4 Stage Meditation

This is a four-stage meditation that connects your sensations in the body to your emotions and then to your thoughts. It will train you to pay more attention to the sensations and emotions that arise in your day to be able to handle difficult situations better.

Transcript

So this meditation is in four stages. Breathing to relax, Focusing on sensations in the body, Connecting your sensations to emotions, And finally connecting your emotions to thoughts. I do this exercise because we often ignore the signs our body is in distress throughout our day. When we have a series of negative events happen in our day, We have a tendency to jump immediately to our thoughts about the who, What, Why, But we never stop to notice really how it feels. And that is until it builds and builds and builds so much that we blow up, Yell, Run, Sweat, Cry, Or just simply break down. And then we finally wonder, How did it progress this far? Or we immediately start to regret some of the things we did or said in the outburst. However, Once we realize there is a connection between all of these stages, We can take action to interrupt the reaction before it gets too far. We can stop and pause, Notice the warning signs our body is trying to tell us and address it however we need to. I really feel this is a powerful exercise to train our minds and I've used it many times. So let's start with breathing. We'll start as we usually start with most meditations by just focusing on the breath. So breathe in for a count of five, Hold it for three seconds, And then breathe out for a count of seven. And repeat this for a minute or two. Next, Let's take a look at the sensations in the body. And let's start to pay attention to those sensations. And let's start with your toes. What do you notice? Anything? Any feeling or sensations? Coldness? Hot? Itching? If not, That's okay. Just move on to the soles of your feet. And then go to your ankles. And then work your way up to the very hairs at the top of your head. And with each stop on your body, Ask yourself, What is it that you're feeling? You don't have to analyze it or judge it. Just stay with the feeling. Try not to think of those feelings as good or bad, Or even the reason behind them. But just experience them as they are. I'll give you roughly five minutes to do this. Next up is the emotions and their connections. So try to assess your emotional state in this very moment. Are you feeling peaceful? Or is your mind racing? And then think back to the sensations that you felt a few minutes ago and understand that there is a very real connection to the sensations we feel and the emotions we feel. For example, For many people, When we are nervous or anxious, We feel jittery, Or we feel a lump in our throat. And maybe even we clench our jaw. There are many different ways that people handle emotions and many different ways that the body exhibits those signs of emotions. The key here is to find yours and then begin to recognize and pay attention to your signs. And most of us go about our day so immersed in our work that we ignore hunger or pain or exhaustion. We have been taught that this is something good to do in order to survive or to be the best. But this is simply untrue. So take this time and listen to what your body is trying to tell you through your emotions. For the next few minutes, Just focus and try to evaluate your emotional state and how you may be physically showing those emotions. So the last stage that we're going to look at is thoughts. Become aware of your thoughts. And this one can be tricky because it's easy to get lost in a train of thought or a to-do list or to stew about your latest argument with someone. But try to avoid falling into that trap. See your thought as just a thought. It isn't right, Wrong, Good, Or bad. It's just a thought. And then try to let it go. You can imagine your thought as a cloud that is just passing by. You see it. It comes to you. So you see it. And then it goes on. You aren't tied to it and it's not tied to you. Usually we have a cloud of thoughts that are just passing by. Usually we identify so strongly with our thoughts that we feel like they represent who we are. But if we can separate our identity from them, Then the emotional power and the control our thoughts have over us starts to diminish. And eventually the time that we waste stuck in endless loops will fade and we can begin to move on and focus on more positive and present experience. So that's the end of the session. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you return to retrace these steps and deepen your understanding of the connection between these different stages. As you grow, You can use these skills to break bad habits and maybe form some good ones. Thank you.