Hello and welcome fellow human.
Today's meditative exercise will enable you to pause and listen to the message from your emotion so you can understand what it is trying to convey.
Emotions like anger,
Anxiety,
And depression are signals that something needs attending to.
They're like warning lights telling us that the system is out of balance and calling our attention to the underlying problem.
Like a headache signaling us that we need hydration or sleep or peace,
Our emotions are also signals.
Whenever we feel out of balance,
We can learn to pause and explore what the underlying reasons are.
That's what you will practice today.
First you'll be invited to take a few breaths,
Then explore what the emotion is trying to alert you to.
First settle in to where you're sitting or lying down and make any adjustments for comfort.
Now breathing in through your nose,
Take a nice,
Slow,
Very gentle,
Deep breath.
Then open your mouth and let it out with or without a sound.
And then when you're ready,
Breathe in gently again.
And let it all out.
One more time.
Breathing in nice and slowly.
Releasing all that air.
Okay now begin by pausing to identify the feelings that you're currently experiencing.
Name the feelings that you are able to recognize as being alive in you right now.
And don't worry if you are having difficulty identifying them or if you're feeling numb.
Don't say numb or confused.
Notice where in your body you are experiencing the feelings.
Pay attention to what that emotion feels like in your body.
Breathe in to that area for a few moments.
Now that you've connected with the feelings,
It's time to have a little talk with one of them.
Choose the loudest.
Before you have a talk with your emotion,
It might help to picture it as a little protective being or avatar that looks out for your welfare and alerts you when there's an issue.
I like to picture them as loyal little stick figures with almond shaped heads.
Almond shaped for the amygdalae in our brains.
So take a moment to picture your emotion as a little being.
Now give your emotion a color too.
Next,
Imagine you are taking a walk with your emotion.
Walking side by side in a peaceful,
Safe and beautiful setting like by the ocean or along a country meadow or the mountains.
Anywhere that you find particularly pleasant.
Begin by thanking your emotion for calling your attention to the underlying need that is not being met.
See if you can feel gratitude for the emotion's efforts to be the voice of your needs encouraging you to devote some attention to what is underneath.
Emotions result from needs being met or needs not being met.
Just as plants need sun and will even grow leaning toward the sun in order to get enough of it,
Humans have universal needs and will try many strategies to get the needs met.
As babies when we needed food,
We would fuss,
Cry or even scream to alert our caregivers.
Our needs for food,
Sleep and touch have to be met in order for us to survive.
Other needs have to be met in order for us to thrive.
Needs like friendship,
Support,
Relaxation,
To matter and self-acceptance.
Take a moment now to identify or guess the need that is alive for you today or ask the emotion to tell you.
Listen to whatever comes up.
Now,
Connect to the humanity of having that need.
Having compassion to it.
Now,
That you've identified a need,
See if you can think of one specific action you could take in order to meet that need.
There are many strategies to meet a need,
So try to be open and creative about it.
And rather than demanding,
Ask yourself if you'd be willing to do that action to meet your need.
Just decide when and where you will do that.
Explore your emotions now.
What are you feeling in this moment?
What are you feeling in your body?
What are you feeling in your mind?
Thank yourself for taking this time for self-connection today.
By doing this meditative exercise,
You met your own needs for attention,
To be seen and to be heard.
Pausing to listen to ourselves when something is up teaches us that we matter to ourselves,
Enabling us to thrive from having these important primary needs met.
Next time an emotion tries to get your attention,
You can choose to self-connect in the moment.
Be well,
Fellow human.
