Love is the active concern for the life and the growth of that which we love.
A quote from Eric Fromm.
Love,
The ineffable emotion that we all search and yearn for,
That elusive security we often look for in others in order to soothe our pain and to feel what is empty within us,
As if we were born without it and must go through life seeking and searching from it in others.
They say,
Hurt people hurt people.
Most of us are raised by parents or guardians who were not aware of their own pain and hurt.
It isn't their fault,
For merely they too were raised under similar conditions,
And only those who are aware strive to be better.
Those who realize that love does not require prerequisites,
That it is something freely given,
Not earned,
That one is ultimately born with enough love in their hearts to sustain them,
So that they can love themselves fully and offer the same to others.
The premise of this meditation aims to bring awareness to that love that is already within you,
To remind you that within your heart there is a bottomless well of unconditional love that is always present to support you through whatever experiences that life may serve you.
Setting your intention now to always remain gentle and kind with yourself,
As we work through the pain that you may be currently experiencing during this meditation,
Knowing always that you can stop at any time if the pain gets too much,
And the opportunity to resume and continue at another time is always available to you.
We begin by finding a comfortable position.
You may choose to sit in a chair or on the floor in a cross-legged position,
Or if you are needing more support for your body and soul today,
You may choose to lie down.
Find a position that will allow you to be still,
Yet alert for the next few minutes.
Close your eyes and allow the breath to draw you into your physical body,
Grounding into the surface beneath you,
Just feeling each bone,
Each muscle and tendon supporting your body within the space.
And allow the breath to be effortless.
There is absolutely no need to control or change the way that you breathe.
Just bringing your awareness to your breath.
If in this moment you are experiencing any type of pain,
Whether it is a physical or an emotional pain,
Acknowledge what you feel without any judgment or thoughts of how you should or should not be feeling in this very moment.
Central to beginning to love ourselves unconditionally is accepting that every emotions or feelings can exist in our body and mind at any moment,
But that they do not define who we are and are not a part of our loving selves.
Focusing on just breathing in this moment.
There is absolutely nowhere for you to be,
Nothing you need to do in this particular moment,
Just being as you are.
Cultivating acceptance in every inhalation and exhalation,
Feeling the effortless movement of air moving into your nostril as you breathe in,
And the warm air leaving your nostril as you breathe out.
Begin to move your attention around your physical body to locate the place where you feel the pain most strongly.
It may be exactly in the spot where the physical injury had occurred,
Or it could be a more felt sensation,
Matching the emotional hurt that you are going through right now,
Whether it be in your heart,
Your belly,
Or wherever else that you may be feeling discomfort.
Being as gentle as you can with yourself,
Begin to cultivate a level of curiosity to the pain that you've located.
Perhaps imagining it as a certain type of shape or color,
Feeling it at a certain temperature.
Perhaps it is red and hot,
Or dense,
Hard,
And cold.
Remembering that there is no wrong answer to this,
Allowing it to exist in this moment as it is,
Without the need to want to change or fix it in any way.
Remain gentle as you continue to explore this sensation,
And if at any point it becomes too intense,
Always know that you can return to this practice at your own time,
And it is always available to you whenever you are ready.
And very gently from here,
Allow your mind to move through your memories,
And try to recall all the times that you have experienced the feeling of love.
It could be love from close friends or a special person,
The way they smile in your presence,
Or the warmth of their embrace,
Or the times they turned up in your life when you need them the most.
That steady,
Unwavering presence,
Telling you that you are loved,
No matter what is happening to you.
It could be love in the form of nature surrounding you during a walk,
The calm,
Quiet peace of dawn,
Or the beauty of a sunset,
As if Mother Nature is wrapping you in her arms and whispering her love to you,
Through the soft breeze on your face,
Letting you know that everything will be okay.
It could even be love in the form of that burst of joyous feeling in your heart when you share the love you have with others,
Like the time you did a random act of kindness to a stranger,
And the gratefulness that shines through their eyes,
Or the soft licks from the stray dog or cat that you had given some food to.
Those times that you were reminded that love inherently exists within you and can be simply offered to those in need.
Allow the feelings that arise as you recall this memory to grow in your mind,
Remembering clearly the joy,
Peace,
And happiness that you felt in that moment,
Feeling it expand within you with every inhalation.
Allow this memory of loving experience to spread through your body,
Bathing every single cells with the joy that you felt from this memory,
Every breath you take carrying this joy further around the body,
Into the tips of your toes,
Your fingertips,
And every strand of your hair,
Just allowing yourself to be washed over completely by the feelings from this happy memory.
With your next inhalation,
Draw this energy of love towards the area of pain that you have located earlier,
Surrounding it and feeling it soothe the pain like a balm over a wound.
And as you exhale,
Allow the breath to carry out some of the pain that you are feeling,
Releasing it into the air slowly and gently,
Keeping to the intention that we had said earlier at the beginning of this meditation,
To always remain kind to yourself at every moment,
Allowing all things to be as they are right here,
Right now.
Every exhalation helping you to release a little more of the discomfort that you are feeling.
Imagining the size and shape of your pain beginning to transform or even get smaller with each breath out.
Perhaps the color that you've assigned to your pain is beginning to reduce in intensity,
Fading into a softer shade.
Know that your breath is always available to you in every moment,
And remembering that the love you feel from this past memories have always and will always remain within you.
Love is the active concern for the life and the growth of that which we love.
And by loving ourselves first,
We become the active agents of our own healing.
Namaste.
