3 Questions Meditation

In this guided meditation, I ask the three important questions. How are you? What are you feeling? How can I help? This mediation will help you access your body, your emotions, and your loved ones in a far more empathetic way. Enjoy.

Transcript

Hey,

It's Doug here.

Thanks for joining me for another meditation.

Now throughout our lives,

We have got so many questions to answer.

Things like,

What's the meaning of life?

Why are we here?

And what documentary to watch next on Netflix?

It's never ending.

But for today's meditation,

I want us to focus on three simple questions.

How are you doing?

What are you feeling?

And how can I help?

We're going to apply these three questions in three different ways and show you that these are the questions that really matter.

To start though,

Let's get into that meditating position.

Sitting up nice and straight with the use of a cushion or a pillow or maybe even a chair.

Have that dignified upright posture,

But bring some relaxation into your body.

Alert but calm.

Bring the eyes to close if that feels good or keep them open and have them just looking at something unmoving with a soft gaze.

Stop or bring some attention to your breath.

Deep inhales through the nostrils and deep exhales through the nostrils.

Now from this position,

We start our practice.

We're going to inhale and as we do,

We're going to ask a question.

The exhale is then your body's chance in this circumstance to reply.

So for instance,

Let's start together with the feet.

As you inhale,

I want you to ask your feet,

How are you doing?

Now it's a very open-ended question.

All I want you to do is listen out for the honest answer.

Listen to what your body's telling you.

How are your feet doing right now?

Are they tired?

Are they overworked?

Are they warm?

Are they comfy?

All answers are valid as long as they're honest.

No answer may come up at first.

That's okay.

Just keep going through this process of inhaling,

Asking the question,

How are you doing?

And each exhale listening out for any answer that may come up.

Great.

Now on the next inhale,

We ask our second question,

What are you feeling?

Again,

With the exhale,

We listen out to what the feet are telling us.

Now there are a myriad of things that could answer.

It could feel warmth or coolness.

It could feel pressure from the ground underneath it.

It could feel vibration or tingling.

It may feel the fabric of your socks or your clothing touching it.

Again,

Each and every one of these answers is valid.

Again,

Just make it honest.

You can do this a few times and each time you can zero in on a different feeling that your feet have.

But keeping this dialogue open,

Inhale,

How are you feeling?

Exhale,

We listen to our bodies.

If you feel ready,

Join me on this next question.

Again,

As we inhale,

This time we ask,

How can I help?

On the exhale,

We listen.

Now on this one,

We don't necessarily need an answer,

But it's important that we have the intention.

We open up ourselves to this act of service,

Committing ourselves to helping in whatever way we can.

The feet may reply,

A massage,

More rest,

Or maybe more exercise.

All of these questions,

Including this one,

Can simply be put out there and left open until your body is ready to reply,

Whether that's during this meditation or later.

It's important that we ask them.

Let's move now up to the area between the ankles and the knees,

Including both joints and the shins and the calves.

A little bit quicker this time,

As we inhale,

We ask,

How are you doing?

Is there a tightness,

A looseness,

A discomfort,

A discomfort?

When you feel ready to move on,

The next inhale,

You ask,

What are you feeling?

What are the sensations that are apparent right now?

Pressure,

Tingling,

Temperature,

And lastly,

Moving on to how can I help?

Using this moment to elicit that feeling of wanting to help,

To doing whatever you can to aid this body part.

Again,

The intention is the important part here.

You can now move up the body,

Doing the same thing for the area between the knee and the hip,

Encompassing the thighs and the hamstrings,

As well as the glutes and the hips,

The adductors and the abductors.

How are you doing?

What are you feeling?

How can I help?

We carry our journey up the body,

Into the torso,

The belly,

The back,

The chest,

And the upper back.

Asking these three questions,

Listening out for honest answers,

Taking note of what the body says,

Taking as much time as you need on each one.

Now breathing down both arms into the hands,

Asking those three questions here now.

How do these workhorses of the upper body feel?

How do they do?

And how can you help?

Thinking now of the area between the wrists and the elbows,

Taking note of these joints and muscles,

Listening to how they do,

How they feel,

And how you can help.

Applying these same questions now to the biceps and the triceps and the shoulders,

Becoming more proficient at this ability to talk to your body as well as listen to your body.

And lastly now going into the neck and head,

Seeing what the general demeanor is of this area,

Noticing the sensations that are most prevalent,

That call to you.

And of course seeing if there's anything you can do to aid it.

That may mean relaxing those muscles right now and maybe unfrowning your face.

It may mean just switching off for a moment,

Giving these hard-working muscles a rest.

Now having opened up this dialogue with the entire body,

We move on to our deeper self,

The person that exists beyond this body.

As you ask yourself,

How are you doing?

What is your general demeanor?

Are you agitated?

Are you anxious?

Are you calm?

Are you happy?

Are you sad?

Once again,

No right or wrong answers.

We're just looking for that honest answer.

So as you inhale,

Ask yourself that question.

And as you exhale,

Listen to what your soul tells you.

Be aware that each time you inhale and exhale,

There's an opportunity for everything to change.

Accept that.

Be okay with that.

Inhale now as you ask,

What are you feeling?

What's going on in your body right now?

How does this emotional state show itself in your body?

If you're happy,

How does that show up?

Is there a lightness in you?

If you're angry,

Is there a heat?

Is there a tension?

Whatever emotional state your deeper soul has answered,

Start to see how it physically manifests.

Observe to see how your mood is displayed through your body.

Start to bridge that connection between body and soul.

Now on the next inhale,

We ask that all important question,

How can I help?

Have that intention of wanting to help yourself.

Often a sentence like that elicits all sorts of thoughts of being greedy or wanting too much.

But there's nothing wrong with wanting well for yourself.

There's nothing wrong with thinking you deserve happiness,

That you deserve joy.

So have this intention for yourself now.

Think about how you can help,

How you can make yourself feel and be better.

That exhale listens out for the answer.

Your body knows,

Your mind knows,

Your soul knows.

Again,

The answer may not come down,

But you leave it out there.

An open question ready to be answered when you're ready.

Having applied this all to our body and to our soul,

We now turn our attention to a loved one.

Spring someone into your mind's eye that you have an uncomplicated relationship with.

A family member,

A loved one,

A friend.

See them in your mind's eye.

Not just a picture of them,

But a moving image,

A complete avatar fit with the way they act,

The way they laugh,

The way they walk,

The way they talk.

With this accurate depiction of them,

Sit them down in front of you.

And as you inhale,

Look them in the face and ask them,

How are you doing?

Now,

Of course,

In this exercise,

They may not answer,

But I want you to focus on the questions and notice how they make you feel to ask.

So concentrate on them.

Ask how are you doing with care,

With love.

We now move on to asking them what they're feeling.

And again,

Don't worry so much about the answer as much as your intention to care about how your friend,

Family or loved one feels.

And lastly,

As you inhale,

Think how can I help?

The true essence of empathy.

You can sit with how each one of these questions feels to ask and repeat it as many times as you want.

Connecting to this loved one on a deeper level.

Take an interest in how they are doing,

What they are feeling and how you can help.

If you wish,

You can now open your eyes,

But take with you this compassion,

This empathy toward your body,

Toward yourself and towards others.

Keeping these three questions always in mind.

How are you doing?

What are you feeling?

And how can I help?

I hope this meditation has helped.

See you again soon.

Namaste.

Reviews

I actually really like this meditation. I wish it was slower and longer as it took some time for my body to respond and we'd moved to a new part before I could get feedback from most of my body. This is really cool though!!

I really liked this. I was actually quite emotional as i asked the questions. That let me know that I really need to do more self care. ❤ Well done overall. TY

Interesting, thought-provoking (in a good way), relaxing, calming but energising at the same time. Lovely voice, unobtrusive background music. I shall revisit this one and, now that I’ve found you, I’ll listen to your other meditations. Thank you, you have given me lots to think about and lots to be grateful for. 🙏🏽