This guided meditation is designed to help you move toward resolution of a conflict with someone in your life.
So much of conflict comes from a place of fear,
Judgment,
And assumptions.
And it can seem as if there is a closed window between the people involved.
Call to mind the conflict you want to resolve.
Imagine yourself on one side of a closed window,
Looking at the person on the other side.
You can see each other,
But you can't really hear each other.
The Tao Te Ching says,
For every force there is a counter force.
That's true for communication too.
If we push our opinions onto others,
We're very likely to get pushback.
So instead,
This process centers curiosity,
Being interested in what's going on with the other person.
It can be so challenging though,
To be curious in the heat of conflict.
So this meditation practice can help.
It might even give you insight into your own assumptions that may be contributing to the conflict.
Let's begin by choosing a state of inner peace.
With eyes closed,
Take a deep breath in and breathe out slowly.
Once again,
Breathe in and breathe out.
Release every muscle as you sink into the surface supporting you.
Imagine you are in the most relaxing,
Comfortable,
Safe place you can think of.
Allow a deep sense of peace and safety to embrace you.
Feel a sense of peace arise in your forehead and softly embrace your eyes,
Nose,
Cheeks,
Ears,
Mouth,
And jaw.
Now feel peace embrace your neck and shoulders.
Feel peace move down your arms to the elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Hands,
And fingers.
Feel peace and safety embrace your chest,
Core,
And back.
Feel peace embrace your hips and pelvis.
Feel peace move into your thighs and slowly all the way down through your knees,
Calves,
Ankles,
Feet,
And toes.
You are now enveloped in peace and safety.
Imagine the energy of grace and peace has quenched all your fears and released all your judgments.
Now from this state of peace,
See if you can suspend your opinions temporarily and imagine yourself becoming curious about this situation,
This conflict.
Take a deep breath and acknowledge any resistance you feel right now.
And for a few moments,
Just explore how curiosity can open the window of communication.
What curious question can you ask this person?
It can be as simple as how do you see it or how does this impact you?
Envision this person opening up to you and sharing their perspective.
You don't need to imagine the actual words.
The main thing is to imagine the experience of the person sharing and you listening openly.
You might also imagine yourself discovering that you had made an assumption that was not accurate.
Now imagine what it would look like for you to repeat back what they've shared with you.
This restating and clarifying is so powerful because it gives the other person the rare gift of feeling truly heard.
Imagine yourself being able to just repeat back what you heard without any judgment.
Now see yourself tuning in to what this person seems to be feeling.
And then imagine checking in with them about these emotions,
Clarifying are they feeling sad,
Hurt,
Scared,
Angry?
See yourself acknowledging their feelings,
Understanding their feelings.
If you are feeling a similar feeling,
Express that you have that in common.
For example,
I can understand how you're hurt because I'm hurt too.
This is what we call building an empathy bridge.
When two people connect in this way,
The window of communication that was closed begins to open.
See the window between the two of you now begin to open.
Now imagine that you express what is important to you from your heart,
Your feelings,
Beliefs,
And wants about the situation.
Imagine the other person listening openly.
Imagine the other person shares they had made an assumption that was not accurate.
Now see the two of you considering together how you can move forward.
Imagine finding a solution that both of you can embrace.
You don't have to know right now what that solution is,
But imagine respect and connection deepening between the two of you.
Now see your hands reaching out to each other through the open window.
Imagine feeling deeply grateful because your relationship has been renewed.
Now as we bring this meditation to a close,
May your intentions for resolving this conflict through asking,
Clarifying,
And expressing come to fruition.
Begin to welcome movement back into your body,
Stretching and opening your eyes,
Ready to bring curiosity into your interactions today.
