All right,
This is a meditation for helping you simply be with your feelings and understand your experience of whatever emotions you're feeling right now.
Let's start by settling in.
Let's get comfortable in your body,
Whatever that looks like for you.
Maybe that means leaning back and wiggling a little to kind of release those muscles,
Or laying down.
The most important thing is that you feel very comfortable.
Go ahead and close your eyes and turn your attention inward.
Take a moment to feel around inside of yourself and ask yourself,
What emotions are living in me right now?
What feelings are present?
Is there sadness?
Is there anger?
Is there fear?
Maybe you're experiencing joy or love,
Or maybe some of those feelings have turned into jealousy or envy.
Perhaps you're dealing with some shame or guilt.
These are broad categories of emotion.
You might want to,
If you find that you're feeling more than one thing,
Choose the emotion that's calling your attention the most.
Maybe because you've been feeling it a lot lately,
Or it's been particularly intense today.
And then see if you can identify a little more specifically,
What is the exact nature of this emotion?
If it's fear,
Is this trepidation,
Or is it terror?
If you're feeling anger,
Is that anger like an irritation or rage?
If you're feeling love,
Is it the sweetness of just affection,
Or is it the fire of passion?
Are you feeling a happiness that feels like contentment or jubilation?
If you're dealing with shame,
Is it embarrassment or mortification?
In this way,
We use the vocabulary of emotions to have a deeper and deeper understanding of what our experience is,
That more specifically,
We can identify this emotion,
The better we'll be at managing it effectively.
See if you can find the precise language that fits your feeling,
And then simply recognize it.
Ah,
Here you are.
I recognize you.
I see you.
Now let's move into the phase of this practice that's about accepting the emotion and allowing it to be here.
Acknowledge the emotion.
Accept it.
Allow it to be what it is.
Tell this emotion,
And let's say this aloud,
Imagining you're speaking directly to the feeling that you're dealing with,
You belong here too.
Maybe this emotion feels like a little baby,
Like your anger baby,
Or your sadness baby,
Or maybe it feels like a monster.
But what if you can imagine it as a Sesame Street kind of monster,
Something maybe a little bit less frightening?
Because this emotion is part of you.
It is a visitor that has come to stay with you for a little while.
Imagine welcoming it in.
Let yourself feel this emotion,
Knowing that you are safe because you are actually the ocean,
And this emotion is just a wave.
It's just a passing moment in time.
You don't have to act on the emotion.
You can simply allow yourself to experience the feelings and sensations that happen in your body and your mind as you let it swell and move through you without resistance.
Now,
Let's investigate the emotion.
As you allow this emotion,
What happens in your body?
Do you feel the emotion on your skin?
In your throat?
What's happening in your stomach?
Do you feel the emotion behind your eyes?
Or in your forehead?
Perhaps you experience it as a tightening in your chest or a tension in your hands or jaw.
Is there heat or maybe a release?
Just notice.
You can say aloud with me,
Ah,
This is what happens to my body when I feel this way.
Now,
Let's notice,
When you're experiencing this emotion,
What is the nature of the thoughts that you're experiencing?
Does your mind turn towards kind thoughts?
Are they compassionate and supportive thoughts?
Or are your thoughts blaming?
Are they blaming yourself or others?
Does your mind turn to problem-solving and planning?
Or does your mind turn towards minimizing your experience or maybe catastrophizing what's coming in the future?
Are you personalizing what's happening,
Taking it personally?
Again,
We're not trying to change anything.
We're simply recognizing this is the pattern of my mind.
When I'm experiencing this emotion,
These are the kinds of thoughts that arise when I feel this way.
You're like a scientist who's investigating your experience of the emotion to deeply,
Truly understand all of the facets of what happens to you when you feel this way.
Now,
Another important piece is your action urge.
What do you feel like doing when you experience this emotion?
Does this emotion drive an urge to hide?
Or do you start feeling like lashing out?
Or does it motivate you to make important changes?
Just notice what's happening.
This action urge is like a little sibling that tags along with the emotion.
Maybe this little sibling is even about to have a tantrum.
But remember this,
The action urge is not the same thing as the emotion itself.
Part of this practice is being able to recognize,
Allow,
Experience and understand the emotion and understand the attending action urge without needing to act on the action urge unless the action urge is effective and comes from your wisdom.
So now as we've gone through this whole process,
Have any other emotions shown up?
Sometimes there's a chase or emotion that arises and it could be shame.
It could be sadness.
Could be anger.
Simply name what has arisen in this practice.
Now,
Let's take a moment to nurture you.
One of the most important parts of this practice is really learning to validate yourself.
And my favorite phrase for this is,
Given all that's happened,
It makes sense that I feel like I'm not alone.
It makes sense that I feel this way.
Can you repeat that aloud after me?
Given all that's happened,
It does make sense that I feel this way.
You can expand that,
Shift it a little bit.
Given the morning that I've had,
It makes sense that I feel this way.
Given what happened yesterday,
It makes sense that I feel this way.
Given what happened this week,
This month,
Given what's happened over the course of my life,
It makes sense that I feel this way.
And as we self-validate,
We touch the story of what happened lightly,
Without getting lost in it.
Because this practice is not about ruminating on the story,
Chewing on it,
Mulling it over.
It's about understanding our experiences and taking care of ourselves as we experience the fallout of the story.
Now,
We're gonna embrace the part of you that is dealing with this emotion.
We're gonna bring kindness.
Take a moment to think about,
Turn inward.
What are the words that you long to hear in this moment?
What would you love it if someone came to you and said?
They offered you these words.
Listen deeply for what you need.
And now offer those words to yourself,
Maybe quietly in your mind or aloud in your sweetest,
Most tender voice if you're able.
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Thank you for being here.
This is really,
Really hard.
You're gonna be okay.
I've got your back.
We're gonna get through this.
You've been through harder things and you will get through this.
Or if this is actually the hardest thing you've been through,
You could tell yourself,
I have everything I need to take care of myself.
And I sincerely hope that is true.
Dig deep into your own vocabulary.
What do you need to hear?
Offer that to yourself.
And if it feels unnatural or weird,
Just practice it anyway.
Throw yourself in with opposite action,
Do the opposite of what you feel like doing if your urge is to criticize yourself or blame yourself.
We're trying to connect with your deep wisdom and sometimes we just have to practice it to get there.
What the mind thinks and ponders upon becomes the inclination of the mind.
When we practice kindness towards ourself,
It becomes our habit.
This is your wise mind speaking.
Because wise mind is always compassionate.
It takes responsibility,
But always with compassion.
You are doing such a good job.
Thank you for doing this practice with me today.
Let's take one final deep breath in.
Let it go.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes and bring this compassion with you.
And to your day.
