and expand as you receive the following words.

Your loved one has transcended the physical life and is pure spirit again.

Losing someone we love is the most difficult thing that we ever have to cope with and at this particular time of your life,

It is natural for you to experience many unhappy feelings that you find hard to bear.

We all go through the grieving process in our own way and at the moment,

You may feel that you are in a dark tunnel to which there is no end.

The emotions you are experiencing may change from day to day.

They can range from denial to guilt or blame and from anger to the eventual healing stage which is acceptance.

Some people claim to feel no emotion at all.

It is as though a part of them has died too.

There may be times when you feel you can't go on without the person you lost.

If you feel like this sometimes,

Understand that these feelings are perfectly normal.

We usually ask ourselves,

Why did it happen and what is the point of living?

You may wonder if there was anything you could have done to prevent it from happening.

Perhaps you feel angry that your loved one has left you.

You had planned to be together for the rest of your lives.

Again,

This is all part of the grieving process and only you know what you are feeling right now.

You loved this person,

You still do,

And I'm sure that you always will.

Remember,

No one can ever take that away from you and in time,

It will become easier for you.

But for now,

If you feel like crying,

Screaming or shouting,

Then that is what you must do.

Don't bottle those feelings up,

For they are an expression of your feeling of loss and the love that you have for your loved one.

When someone dies,

We are upset for ourselves.

It is really our loss that we feel.

Your loved one is at peace.

They may have been suffering,

But that suffering is over now and they will not have to go through any more pain.

You may have beliefs of your own that can help you get through this period.

Some people believe that the soul never dies,

But goes back,

To where it came from and to where one day we all will go.

For those who believe in God,

They may ask,

How could he let this happen?

They say that God moves in a mysterious way.

Your loved one may have fulfilled their task in this life and reached the time for them to move on to a higher plane of existence.

I'm sure you have your own beliefs,

But right now you are probably questioning them.

One thing is for certain,

There is a beginning and an end to our life on this earth.

The cycles of nature continue forever.

They continue just as in spring the buds form on a tree and in summer unfold into a leaf or a beautiful flower or fruit,

Opening or ripening in the warm summer sunshine.

In autumn,

The leaves on the tree turn yellow,

Then a golden red-brown and flutter down to the earth with the cooler breeze.

And that leaf goes back to the ground where it came from.

Soon the tree will be bare and will sleep through the long cold winter before blossoming again the following year.

The memories that you hold in your heart are precious.

Although the person you love is no longer here in a physical sense,

Remember that none of your past is physical anymore,

So your loved one will be with you forever.

And your memories are like beautiful jewels.

You can take them out and look at them and feel the spiritual presence of your loved one in your heart.

And now you can feel that calm acceptance beginning to replace those conflicting emotions.

And even as you are listening to my voice,

You are already beginning to feel better.

Life becomes brighter as you begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Let that light guide you out of the dark tunnel of grief.

Imagine your loved one is here by your side,

Supporting you through the grieving process,

Supporting you as you continue to move forward in your life.

Helping you to release the heavy burden of grief that you may have been carrying.

Helping you to release the burden of grief and set yourself free.

Knowing that this is a gradual process that you will experience when you are ready.

Hear the voice of your loved one telling you that they are with you and they are supporting you through the grieving and healing process.

So imagine that burden of heavy grief being lifted away.

Feel your heart becoming lighter and notice the opening at the end of the tunnel becoming larger as you draw nearer.

Experience this lightness now as I am quiet for a moment or two.

As you approach the opening and the light grows brighter,

You experience a sensation of calmness and peace.

This tells you that you are now on your way to accepting your loss.

You know in your heart that each day will become a little easier for you to bear.

You will still have your memories and you will always have love in your heart.

You know that no one can ever replace the person you lost and this is exactly how it should be.

You can still find happiness in other people's company and this does not lessen how you feel for those who have departed this life.

In your imagination,

You can see yourself moving on with your life and finding happiness again when you are ready.

You know that your loved one would want this for you.

You see yourself doing things that you once loved to do and experiencing new activities,

Finding enjoyment in life once again.

You are able to talk about your loss to people who you instinctively know will understand what you have been through and you can do this without experiencing the pain that used to accompany such conversations.

It is good to talk and communication becomes very important to you.

Your memories focus around little things that make you smile and appreciate the good times you shared with your loved one.

You realize that this is an opportunity for you to grow and become more independent and you can pride yourself on developing new skills.

And each new skill that you master is another small step to recovery.

You take each day as it comes and you are gentle with yourself,

Allowing others to comfort you if necessary and offering solace to those who may be facing similar emotions.

You recognize that there may be days when your sadness returns and if this happens,

You don't fight it.

Instead,

You allow yourself to feel as you do for a while and you follow these episodes with something good.

Now is the time to pamper yourself because you know that you are worth it.

You cannot change what happened and you accept this.

What you can do,

However,

Is be kind to yourself.

So you are.

Every day becomes easier and you become stronger.

You find yourself enjoying different activities and lending yourself in some way that makes life easier for others.

One day,

You may decide to write a journal to record your emotions,

Feelings,

And memories knowing that in a year or two from now,

You can come back to your journal and see exactly how far you have come.

Maybe you will plant a tree or a shrub to symbolize how you feel about the person you loved.

And in doing this,

You will realize that you haven't really lost your loved one at all.

They left you a legacy that will always be with you.

Something to treasure for the rest of your life.

You are moving forward now,

Moving further and further towards the light.

Every day,

You feel happier and stronger.

Every day becomes easier for you.

And these suggestions are firmly embedded in your heart and your subconscious mind and they grow stronger and stronger day by day.

They grow stronger by the day,

Stronger by the hour,

Stronger by the minute.

Now,

You can choose to return to your usual level of wakefulness and alertness or drift into sleep.

If you choose to awaken,

Feel your body and mind becoming more aware of your surroundings.

If you decide to sleep,

Let the relaxation deepen.

I will count to five.

When I reach five,

You will be at your desired level of relaxation or alertness.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight,

Nine,

Ten,

Eleven,

Twelve,

Thirteen,

Fourteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

Sixteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

Sixteen,

Sixteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

Fifteen,

You you you you

Reviews

Thank you for this most comforting practice for these disturbing days.