Releasing Resentment

Resentment weighs down our heart and steals the joy from life. Our mind often gravitates to resentment, especially after we have been treated poorly and/or unjustly. It can be quite difficult to release. In this meditation we are guided to skillfully address this mind state with compassion and courage. This will allow the deep well of love in our heart to expand and replace the heaviness of resentment with the light and goodness that is our essence.

Transcript

And so when you're ready,

You can begin by settling in,

Taking a seat,

Maybe on a chair or a meditation cushion.

Just begin noticing your body,

Sensing it from the inside.

You can start sensing your body down by your feet.

Maybe wiggle your toes and sense your feet from the inside.

And then move your awareness up into your legs,

Up into your hips and pelvis and back,

Torso,

Maybe up into your shoulders,

And then let that awareness spill down in your arms,

Into your hands,

And then up into your face.

And as you do that,

Just let yourself be aware of any sensations or feelings in the body that seem to need a little attention right now.

Maybe be aware of anything that's going on inside that could get in the way of focusing right now.

And if you find something that's in the way,

You can let yourself kind of breathe into it.

And as you exhale,

Begin to release it.

And so now I would like you to move your attention to identify a place or a source of resentment in your life right now.

You might want to call to mind a picture of a person or a situation that triggers this feeling of resentment.

Let your attention focus there,

Either on the situation or maybe on the face of the person,

Just long enough to get a bit of that feeling inside so you can feel it in your belly,

That hurt or that anger.

And then once you have that feeling,

Just acknowledge it.

You might want to say to yourself,

Yep,

That's there or oh yeah,

I notice it.

As you do that,

Notice the energy in it.

Just kind of check it out.

Get a feel for how big the energy is.

How much energy does it have?

Maybe pay attention to the space that is around it.

Maybe see if you let your body move with it,

How your body would move.

But most of all,

Have some respect for this place.

If it's especially intense,

You might want to place your hand over this part of your heart or chest or wherever you feel this pain,

This ache or this place that kind of simmers with resentment.

Now once you've done that,

We're going to send your attention to a different place.

So begin to move your attention away from that place of resentment and begin to focus it on a different part of your life.

I'd like you to start by sending your attention to one of your favorite places in nature,

A place where you can relax really easily and feel more connected with yourself,

Like your spiritual core,

Maybe somewhere on a beach or maybe in the mountains or somewhere outside.

And as you have that image in your mind,

You might also want to recall to your mind some of your favorite relaxing instrumental music and just let that tune play in your mind a little bit.

And now I'd like you to call to mind some people that are closest to you,

People you really enjoy and love.

And I'd like you to think about a time,

Maybe recently,

When you were enjoying their company,

Maybe you had a meal together or you enjoyed some experience together.

Let that image come to your mind with as much detail as possible.

And I'd like you to remember the last time they told you that they loved you,

Perhaps in a birthday card or maybe a text they sent you recently.

And as you hold these images of people in your mind,

Also notice the ways that you have loved them.

Maybe let come to your mind one or two areas where you know you have loved them and cared for them.

Be aware of how you would do almost anything for them.

Maybe even give your life for them,

If needed.

All of this flows from your heart.

Your heart is good and it is filled with love at the very core.

And now I'd like you to imagine that these people who you love so much and who love you are talking about you when you are not in the room.

They're having a serious conversation about how you have made their life better.

What are they most likely to say?

Maybe what do you most hope they will say?

Maybe they would say something like,

Yeah,

Even though he or she was a little strange or odd,

We always knew this.

Maybe that he cared for us,

She loved us.

Just let yourself notice how they have been touched by the way you have loved them.

Now I'd like you to move your awareness to the past few days.

Maybe to remember some kind or generous thing you did for people just in the last few days.

Be as specific as possible.

Call to mind any small acts of kindness.

Even things like being kind to the clerk at the store or saying hello to a stranger.

Maybe you prayed for someone.

Maybe you let someone go first in line or let them in when you were driving.

Notice how these acts of kindness are a part of your regular day.

That's you.

That's your heart.

And now I would like you to move your attention again.

I would like you to shift your attention to think about someone you find inspiring.

Possibly someone who has been wronged or suffered and done so with great dignity.

Maybe someone like Nelson Mandela,

Who was wrongly convicted and sent to prison for 27 years.

When he was released,

He offered only love and forgiveness to his captors.

He even said,

Why would I be resentful?

Resent is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies.

Maybe it's someone like Jesus,

Who looked into the eyes of the people who are torturing and killing him and said,

Father,

Forgive them.

They don't know what they're doing.

As you think about this person who inspires you,

Know that the same spirit of compassion and courage,

A spirit that brought them great dignity,

Also brings you great dignity and resides in you.

You notice it in them because you have it inside of you.

And so honor and affirm that spirit within you.

Maybe by vowing,

This spirit is deep within me.

And so I set this as my deepest intention that I too would be filled with and live by this spirit of compassion and courage.

So even in the midst of hurt and pain,

You can set your inner compass in this direction.

And with all that awareness of what is truly deep within you,

Your good heart,

Your network of loving relationships and your deep connection with people who inspire you.

I'd like you to send your attention back to the place of hurt and resentment.

Maybe call to mind the image of the person who has hurt you or is still hurting you or the situation where you were wronged.

Want you to let yourself feel again the pain that comes from dealing with this authentically difficult situation.

And now as you walk towards the difficult situation and are about to engage maybe this person,

You hear someone coming from behind you.

And just then the scene freezes,

Everything stops.

And you turn around and see the inspiring person you thought about earlier.

He or she is coming toward you.

And they say,

Wow,

This is hard,

Isn't it?

And they say,

Hey,

Let me give this a shot.

And with that,

You are able to switch bodies with them and you are able to watch them walk into this difficult situation.

Watch them as they look at this difficult person,

How they engage this tough situation.

Notice how they interact.

Their facial expressions.

The general spirit with which they deal with this difficulty.

And then the scene freezes again.

And they step out of that situation and they come back to you and you switch bodies back with them.

And they remind you that this compassionate and courageous spirit is inside of you.

You can do this and you are not alone.

And so then you imagine stepping back into this difficult situation.

Notice what happens when you step back in with this courageous and compassionate spirit guiding you.

Notice what you say.

Notice how you listen.

Notice how you are present even in this difficult space.

Notice how the compassion and courage flow from you.

And now having done that,

You can bring your attention from that space back into your body as you are sitting wherever you are.

And as you begin to transition from this exercise back to whatever is waiting for you,

I'd like you to notice a couple of things.

Notice that you are not the same as your hurt or resentment.

You at your core are filled with love,

With a spirit of compassion and courage.

You are also part of a larger community of people who are facing difficult situations like this with great dignity,

With great compassion and great courage.

And with that,

You can bring your attention back to an awareness of your body.

Again begin to sense your body from the inside.

You may again want to start down in your feet,

Wiggle your toes,

Sensing your body from the inside up through your legs and hips and back,

Up into your shoulders and down your arms,

And then up your neck into the muscles in your face.

Give yourself three or four deep breaths and begin to move your body around.

And then when you are ready,

You can go back and engage your day.

Reviews

This is exactly what I needed today. Thank you for reminding me of a better way to handle those heavy, dark feelings of resentment. I have a plan moving forward to offer compassion rather than drink resentment’s poison. Thank you for this meditation!

this was a beautiful perspective switching personas with Jesus or the Dali lama ( imprisoned for 18 years, Mandela…St Paul, Joseph… so many people unjustly punished). being in their body helped me feel what a deeper love, a deeper connection would feel like. and maybe even i could forgive. thanks 💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜🩵🩷💜

Thank you for this. I gained a different perspective that will help me engage with the person with greater compassion. 🙏

That was an amazing, transformative and very emotionally intense experience but so good. Released so much that was weighing so heavy in me. Thank you

This was helpful in moving my resentment to forgiveness and gratitude!

Very helpful to access the love and compassion within. Thank you 🤍

I found this exercise extremely helpful. The creative visualization practice appealed to me. The tone was on point as well.

Kind of fast paced to actually visualize and work through the situation I picked for it, but I really liked the idea behind it and want to go back through some of my bigger resentments in my 4th step and add it to the process. Thank you for your inspiration! Stay Blessed

This is genius. It zooms you out of the whole situation that’s bothering you to remind you who you are and who you’re connected to. Very helpful

That was very helpful in allowing me to take a step back without beating myself up. To remind myself of my own goodness

Love it! I was praying for something as wonderful as this meditation. Ty
GBU🙏🏾🙏🙏🏻🕯🛐

That was so very helpful! Thank you very much, I will return to this again

Thank you for the simple and powerful guided experience of viewing resentment as an opportunity for growth. This meditation was extremely helpful in reminding me of the traumatic growth that is available to each of us when facing difficult circumstances.

Calming and soothing with gentle strategic instructions. I feel a lot lighter now and will be coming back to this meditation again. Thankyou. 🙏🏾

Thank you, this was super helpful. Feeling much calmer. I'll be returning to this one if I need to :)

Really helpfull to transform
the destructive resentmeny into calm and dignity
Thank you !

Amazing! I didn’t think I cry or let out emotion but I did. Thank you 🙏

I have never needed a meditation like this as much as at this time in my life, and I know I have more moments like this ahead. I am so great to have found this.

I don't think I've ever cried so much during a meditation. Thank you so much for this. I feel like I'm finally releasing it.

Really appreciate this helful experience. It made a difference and is helping me reframe the situation.