Hi,
And welcome to this guided meditation on mindfulness of emotions.
So let yourself sit in an upright yet comfortable way,
And when you are ready,
If it feels safe for you,
Gently close your eyes and take a few deep,
Cleansing breaths,
And then just let the breath settle into its own natural rhythm.
Notice if there's any obvious tension in the body that you can release easily,
And let the eyes and the face be soft.
Relax your shoulders and let the arms and the hands rest easily.
Let the belly be soft and the breath natural,
And let the heart be soft as well to receive whatever arises with kindness and compassion.
Now with this embodied presence,
Bring a kind and gentle awareness to the breath.
You can notice it as coolness in the nostrils,
Swirling,
Tingling in the throat,
Or the rise and fall of the chest or belly.
Feel each breath,
And as you allow it,
Invite a sense of calm and ease to grow.
Return gently to the next breath whenever you notice the attention has wandered.
Wandering is a natural process,
No judgment.
Let all other experiences,
Sounds,
Sensations,
Thoughts,
And images rise and fall like waves of the ocean around the breath.
And after a time,
Become mindful of any emotions that call your attention.
You can bring the same mindful,
Loving awareness to them just as you have to the breath.
When an emotion arises,
Let go of attention to the breath and receive the emotion kindly.
It can be helpful to name it softly,
Sad,
Sad,
Or joy,
Joy,
Or bored,
Bored,
Or anxious,
Anxious,
Or excited,
Excited.
As you attend to the emotion,
Notice carefully where you feel it in your body.
Also notice how it feels as a constellation of sensations.
How does it respond to kind awareness?
Does it dissolve or get stronger?
Does it change into another emotion?
Notice this too.
You are the space of loving awareness that can kindly notice emotions as they come and go.
And if you feel resistance to contacting the emotion,
Or it feels very strong,
Notice the story that the mind tells along with the feelings in your body.
Just acknowledge it kindly,
And then let this be in the background.
And again,
Bring a gentle presence to the emotion.
And when the emotion has changed or dissolved,
Return back to awareness of the breath for now.
And now you can include emotions in your loving awareness as well as attending to the breath and the body.
They come and go,
And you are becoming the calm,
Steady witness,
Acknowledging them without getting caught by each one.
Remaining in mindful loving awareness,
You become gradually more open,
More balanced,
And free.
Thank you so much for your kind attention.
