Hello and welcome.
Step 4.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Step 4.
Suggests that you look deeply at your past.
When looking back over behaviors and interactions with others,
You recall events that you regret.
Events that may have feelings of shame,
Remorse,
Guilt,
Even anger.
Releasing those feelings is healing.
Step 4.
By getting grounded,
Settled,
Focused.
Find a comfortable seated position.
Let your face and your body soften.
Feet are flat on the floor.
Keep your back straight.
Nothing is rigid.
You can imagine a drop line going from the top of your head down your back,
Parallel to your spine,
So that you're sitting up straight but relaxed.
Notice if you're balanced right to left and front to back.
Become grounded in your seat.
Rest your upper eyelids gently on your lower eyelids,
Your lips softly touching or apart,
With your jaw and forehead relaxed.
Feel your body be at ease,
With hands resting gently on your lap or thighs,
The palms facing up in a receptive position or down,
Which is more grounded.
Feel your stability,
With your muscles becoming heavy.
Bring your attention inward,
Focusing on your breath.
Breathing allows your body to teach your mind to be relaxed and open.
As your awareness is centered on your breath,
Simply observe your breathing,
In and out.
Your breath is not manipulated in any way.
You are simply observing your breath,
In and out.
Your breath is not forced in any way.
Observe any sensations as you breathe in and out.
These sensations may or may not occur.
Observe them and let them go.
If your mind starts to wander,
Simply redirect your attention and awareness back to your breath.
It's normal to have your thoughts wander.
Just return to your breath.
Just like training a muscle,
You are learning to train your mind.
Notice your posture.
If it has shifted in any way,
Or if tension is present in any part of your body,
Consciously relax those muscles.
For example,
If your head has tilted forward,
You might want to straighten it,
Or if your shoulders have rounded,
Sit back up straight.
Make any adjustments,
And again,
Bring your attention back to your breath.
If your mind wanders,
Redirect your attention and awareness back to your breath.
Continue this pattern as you become relaxed and present.
Let your muscles become heavy.
You are safe.
Bring to mind any event or situation from your past that creates an emotional response.
For this meditation,
It shouldn't be anything traumatic.
Just bring it to mind and notice the emotions that you experience with the memory,
If any.
Sometimes,
Instead of a recognizable emotion,
There is just a feeling of numbness.
Get with those emotions,
Without judgment.
Focus on your breath.
Breathe deeply several times,
In through your nose,
Out gently through your mouth.
Stay with the breath until the emotion lessens or dissipates.
When the emotion is lessened,
Say these words softly to yourself.
I am okay.
My emotions can't hurt me.
I am okay.
My emotions can't hurt me.
Breathe deeply,
In,
Pause,
Out.
I am okay.
My emotions can't hurt me.
Rest with this quietly while you continue breathing.
Bring to mind another event or situation from your past that creates an emotional response.
Again,
It shouldn't be anything traumatic.
Just bring it to mind and notice any emotions that arise.
Sometimes,
Instead of a single recognizable emotion,
There may be a cluster of emotions,
Even conflicting ones,
Such as anger and shame together.
Hold the feelings and focus on your breath.
Breathe deeply several times,
In through the nose,
And gently out through the mouth.
Stay with the breath until the emotion lessens or dissipates.
When the emotion has lessened,
Say these words softly to yourself.
I am okay.
Feeling my emotions helps me heal.
I am okay.
Feeling my emotions helps me heal.
Breathe deeply,
In,
Hold,
And out.
I am okay.
Feeling my emotions helps me heal.
Be with the quiet within,
Letting any remaining emotions completely dissipate.
This approach,
Breathing through the emotions or painful memories,
Can be used anytime when working on Step 4,
And can be repeated as a calming technique to manage memories and emotions as they emerge when writing out your inventory.
In a moment,
At the sound of the bell,
We will start to close this meditation.
Slowly bring your attention back to the room,
To your breathing,
Back into the present moment,
And when ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Move and stretch your muscles,
Perhaps wiggle fingers and toes.
Step 4 takes effort.
As you approach Step 4,
Work at the pace that is most comfortable for you.
Feel free to repeat this meditation any number of times as you continue to work Step 4.
Thank you for your kind attention.
I wish you many blessings along with willingness and patience as you proceed one day at a time.
