Forgiveness

This guided practice helps you navigate the emotions of a difficult situation. You'll examine how you feel in the situation as well as the other person's perspective to help you find peace, confidence, and a path forward.

Transcript

Welcome. Today's meditation is for anytime you're feeling like you've disappointed someone, Let them down, Or in any way or not living up to someone else's expectations and how to deal and make peace with that. So when you are ready please come to a comfortable seated position. You could also be standing, Laying down, Whatever feels good and comfortable for you. I ask is that you try to find a space where you feel like your spine is relatively straight and at ease. Perhaps you're sitting up nice and tall or standing evenly on your two feet or if you're laying down perhaps flat on your back and feeling like the spine is straight. Let's take a nice full inhale through the nose, Long exhale through the mouth. Inhale through the nose, Exhale through the mouth, Inhale through the nose, Exhale through the mouth, And start to breathe in and out through the nose. I'm just taking a moment here to find a little more quiet, A little more stillness, Not having to be in the hub of daily living, But to be stepping away for a moment, To take a pause, To really notice, To really be present, To not have to be so concerned, So caught up with all of the thoughts and opinions and emotions and situations that are happening, But rather it's as if you've just hit the pause button and you can just take a moment to step back and step back. Now assuming you've come to this meditation with a specific situation in mind, Maybe it's a specific situation with a person or a group of people where you're feeling some sort of conflict, Judgment, The disappointment, Just take a moment to bring that situation to mind, And in this moment invite you to notice exactly what it is you are healing about the situation. So without it being a reactive emotion, Like I am worried that this person is disappointed in me or I am afraid of this person's judgment, What is it that you feel about the situation? Because perhaps there is some of your own self judgment, Your own self disappointment, Your own fear or anxiety. What is your relationship and your part of this situation, Your emotions in this situation? Knowing there's no right or wrong answer, Just whatever is coming up for you. Maybe you can put a word to it, Maybe you instead just notice a specific feeling like a dropping in the stomach or a tightness around the heart, A buzzing in the head. Take a moment to notice what that is, What is the sensation that you feel, The energy that is flowing, Maybe the name of the emotion that you're feeling internally here. Just taking a moment to allow these feelings to happen. Sometimes we get so caught up in how other people are feeling because we don't have to feel our own feelings. We're giving these emotions some space and time. Remember we have the pause button on our situation, Right? There's nowhere to rush to. Now that you have identified some of these predominant emotions or against places where you feel these emotions, Take a moment to notice what is the antidote to those current feelings. So if it's that you need, That you're feeling afraid, How maybe you ask yourself to feel confidence. Or if there's a sense of disappointment, Maybe you can find pride. If there feels like there's a tightness in the heart or in the chest, Can you find expansion and openness in the chest? So finding the antidote to whatever negative emotions you're feeling. When you've identified this positive emotion or expansive quality, Really feel like you're building that. Really feel like you are supporting it. You're creating and generating more and more of this positive emotion inside of your body. Maybe you even imagine this goodness like you have a little cocoon or you're inside of a little bubble of this goodness being filled with your own power, Joy, Goodness, Confidence, Ease, Openness, Love. You take a moment to celebrate all that is good about you. All the ways you have tried to bring happiness to yourself and to others. Rarely are we setting out to hurt others. Just sometimes it might get a little off track. Sometimes we might not be successful in our efforts to help and to create positivity. So determine how it is you'd like this cocoon of positivity to feel. Again, Is it that you're inside a bubble? Is this a cocoon with you have a shield? What does it look like? This wellspring of positivity? The antidote to the negative emotions you experienced earlier? And knowing that that is there, Does not disappear, Take a moment to recall whatever that external issue was. If it's someone else potentially judging you or saying they're disappointed in you, Their anger in you, Whatever it is you're feeling is externally present, Notice it. Maybe you even see that other person, Maybe you hear the words that they said to you, Notice the emotion coming from their words. Maybe you don't even hear the words themselves, You can just see the energy signature of those emotions, The really frantic waves of anger, The disjointed fear or anxiety. And notice how these rays of energy, These words, These emotions, How they're traveling towards you but they can't seem to get past your bubble, Your shield, Your cocoon. The one that knows how you feel, One that knows your positivity, The one that knows your strength, Your openness, Your desire for good. Notice that these words can travel towards you without reaching you. Remind yourself that this other person has permission to feel their feelings. Doesn't mean that they are valid and right for you or wrong but in the same way that you got to express your feelings, This person gets to express theirs. Their words don't have to affect you, They don't have to dive in deep. Notice that your feelings can coexist, That even if they say I'm disappointed in you, You can feel proud of yourself at the same time. You do not have to feel exactly the same about the situation. Both of you have valid emotions. They are allowed to feel their feelings and it doesn't have to impact your cocoon of strength and openness and love. And before we get ready to return to the world, To the situation at hand, Let's take a moment to notice first off any messages, Anything you've learned from this meditation of feeling your feelings, Of feeling the antidote to your feelings, Of feeling and noticing the other people's feelings. What is your takeaway? What is there anything to be aware of whether it's self-forgiveness, Whether it's releasing your judgment on the other party, Whether it's a reminder of your strength? Take a moment to notice if any takeaways messages are floating to you. And then ask yourself what is your next step? Is there something else, Something next for you to do in this situation to bring it to completion, To bring it to light in a positive, Full of integrity way? What do you need to do next? With your message and with your next step, A moment of gratitude for this situation, For teaching you as all situations do. You're ready to move on with the rest of your day. You slowly come back into the space, The room around you, Back into life. Bring the pride in yourself, Your infinite love capability. Thank you for taking this time for inquiry with me today. Namaste.

Reviews

Very helpful! Thank you!❤

This is more of a talk best experienced within the light meditative state which is guided in/out of to bookend the recording. While my situation isn't exactly the type of situation described (it being almost entirely inwardly-driven), I found some extremely valuable insights and determined how best to break free and move forward in a more positive, self-affirming way.

In my situation, a loved one recently passed away, and while I am acting in accordance with her stated-to-my-face wishes, I have been feeling very rushed to take the necessary action to accomplish those wishes. I also feel I am being disrespectful in moving so quickly, though the process is being driven my external agencies and timelines dealing with the estate. Additionally, I do have some guilt and concern over my sense of relief that my own situation is improving as a result of her death (which is something she explicitly wanted to ensure would be the outcome, looking out for me as best she could manage), and that others may see my actions as somehow selfish.

The entire family knows her wishes and support them, and none think these things running through my mind. My family is actually in part the driving force behind this now, to ensure her wishes are carried out quickly and as she intended. I still feel rushed and somehow guilty and disrespectful - too early. Even though she herself was manifestly pragmatic and would tell me to get over it and not to worry about it because it's not like she would be around to care either way. (Our discussion over her disposition after her death was basically exactly as above.)

With all that said, this practice allowed me to finally identify my core feelings on this matter and determine what to do about them so I can continue to move forward. The memorial service is more than a week away still, but I have some of the administrative paperwork to complete later this morning.

So to move forward with an open heart and a clear mind, I will take some extra time beforehand to light a candle in her memory and speak my own respects and have a private memorial of my own. I very much feel this will help me move forward, largely free of my current concerns, and allowing myself to experience self-forgiveness as well as personal agency for positive change.

Though this was not what I would consider a traditional meditation, being in that lighter meditative space allowed the spoken words of guidance to penetrate more deeply and the course of action to become much clearer and much more swiftly than it otherwise might. Very helpful and effective.

Thank you so much for sharing this practice with us here. I see the light in you. 🤲🏻❤️🤲🏻

I like the concept of finding that open space in your heart and let it open a little wider. Thank you for your kind words. I need it for a heart sick day.

A beautiful, cleansing practice. Thank you

Thank you for sharing this practice and wisdom. So helpful to uncover more truth.