Hi friend,
And welcome to this emotional observation visualization exercise.
This practice will guide you in observing an emotional trigger without judgment to help you develop awareness and curiosity around it.
Begin by finding a quiet,
Comfortable space.
You can sit or lie down,
Whichever works best for your body today.
When you feel settled,
Close your eyes if you'd like,
Or soften the gaze,
And take a deep breath in through your nose,
And let it out of your mouth.
Slow your breathing down,
Deepening it down into your body.
As you inhale through the nose,
Let your body begin to settle,
And as you exhale out of your mouth,
Let your shoulders soften down away from your ears.
As you inhale,
Feel your heart space expand,
And as you exhale,
Allow your jaw to soften and relax.
With each breath,
Notice how your body begins to settle as you intentionally soften and release.
Throughout your practice,
If you find your thoughts wandering away,
Gently guide them back to your breath,
To your body,
And to the exercise.
If at any point during this exercise you find yourself becoming triggered,
Stressed,
Or angry,
Feel free to let go of the exercise and come back to your breathing,
And if needed,
Feel free to pause the meditation and come back another time when you feel ready.
Continuing to breathe in through the nose,
And now let's exhale out through the nose,
Creating a smooth and even pattern of breath.
Now I'd like you to bring to mind a recent situation that triggered a strong emotion for you.
Perhaps it was the emotion of frustration,
Of anger,
Or of anxiety.
Choose something that's manageable without being overwhelming.
As you recall this moment,
Imagine that you're watching it play out on a screen in front of you,
Like at a movie theater.
Observe yourself in that situation without judgment,
As if you're a curious bystander.
As you recall the situation,
The words that were said,
The actions that were taken,
The effects that may have resulted from this situation,
Call all of that to mind,
And then observe what you notice.
How does your body respond in this memory?
Maybe your shoulders tensed,
Your chest tightened,
Your jaw clenched.
Simply observe what you noticed in your physical being during this situation.
Now shift your focus to the emotion itself.
What does it feel like?
Where do you notice it in your body?
If you could give this emotion a color,
What would it be?
Red,
Black,
Gray,
Blue?
Now if you could imagine this emotion as a shape,
Would it have a shape?
Is it sharp?
Is it heavy?
Is it hard or soft?
Is it dark or bright?
If you could describe the texture and the feeling of this emotion,
How would you describe it?
With each of your breaths,
Imagine yourself softening around this emotion.
You're not trying to change it,
Or to fix it,
Or to make it go away.
Instead,
You're simply giving it space to exist.
Now I invite you to ask this emotion a question.
What are you trying to tell me?
What message do I need to receive from you?
What do you need from me?
Listen for any responses,
But without forcing an answer.
It's okay if an answer doesn't present itself right away.
The important thing is that you're asking.
As you continue to breathe,
Visualize the emotion becoming lighter and less intense.
Imagine it flowing out of your body with each exhale,
Like a cloud dissipating in the sky.
Take a moment to thank this emotion for the message that it brought and for the awareness it helped to create.
Emotions are not meant to be our enemy.
They are a normal and natural part of the human experience.
But sometimes we get tied up in the emotion.
Sometimes so much so that we begin to define ourselves by the emotions that we are experiencing.
So as you breathe,
Remind yourself that your emotions are okay.
It's okay to feel them.
It's okay for them sometimes to be uncomfortable.
And it's okay to spend time learning more about them.
And as a result,
Learning more about yourself.
Now,
Bring your focus back to your breath.
Take one deep inhale.
.
.
And a long exhale.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes,
Gently bringing yourself back to the surface.
When you're ready,
You can softly begin to blink the eyes open.
.
.
And take a moment to notice how you feel and what you're taking away from this emotional awareness exercise.
Remember that you can come back to this exercise anytime you'd like to spend some intentional time exploring and creating space around an emotion.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Namaste.
