Healing With Family - A Guided Meditation For The Holiday Season

I offered this meditation at the solstice, just days before Christmas, in the midst of a season that is challenging for many of us for many reasons. In this meditation, I explore the gentle connection with ancestors, family, siblings and community. From a place of spacious empathy, we can breathe in and out; give and receive; and share and benefit together.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

The following is a guided meditation by Renee Seals,

A somatic movement educator,

Energy worker,

And astrologer.

This meditation is intended to help support your embodied meditation practice.

If in the recording you are prompted to do something that doesn't feel good for your body,

Please adapt and modify to make it work for you.

Please also note that the content of this meditation sometimes explores deep and subtle states and memories,

And sometimes guided visualizations.

You are encouraged to work with discernment as you practice with them.

If any of the guidance Renee offers feels too activating or uncomfortable,

Please listen to your body's knowing and pause the recording until a later time if you wish to return to it.

These guided meditations range anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes and do not require any supplementary equipment to participate.

We hope you enjoy.

Hello and welcome.

Thanks so much for listening and practicing with me.

This is Renee and this is a somatic meditation.

Somatic meditation is a style of meditation that begins in your body.

It's a way of developing your felt sense and inner awareness that leads to a greater state of peace,

Mindfulness,

Integration between your body,

Your heart,

Your mind.

Somatic meditation uses imagination quite a bit.

I'll offer things to see in your mind's eye or sensations to feel in your embodied presence,

In your state of being.

These are just suggestions.

They really do begin in your imagination and at some point they might permeate your awareness.

Somatic meditation is something that you can do anywhere at any time,

And the more you practice attuning to your body,

The easier it gets.

And sometimes it can feel really challenging.

Sometimes it can feel hard to access an embodied state.

And my offering for you,

If this is something that you feel,

Is just to continue to come back to your breath always.

So today's meditation will be dealing with healing familial wounds and feeling the same way that you would with a person.

And family,

I think,

Is maybe one of the most wounding experiences that many of us will have.

Whether it's the wounds of our biological family or our chosen families or the cultures that we are part of,

The places where we think are called the deepest judgment and the biggest distances.

This happens all the time,

Without intention,

Without motivation between people,

The wrong word,

The wrong tone of voice.

Family knows how to get under your skin and right into the center of your heart like no one else on earth.

Familial wounds,

As I said,

Can also be cultural.

They can be the ways where we feel infantilized and unaccepted or unsuccessful for whatever reasons,

Like we haven't quite gotten it right,

Didn't quite grow up in the way that we were supposed to for whoever out there is judging and whatever their expectations are.

So this is a meditation to include yourself in,

All parts of yourself.

The parts of yourself that are young,

That are old,

That know,

That don't know,

That feel scared and lost,

That feel competent and safe.

I'll suggest to do this meditation lying down on the floor.

I'm lying on my back.

You definitely don't have to lie down.

You can sit in a classic meditation seat.

You can sit on a chair or on a couch.

You can dance.

You can do yoga poses.

You can take a walk.

You can use this meditation with headphones in a busy,

Crowded space as a moment to just come back and touch into yourself.

So wherever you practice it is the right time and the right place.

And if it's easy and sounds good to you,

Then make preparations to lie down on your back.

I have a folded blanket underneath me to cushion my body against the floor.

And you might also like a folded blanket or a pillow underneath your head if there's any strain in your neck or if it feels like your forehead is a lot lower than your chin.

Feel free to pause the recording.

Do what you need.

Make yourself comfortable.

And when you're ready,

Go ahead and look around wherever you happen to be and just greet the space.

This is where you are in this moment.

See the colors.

See the shapes.

Let go of focus on what is not here and now.

So if your mind has been turned towards the future or the past,

People are places that are not present.

Just know that you can come back to all of that at another time if you need to.

And for now,

Be with whatever it is that you see.

Be with everything that you're hearing.

Be with any smells or tastes.

Bring attention to the surface of your skin and feel its sensation.

And then take a deep breath in and a long exhale and feel that.

And let's just continue to take some breaths like that.

And if it's comfortable for you,

Breathe in your nose and out your mouth.

And when you exhale,

Sigh.

And you can let your exhaling sigh be as auditory as you'd like.

Hear the rush of your breath coming out of your mouth.

Hear any sounds you want to make,

Hissing or toning or yelling.

Then go ahead and take your attention into the front of your body and if it's comfortable,

You can let your hands rest on your belly.

So I have my hands,

My fingertips are kind of over my belly button and the heels of my hands are coming down around my sides.

And now as you breathe,

Let your belly fill up.

And I find that it's easier to breathe like this if I'm lying on my back,

Which is part of the invitation.

But you really want to let your belly fill and spread your breath into the space around you.

And then as you exhale,

Let everything soften back.

And take a few more breaths like that.

So as you inhale,

You can imagine the movement of your breath spreading into your belly.

You can feel it moving out into your hands.

And I like to imagine it moving all the way into the space in front of me.

Like you have a big psychic breath balloon and it's filling up.

And then as you exhale,

Your belly just softens back.

Can you be in the front of your body as you breathe?

And feel the way that your inner skin receives your breath.

Can you be in the front of your body as you breathe?

And then take your attention into the sides of your body.

You can let your hands come to the sides of your ribs if that's comfortable.

And as you breathe now,

Be in the sides of your body.

So breathing into the lateral line,

You're inhaling into the sides of your lungs and your ribs and maybe you're pushing your hands apart a little bit.

And again,

You might imagine balloons at either side.

These could be the long skinny balloons and they run all the way down the sides of your torso.

And as you inhale,

They fill up from the side.

And as you exhale,

Your sides just soften back in.

And feel the way that you're breathing into the left and the right.

And just inquire if the movement of your breath passes evenly between both sides.

Try and breathe into the right lung just as much as you're breathing into the left lung.

Let your breath move into the upper and the lower lungs on the left and the right sides.

And again,

Be in the sides of your body as you breathe.

Be as present as you can in the inner body as you feel the movement of your breath expanding.

And now bring your attention into the back of your body.

And you can let your hands come back to rest on your belly or your chest or you can release your arms down.

And this is another reason why I like doing this meditation lying down is so I can feel the movement at my back as I breathe.

And we live in such a forward moving,

Forward focusing culture,

I think probably most of us.

And our backs,

Back bodies aren't really places where we're spending that much time and attention unless they hurt.

But even with back pain,

Sometimes we actually forget about the space behind us.

So as you inhale,

Now be in your back.

Let your back receive your breath and breathe into the space behind you.

How present can you be in the reception of your breath?

So if you're really in your back body,

Your back body isn't forcing your breath.

It's not trying to catch your breath.

It's just softening as the movement of your breath presses into the back.

Okay.

And now let's bring attention back into the front.

And again,

You're welcome to use your hands,

Lay your palms on your belly or your chest and feel the movement at the front of your body be present there as you inhale.

Feel the space in front of you receiving your inhalation,

Expanding.

So I'm going to invite you to call in an imagination.

And the imagination now is a sensation.

It's not a thing.

It's not a person.

It's not a place.

It is not an achievement.

It is the quality of something.

And the quality is what you are wanting to bring more of into your life.

And because it's a quality and not a thing,

This is an important kind of question to sit with for a moment.

What is the feeling that you are wanting to move towards,

That you are wanting to move into?

And go ahead and name it for yourself or imagine the associated states of being.

And then what would that feel like?

Can you breathe it in?

Can you breathe into it?

And as you breathe into whatever it is that you're wanting more of,

Notice what sensations arise in your body.

Notice what images or associations arise in your mind.

Notice any emotional qualities that come in.

I know for me there can be a lot of different feelings when I imagine what I want more of.

And sometimes the feelings I have are not so easy because it could be that there's fear that I won't get it or that I'm not worthy or that I can't or a fear of loss or some other kind of tenderness around whether or not,

If or how.

So just notice what's there and continue to imagine this sensation as something that you can breathe into,

That you can breathe into you.

And as you exhale,

You can let your breath go and imagine that sensation now traveling through your body.

So just like you inhale oxygen and the exhale is part of the cardiovascular system.

And when you inhale a deep breath,

Oxygen moves all the way into your lungs and then into your blood.

And then as you exhale,

Well the exhale doesn't cause the spreading out but it's part of it,

The movement of your lungs and the movement of your arteries and veins and heart.

So it's kind of like that.

You just inhale into what you're inviting in and then as you exhale,

You imagine it circulating through your whole body.

This deep breathing makes my belly noisy.

I don't know if you can hear my belly growling in the recording.

It's saying hi.

Okay,

So now let's feel into the sides of the body again and you can use your hands if you'd like but I want to imagine the whole coronal plane.

So like a corona around the moon,

This is your angelic aura all the way around you to the sides.

And as you inhale,

Breathe all the way out into that space and into that aura as wide as you can get.

And as you exhale,

Let it all soften back in.

So now as you breathe out,

The sensation,

The quality to imagine breathing into is support.

It's togetherness and this is reaching out to any other beings that you might imagine are calling in the same thing or the same things that you were just a moment ago.

So whatever it is that you're wanting more of in your life,

How many other people or animals or plants or ideas out there are calling in the same kind of thing or wanting more of this?

And so breathe towards them,

Your community,

Your comrades,

Those who are wanting the same thing,

The same feeling.

And as you exhale,

Just feel the movement of your breath soften back in.

And so notice what arises with this invitation.

If there are other beings out there that want the same thing that you do,

Is this an affirmation and feeling of support?

Is this competition or feeling of a rush or scarcity like,

Oh,

We want the same thing.

Hope I get it first.

Is there a sensation of distance,

Closeness,

Trust,

Mistrust?

Can you feel your sides at all?

Can you imagine that they're reaching out into other beings?

And then let your attention shift once again into the back of your body.

And again,

Feel the movement of your inhale into your back body and expanding into the space behind you.

And now we're going to breathe into a question.

And the question is,

Why do you want the thing that you're moving towards,

This thing that you invited in or this feeling or this sensation?

And as you breathe into your back,

Imagine where you've come from.

And so this is everything that's behind you.

Your parents,

Your past experiences,

Your origins,

Your lineages,

Your biographies,

Your karmas.

What is it that you are inviting more of,

More into,

And what is propelling you from the past?

And maybe they're related to one another and maybe they're not.

Breathing into all of the conditions that got you here to this moment that have you moving forward into the future,

Reaching for all that it is that you want to include.

And then we'll stay in the back body.

We'll keep our attention there.

And again,

Can you really be present with your breath?

Can you feel your breath from your inner body?

Can you feel the movement of your breath into your back body?

And not as a force,

But as a reception.

And where are the places that are hard to feel?

Lying down,

I notice it's really hard to feel my lower ribs.

It's really hard to feel the back of one shoulder.

So where can you feel your breath arrive and where is it more mysterious?

Invite consciousness to the places that feel harder to access.

No force,

Just an invitation.

So once again,

Let's call up the imagination of everything that came before you.

So all of your conditioning,

Your parents,

Families,

Origins,

Etc.

And breathe into this question,

Where did you come from?

How did you get here?

Feel all of them behind you.

All of the stories all of the people,

All of the places.

Now everything that's alive on earth is breathing.

Plants breathe,

Animals breathe,

People breathe,

Even places breathe.

The molecules that make up the phenomenal world are in a constant state of change.

They adapt,

They shift,

They form themselves from one thing to the next.

So imagine the inhalation,

The filling,

And the exhalation,

The releasing that everybody does,

That everything does.

And can you imagine your ancestors,

The people who have come before you,

Your kind,

Your kin,

And you might imagine also any non-biological ancestors.

So the folks who are your inspirations,

Maybe for your jobs or your passions or just people who you really admire,

Their lives,

Their legacies.

You can ask them to be guides and honor that they came before you,

So they are your ancestors too.

And you might imagine all of the unknown beings,

The ones whose names you never knew.

They weren't recorded.

You never learned their stories.

But they were babies and children and teenagers and adults and old people.

And they lived lives that were full of joys and sufferings.

And they had desires and aspirations and they also had roots and lineages.

And they had communities and people that they were in relationship with who were also moving forward.

Imagine all of these beings breathing.

And inhale together.

And exhale together.

And imagine that a couple of times.

It's like you're Khaleesi from the Queen of Mother of Dragons.

It's that show,

I'm forgetting.

And her with her,

You know,

Armies of thousands who just adore her.

It's this kind of feeling that you have like thousands of people all behind you chanting your name.

They're all inhaling and exhaling.

And in the inhaling breath,

Feel the shared experience of being alive.

Just all the complexity of it.

Everything that you know from your own experience.

How many times a day you feel confused.

How many times a year you want to stop.

How many times in your life you take a turn that you didn't expect or something happens and you have to deal with it.

Living in a human body is a lot of ups and downs.

Wonderful things.

Horrible things.

Things that feel empty.

Imagine all of your ancestors breathing and feeling themselves as human.

All the struggles that they held.

All the hugs that they shared.

The love that they had.

And with all of your ancestors,

Take a deep breath in.

And as you exhale,

Let go of anything that's holding on and cramping.

Anything that chained anyone or bound anyone or kept them from a full breath.

As you inhale into the depth of your own lungs,

Of your own body,

Inhale all the way into the depth of theirs.

You can take a big deep breath for them.

And as you exhale,

You can imagine releasing anything that kept them bound.

And there's all kinds of things that keep us bound.

Ideas,

Belief systems,

Circumstances,

Other people.

All kinds of things.

And this is an imagination.

And you can imagine it however you want.

So you feel the depth of your inhale.

You feel the quality of that expansion.

And then as you exhale,

Feel the exhale releasing all of the ones who came before you from anything that kept them from their full inhale,

From their full radiance,

From their full love.

And maybe some of them need to throw it off.

And maybe some of them need to yell out and claim their freedom.

And maybe as you exhale,

You feel some of them soften into the arms of another one.

Maybe some of them lie down and sleep.

What is it?

What do they need to let go?

And you're inhaling with all of them.

You're feeling the depth of this breath.

And then you're exhaling and you're just letting go of all of the stuff that has kept us tight,

That has kept us controlled.

Let's take two or three more breaths and breathe for the little children who were forced to grow up really fast.

And for the men and women who were taught that love maybe looked really different from how they actually felt.

And breathe into the families that were separated.

And breathe into all the doubts that everyone carried as they tried to be a human in whatever context they were trying to be a human in.

And you're inhaling your full breath in.

And as you exhale,

You imagine all of it releasing,

Letting go.

And then let's shift attention into the sides of the body once again.

And you're free to use your hands if you forgot where the sides of your body are.

And as you breathe,

Feel the length of your sides all the way up and down the left and the right.

Can you feel your breath expanding into your aura,

Into this coronal plane?

And now let's imagine everybody else that's alive right now.

That's like 9 billion people.

If you can imagine that everyone is standing side by side,

This is imagination.

Anything is possible.

So extending infinitely to your right and to your left sides are all the people who are alive right now.

And then you might also want to add in all of the animals and all of the plants.

If you don't have enough room at the sides,

I suppose they can fill the other spaces too.

And imagine how everybody's inhaling and everybody's exhaling.

And now let's just know what we know about basic needs.

So for anything that's alive on the planet right now,

We need air to breathe.

Take a deep inhale and long exhale.

We need clean water,

Healthy food,

Enough sunlight,

A safe space to sleep,

And loving connections.

People that have our best interest in mind,

That will protect us if we need,

That can provide affection and warmth and someone to laugh with.

So let's know what we know about basic needs.

These are the basic needs that any being needs.

And that includes plants and animals.

They need their communities too.

And let's just inhale into that truth.

Just feel it for yourself,

Feel it for everybody else.

And as you exhale,

You can imagine releasing any confusion or misplaced ideas about what someone does or does not need.

And so of course,

All of us,

Me definitely included,

Get into states of being where we think we need something.

And I would say probably most of the time,

Most of the things I think I need are not actually things that I need.

They're things that I want.

So this kind of confusion can lead to some really funky behavior.

It propels us forwards,

It causes competition,

Can be constraining and oppressive for ourselves and for the people around us.

So for now,

For these next couple of breaths,

Let's just imagine that all the beings that are alive right now have everything that they need and that includes you and me.

So we're just going to inhale.

Imagine that every single being on earth in every single place alive right now is getting a full breath in,

Clean air,

Clean water,

Clean food,

And a space to call home and someone to love,

Maybe a lot of people to love.

And what does that feel like in your body as you breathe into the sides of your body and as you imagine every other being on earth breathing this in?

We have enough.

We have what we need.

If there are people who you know that you walk with in this life,

Your friends,

Your pets,

Your colleagues,

You can call up the image of their faces or their bodies.

You might bring them into your awareness and as you inhale,

Imagine them too inhaling and expanding and receiving exactly the things that they need,

Their most basic needs,

Just filling them up.

And then as you exhale,

Satisfaction.

The needs are met.

And circulating throughout your body,

All of your cells know that they have what they need,

Enough air,

Enough water,

Enough light,

Enough sleep.

And then once again bring your attention into your front body and if you'd like to lay your hands on your belly or your chest,

Go ahead and do that.

And again take a full breath and breathe into your belly and feel your belly expand and be present in your belly as you inhale.

And then once again,

What is it that you're wanting more of,

That you're calling in?

And here's the thing,

Is that now we'll inhale and imagine ourselves receiving whatever that is and then as you exhale,

You can imagine the exhaling breath delivering that to all of your ancestors,

All the ones who came before and all of your communities,

Your present colleagues,

The cohort of humanity and animals and plants that you're sharing this moment on earth with.

So what is the quality that you want to bring more of into your life?

Maybe it's a quality of quietness and rest.

Maybe it's a quality of confidence,

Self-esteem,

Self-love.

Maybe it's a quality of gentleness and compassion.

Maybe it's a quality of success and feeling good about the efforts that you've made.

So there's not a right or wrong but the invitation is to turn the words and the experiences and the people or the relationships into a sensation.

What does it feel like?

What is that sensation?

And as you inhale,

Imagine that sensation filling your body.

Maybe it has a texture,

Maybe it has a color,

Maybe it has a sound.

What would it feel like to inhale this quality?

And then as you exhale,

Send that quality,

Send that sensation to everyone else on earth and everyone else who has ever been in all of time and space,

All of your ancestors,

The ones who came before,

All of their stories,

All of their struggles.

And we'll take a few more breaths like that,

Inhaling into the space in front of you,

All that you're inviting and exhaling to share.

And then inhale.

And then when you're ready,

Let your attention move into a 360 degree space around you and feel your back and feel your sides and feel your front and feel your up and feel your down and take a deep breath in that spreads all the way out into the periphery and exhale a long sigh out.

And then when you're ready,

You might let your eyes open and see the space that you're in.

And in seeing the space that you're in,

Imagine its age and how it became the space that it is now.

Imagine what was here before,

Who was here before.

Imagine all of the things this space might become in the future,

All the way into the inevitable future in some like 93 billion years when the heat of the sun will consume the earth.

So one day,

The space will cease to exist entirely,

Even if it's 93 billion years from now.

And then imagine all of the other people who are alive on earth in the spaces that they happen to be in the moment in time that is now,

A moment that has been built on everything that's happened before and a moment that's moving into anything that will still be.

So this is the end of the meditation.

And in this moment,

I'm feeling grateful for all of the familial struggles,

All of the ways that we seek to understand our purpose and our sense of self and how to be together and how to do the things that it is that we think we're supposed to do.

And I recognize and feel grateful for all the learning and all the ways that we're still learning.

And I hope that this meditation has given you a moment of peacefulness and breath,

Presence with your breath and connection to all the beings who are breathing with you.

Thank you for practicing.

I hope that the meditation serves you well.

Thank you again for practicing with me.

And until the next time,

Bye for now.