A Coronavirus Uncertainty Meditation

In the midst of coronavirus, life is anxious, overwhelming, and terribly uncertain. I’m sharing a quick mindfulness meditation you can use in the face of the unknown to get grounded and locate peace in a time of upheaval.

Transcript

Oh, My dear grief growers, Life is so bizarre and strange and unknown right now, And it seems like all I can do to keep breathing in the midst of the news about coronavirus. A couple of days ago, I checked in on you on our private Facebook group, The Grief Growers Garden, And so many of you have told me that this pandemic has you feeling anxious, Overwhelmed, And really, Really uncertain about what's coming next. That's really, Really normal. And yes, I know for many of you, Coronavirus is triggering your grief. Whether you're missing people who just knew what to do, No matter what happened, Or you're kind of twisted like me and you're thinking, Man, I am weirdly glad that my person is no longer alive to see this, Almost I'm glad they were spared the panic of this. It's a really wild time to be alive in general, But also alive and grieving. Please know right now that I am holding massive, Massive space for you. For this finale episode of season eight of Coming Back, I want to honor a universal theme from this season's episodes, Which is anxiety in the midst of uncertainty, And offer a little mindfulness meditation that you can come back to as things change literally minute to minute. If it is safe for you to do so, I invite you to close your eyes and plant both of your feet firmly on the ground. I'm doing it right now as I'm recording this podcast. Okay, Imagine a slow, Shimmering syrup being poured on the top of your head as it flows down your neck, Shoulders, Spine, Arms, Torso, Legs, And feet. Picture it getting tacky like rubber cement or glue and sealing you safely to the ground. This is not a binding or confining gel, But a protective grounding seal that is anchoring you to the earth. We are all here grounding in this space with you. In this place, Take a couple of deep breaths, Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Feel your body relaxing and this syrup continuing to do its work of rooting you and sealing you to the floor. First I want to say hello to the emotion of disruption and disappointment. Taking a cue from one of my favorite comedians and news reporters, John Oliver, I want to give us all 30 seconds to be upset that life has been disruptive. Families have been canceled, Trips and vacations have been postponed, And access to our jobs, Our friends, And routine places, The places where we grounded normally has been blocked. Nothing is normal about what's going on now, And there is grief in that. Taking a big breath in and a big breath out here, Acknowledging all that has been changed and altered because of coronavirus. Allow emotions like agitation, Disappointment, Skin crawling, Tension to surface here. Feel them in your body. They are real and they are life's messengers, Letting you know that something is different about what we're experiencing now. Something has changed. These emotions are not here to hurt you or to harm you or to cause you pain or to cause you to die. They are entering your space as your human reminder that the life you are living now is not the life you were living previously. Something has been disrupted. Continue to breathe here. With another deep breath in and out, Allow these emotions to compress themselves into little tiny dense balls and float or bounce away from you. Watch them getting smaller and smaller and smaller as they fade into the distance away from where you are in your chair. With another deep breath, Rejoin us in this neutral seated space. That grounding syrup is still flowing down from the top of your head to the floor. The next emotion I want to bring in is the emotion of fear, Anxiety, Doom, And catastrophe. These are powerful and huge emotions, And you may have never welcomed them into your space before. You might be someone who pushes these things far away because they are scary and big and powerful and huge. But remember in this place that I am with you, We are with you, And you are protected right now by this grounding force that's keeping you rooted into the earth. Getting in and out. Look into the face or the darkness of fear and anxiety and see it for what it is. It is terrifying. It is ugly. It is endless. It is large. And it is not going away. If you listen, You might hear it speak to you. What is it saying? For me, My anxiety says there is nothing you can do to escape this. You are trapped and helpless. You are not strong enough to fight this, And I have the power over you. Breathe in. Breathe out, Grief growers. Whatever your anxiety and fear just said to you, Allow those things to be true in this moment. Feel all the way into them. Believe them, The darkness and the despair of it. Lean all the way in to that emotion and take the tracks down as far as they go. It is big. It is wide. It is vast. It is dark. It is consuming. It is Where are your feet? Feel your feet on the ground in this moment. Come back to us. Come back to your chair. We are all here with you. You are not alone in feeling this. Looking anxiety and fear right in the face acknowledge its presence. To my anxiety I say thank you for trying your best to keep me safe. I know you're trying to save me. I know you're trying to keep me in this little body alive by scaring me and making me feel like I need to always be doing something to protect myself. I see you. I am hearing you. I love you. You have been acknowledged by me. Breathe in. Breathe out here. Grief growers, Steady. You've got this. We are moving big emotions around. I see you. I hear you in your pain. We are here together. With a big breath in and out, Watch as the fear and anxiety transforms from total darkness into blinding light. Let that light wash over you and whirl up into the sky where it disappears behind the ceiling flying towards the clouds and into the light of the sun or the stars or the moon whichever is out right now in the sky as you're listening to this. Release that anxiety and fear into the stratosphere and allow the universe to hold it, To take it for you. If you ever want to visit it again or open up that communication with anxiety and fear again, You can absolutely call it back towards you. Bring yourself back to the chair and to this grounding syrup that's continuing to flow and root you to the ground. Lastly, Grief growers, I want to call in the emotion of peace. For you, This might look like calm, Stillness, Grace, Or mercy. Whatever the image is of you at your safest and soundest, Bring that to the front of your mind. Some people choose to be at a beach or a lake, Some people in a chair by the fire, Some people in the middle of the desert at night. For me, I see myself lying on my belly on a cushion of pine needles in the redwood forest. There are ferns and dirt and earth and trees all around me, And every now and then there's a bird chirping and there's a creek rushing in the distance. It is so quiet here, So devoid of man-made sounds, That here I can really listen and I can hear myself breathe. This is the place where my heart rate slows and I am able to rest. It is free of threats, Free of noise, And free of pain. Wherever you are in your peace place, Let your heart rate come down, Sink into the chair, Let your shoulders drop, Let your legs and your arms and your chest and your jaw relax. Let your breathing continue. With each breath in, Absorb the beauty and the calm and the love in your peace place. Let it sink into your body and pour into your bones, Filling you up. And with each breath out, Send all of that beauty and calm and love to others. Feel your heart crack wide open and wish others send others bestow upon others the same experience of this peace place that you are sitting in right now. Grief Growers, This is my dearest wish for you right now. I'm sending a bit of my peace place your way and my heart is so, So full of love. Rest here for a couple more breaths. Then allow the image of your peace place to enter a funnel at the top of your head. Let it wash over you and through you and drip down below your feet, Absorbing like rainwater into the earth. Love the planet and all of the living things on it with this beautiful vision of you and your heart at peace at rest. Breathe in and breathe out. Slowly begin to stretch your toes and wiggle your fingers. Come back to the present moment and the chair that you're sitting in. Whenever you're ready, Open your eyes, You have arrived, Welcome back to the world.