For times of grief,
It can be helpful to allow what's there to be there,
And to open into a space of wonder and gratitude.
You may ask,
How do you allow what's there to be there?
When we feel very challenged by something,
All we can do sometimes is to simply wait it out.
To be with our actual feelings as they happen,
To experience them in the body,
And to let them flow.
Often times,
It means allowing yourself to cry,
To express yourself to a friend,
And to allow yourself to grieve with all of the complex emotions that want to present themselves.
In a safe,
Protected place with loving people by your side,
It can be very healing to allow yourself to fall apart.
To sense the humility in yourself,
Knowing that many terrible things have happened in the past and will happen in the future,
And that you have the courage to acknowledge your losses,
To know it's a cycle of life,
That we're all imperfect.
You ride the waves of grief with mindfulness and self-compassion,
Over and over,
Breath by breath.
There is no way to know when grief will end,
But with caring presence,
It will.
It's also important to remember that what is moving through your mind is part of a vast,
Complex physical and mental process,
Which can have many sources.
As you know,
Grief has its own way of unfolding.
No one can plan it,
Or get rid of it.
Sooner or later,
It can feel appropriate to want to let go,
To release those heavy feelings.
Sometimes the grief might be so heavy that we have to set it down for a while.
Take a walk outside,
Eat some healthy food,
Talk with a friend,
Watch something funny,
Play with an animal,
Something,
Anything positive that doesn't remind you of your sadness.
Being a friend to yourself will give you the energy you need to come back to process your grief.
After that,
It can become possible to bring awareness to some of the positive aspects of life,
Which can empower you to see more of your mental experience more clearly,
And also to feel your bodily sensations more viscerally.
All the while,
If it's meaningful,
There can be an underlying sense of the unknown,
The uncertain,
The mystery of life,
In which we find ourselves in the middle of,
With a sense of wonder and gratitude.
It's important to be loving,
In ways large and small,
And to reflect on and receive the caring support of others.
So with all that in mind,
Let's do a guided exercise.
Begin by finding a posture that feels relaxed and alert,
Whether sitting down on a chair or laying down on a bed or a cushion.
And now,
See if you can observe your mind and your body from a small distance,
Allowing the sensations to be however they are.
Try not to be negative about anything that doesn't feel good.
And after a while,
Shift into gently releasing the negative,
And then really open to and encourage the positive.
And remember that you can bring attention to feeling the positive,
Even when the sadness or other feelings are also present.
Opening to wonder and gratitude for the mysterious ways that life unfolds,
As we allow our good grief to unfold,
Alongside our kind awareness.
Good.
So in recap,
For times of grief,
It can be helpful to allow what's there to be there.
Try to limit what is painful or harmful.
Try to do what is more enjoyable and beneficial,
And to open into a space of wonder and gratitude.
Good work.
Thank you for your courage to be with your grief with caring awareness.
That is mindfulness.
Good work,
And namaste.
