Welcome to this Thoughts and Emotions meditation.
Today's practice will focus on accepting and observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment.
Dr.
P.
Golden shares,
The goal of meditation is not to get rid of thoughts or emotions.
The goal is to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions and learn how to move through them without getting stuck.
Before we begin,
Let's take a few moments to settle in.
Find a comfortable position that honors your body.
This may be sitting with a tall straight back,
Letting your hands rest naturally in your lap.
Or if it's more comfortable,
You can lie down during our practice.
When you are ready,
I invite you to gently close your eyes or keep your eyes open with a soft downward gaze.
Now let's get centered by taking three deep,
Slow breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Breathing in calm.
Breathing out tension.
Breathing in peace.
Breathing out doubt.
Breathing in stillness.
Breathing out anything that no longer serves you.
Return to your natural breath,
Noting where you most easily detect it.
This may be the rise and fall of your chest or belly or the area around your nostrils.
Remember you are not trying to change your breath,
You are just observing it as it is in the present moment.
Moving your awareness to your body,
Scan through your body from the top of your head all the way down to your feet.
And if possible,
Releasing any areas of tension.
Shifting away from the body,
Become aware of any thoughts that come up.
This practice is about noting thoughts without judgment.
Simply notice them coming in and out of your awareness.
Allow them to be just as they are.
After observing each thought,
Gently let it go and observe the next thought that surfaces.
Remember that you are not your thoughts.
They will come and go and there is no need to hold onto them or push them away.
Just let them be.
Gently move your focus to your emotions.
As humans we have an incredibly wide and rich range of feelings.
We often pursue emotions that we view as positive,
While we suppress those that we perceive as negative.
Allow yourself to experience any feelings that come up,
Even if they are challenging.
Remembering that just as you are not your thoughts,
You are not your emotions.
Try not to get swept up in any feelings you experience.
Simply notice them as they appear,
Shift,
And drift away.
Dan Harris,
Author of Ten Percent Happier,
Said,
We spend a lot of time judging ourselves harshly for feelings that we had no role in summoning.
The only thing you can control is how you handle it.
Meditation provides us with the time and space to practice non-judgment.
So before we close our practice,
Take the next few moments to silently reflect on what it would feel like to allow yourself to accept your thoughts and feelings without judgment.
As we begin to move out of our practice,
Keeping your eyes closed or with a soft downward gaze,
Stay in your current position,
Or I invite you to bring your palms together at your forehead as a reminder to think positive thoughts.
They will influence your words,
Your actions,
And your energy.
Bringing your palms together at your lips as a reminder to speak kindly and truthfully over yourself and others.
Bringing your palms together at your heart as a reminder to tune into your emotions.
Give yourself the grace of feeling them fully,
Even when they are difficult.
This is an act of self-love and acceptance.
Take one last deep inhale through the nose and an open mouth exhale.
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And when you are ready,
Return back to the room and gently open your eyes or lift your gaze.
Take this state of non-judgment with you throughout your day.
Thank you for joining me and I'll see you next time.
