Perhaps it is time to make space for something new,
A new way of approaching life and sorrow that is an inherent part of life.
Before we proceed,
I invite you to make yourself comfortable.
Be seated either in a chair or lie down,
Whatever feels more comfortable.
I suggest you close your eyes to go inwards.
Place both your hands on your heart so you can receive my instructions heart to heart.
Allow your breath to naturalize.
Let it do what it wishes to do.
Notice the in-breath and how that feels.
Notice the out-breath and how that feels.
Do it again.
Now with each out-breath,
Linger a little longer.
With each out-breath,
You are letting go of this moment and moving on to the next.
With each deep exhalation,
You are letting go of the tension in your body.
With each out-breath,
Give yourself permission to relax.
Drop deeper.
Surrender to gravity.
That's right.
Soften even deeper.
Allow your muscles to become lax.
With each out-breath,
You are letting go of anything you might be holding onto from yesterday,
From earlier today,
Or from many,
Many,
Many days ago.
You are opening up,
Softening,
Relaxing,
Resting.
Sometimes we need to gift ourselves some space.
Space for something new to emerge in this present moment,
Like growing into a new awareness,
A new way of being,
The art of living with sorrow.
To do that,
I invite you to feel all your feelings and not suppress even one of them.
Feel them like a sensation in your heart.
Be real.
Be true to what you are feeling right now.
If tears emerge,
Let them emerge.
You are continuing to breathe deeply,
Softly,
Fully,
As you feel.
Now I invite you to feel everything,
But not identify with anything.
Since your true self,
Which is the nature of pure awareness,
Allows all feelings to come,
But does not become modified with any single one of them.
So be with your sorrowful feelings,
100%.
Yes,
Be with your sorrow in entirety,
But tell yourself this.
Let me not project my sorrow or make it bigger than it is,
Nor diminish my sorrow and make it smaller than it is.
It is what it is.
Well done.
You are doing so well.
This awareness and commitment to being real with very real sorrow will help you and surprise you.
It is the nature of clouds to come and go,
Rise and subside,
Build and scatter away by the lightest breeze.
The sky itself remains unchanged,
Eternally unaffected by whatever the clouds do or don't do.
The sky need not become the clouds.
Sky simply is.
Your innermost being is like the vast,
Limitless,
Unbounded,
Unblemished sky.
Deep inside you,
You embody stillness,
Silence,
Calmness.
Sorrow arises when you become identified with the clouds.
Sorrow dissipates when you become identified with the sky.
Without going to war with yourself,
Can great sorrow be experienced with yet greater presence?
Fully,
Deeply,
Without numbing it,
Without getting lost in turmoil,
Without affliction.
Just plain experience of what is.
Allow sorrow to dwell in your heart as a pure emotion alone and nothing else.
Not raging anger,
Not hatred towards what caused your sorrow,
Not animosity towards your creator,
Nor numbing,
Nor shame or guilt for experiencing sorrow in the first place.
You are doing so well.
Yes.
Exhale.
Yes.
Inhale.
You have received my guidance so soulfully,
Gently,
Softly.
As you exhale and as you inhale,
You have remembered your vast boundless sky within.
Now take some time to rest in this new found limitless,
Beautiful self-awareness.
Let a sense of lightness wash over your body as if a weight has been lifted.
Notice the subtle changes throughout your body as clouds of sorrow roll away to reveal the sky underneath.
Notice the spaciousness in your mind.
Notice the freedom in your heart.
Notice the relief in your being.
Whatever your feeling is okay,
You don't have to name it necessarily.
Be with the sensation entirely.
When you are ready,
Slowly begin to deepen your breath.
Bring your awareness back to your body.
And even before opening your eyes,
Bring your awareness back to the room you are in and the space around you.
Take the next few breaths to acknowledge the practice of accepting sorrow with greater awakened awareness of your inner limitlessness,
Your boundless sky.
With this new awareness that you have created today,
You have honored your true being so well.
On your next inhale,
Open your eyes.
There,
There,
Be gentle.
Welcome back.
You've done so well.
I invite you to continue giving yourself permission to experience your sorrow and then let those clouds roll forward and move through your day and come back to your inner sky as often as you need a feel call to.
Remember,
This meditation is a practice for your soul.
Thank you so much for allowing my soul to guide you and for practicing with me today.
I hope you experience light and love and joy today and every day.
