Time To Go Home - Reawaken Happiness & Relieve Low Mood

Welcome to this guided meditation for alleviating the symptoms of low mood and awakening a natural sense of happiness and joy.

Something to be conscious of before we begin,

This particular meditation does involve revisiting some old emotions that you may not have felt in some time.

Not doing anything particularly dark or heavy here today but just something to be aware of so that if there are some old surprising feelings that arise during this meditation,

You can approach them with a sense of courage,

Confidence and just remaining grounded and centered,

Knowing that you are safe to do so.

By allowing ourselves to revisit old emotions we open our consciousness,

We open our awareness to feel the entire spectrum of emotion,

Nothing hidden,

Nothing buried.

And if we have the confidence and courage to feel certain emotions that we ordinarily find displeasing or uncomfortable,

We automatically allow ourselves to re-feel old positive emotions too.

A sense of natural joy,

A sense of natural freedom and natural happiness.

Often it's these emotions that get hidden and buried alongside the emotions such as fear,

Doubt and uncertainty.

And by opening ourselves back up again,

We allow the entire spectrum of human emotion to be felt,

To be seen in the light of conscious awareness.

So if you do encounter any particularly unpleasant or uncomfortable emotions during this meditation,

It's actually a good sign.

Begin just by becoming aware of the sensations of breathing and a sense of focusing your attention into the here and now,

Just this,

Just a sense of being in what already is.

Allow the breath to rise and fall and just notice the sensations.

We are not forcing the breath in nor forcing the breath out,

Just allowing the breath to naturally rise and fall in its own time,

In its own rhythm.

Just be aware of these sensations and by focusing the attention on the breath in this way,

The body and mind will naturally begin to settle and a sense of groundedness,

Sense of centeredness and just a noticing of the natural sense of being can become the forefront of your experience.

Just taking a moment here just to allow body and mind to settle and we cannot force the body to relax,

It's more of a gentle agreement with the body.

Just see how much the body is willing to let go of its tension.

We cannot tell it to let go,

Just see if it's willing to release certain areas from its holding pattern and with the mind just disengage any of those troublesome,

Worrisome thoughts.

They can still be there,

It's okay but just don't get involved for this time.

Very good,

Now bringing to mind a powerful and vivid visualization.

Can you recall a period of time in your life when you were truly happy?

This recollection often comes with a pang of nostalgia,

Perhaps even a slight sense of grief,

A slight sense of sadness that this time is seemingly over.

So pushing through those slightly uncomfortable emotions,

Just allow those to be here too and continue to recall a time in your life when you felt happy.

This could be a childhood memory,

Just a period of your life where you felt free,

Open,

You had energy,

You had health.

Perhaps a period of your life in which you were fortunate enough to enjoy the company of good friends.

Or perhaps slightly later on in life,

Early adulthood or adolescence,

Where you were in a period of time you were achieving something.

You felt empowered,

Confident,

You felt you had purpose and meaning.

And again,

These memories often come with a pang of longing,

A wistful nostalgia.

So it does require just a little courage,

Confidence,

Discipline and a willingness to be uncomfortable.

To access these happy feelings once again,

We must also allow ourselves to feel the nostalgia,

The pang of longing to return,

And perhaps even a sense of homesickness.

How curious these feelings are.

Remember,

You are perfectly safe to do this.

Feelings are just feelings,

That's all they are.

All emotions are perfectly okay to come up into the light of awareness,

To be seen,

To be felt,

To be loved,

To be welcomed into experience.

It's just a feeling.

And by being willing to feel any emotion,

We open our body and mind back up to the energy of life,

The vibrancy of life.

Yes,

The intensity too,

Can be very uncomfortable,

Very unpleasant.

But it's good to feel.

It's good,

It's healthy to feel.

Allow the vividness up,

The intensity,

It's a relief to be able to feel emotion again.

During periods of low mood,

We feel numb,

Without any feeling at all,

Lost and flat.

So by doing this,

We can allow ourselves to feel once again.

And do not discern between whether an emotion is pleasant or unpleasant.

It's just a relief to be able to feel.

So utilising the intensity of these vivid recollections,

These memories,

Just find that long buried memory of a period of time you were happy,

Free,

Healthy.

Perhaps,

If you're fortunate enough,

Loved,

Respected,

Supported,

You had resources,

You felt joy,

You felt happiness.

This may even just be a single event,

Was it just one day?

Perhaps a celebration of something,

A Christmas,

A graduation,

A birthday,

A wedding,

Your first date,

Passing your driving test.

Perhaps the first day of a summer holiday.

This could be any period of time,

Or any event.

Now,

Let's see if we can not be so vague about this,

And actually just choose one now.

There have probably been a number of situations,

Scenarios,

Events that have come to mind whilst I've been talking.

Just pick one now.

And just trust your intuition on this.

There's probably one particular visual image of a particular time where you feel that's probably the appropriate one for this meditation,

But there's a hesitation to,

You're almost afraid to go back there.

But there is nothing to be afraid of.

This is powerful now.

Allow yourself to re-feel.

Find that period of time now.

If you are still struggling to find that particular scenario,

Period of time,

Or event,

I'll just share the example of the one that I tend to visit.

It's purely just a simple memory of when I was doing a paper round.

I was about 12 years old.

I happened to be in good health at that time.

The sun was shining down.

I had my mp3 music player playing music in my ears.

I had good friends and I really enjoyed riding my bike.

And on summer days,

I just felt purely happy,

At peace,

And well.

And this was during a period of that early adolescent time,

Where there was a lot of chaos and turmoil and things weren't perfect for me at all times.

But I just remember that particular time each day doing my paper round,

I was free.

I was happy.

I was healthy.

Despite the fact there are other things during that period of time that were less than ideal.

To revisit that memory is to push through certain uncomfortable emotions.

And I just invite you to have that same power now.

Just push through.

Revisit.

Re-open.

And let the energy of that time back through your system.

Very good.

Now,

Finding that period of time,

That situation,

And really zone in.

Really turn up the saturation,

The brightness,

The vividness of that image.

Just as if you were editing a photo that you've taken on your phone,

You can adjust the sliders to turn up saturation,

Colour,

Intensity,

Contrast,

Vividness.

Turn them all up on that image.

Continue to breathe deeply.

We're about to bring up some strong emotions now,

So re-centre,

Re-ground.

Just breathe into the now.

Open awareness to breath and body.

All is well.

All is safe.

Already feeling some of those more powerful emotions rising.

Upon recollecting that period of happiness,

And let's really concentrate now,

Really focus attention.

Can you recall how that happiness felt?

The mind may have immediately responded with a firm no,

But remember that no is just a thought,

So just discard that word and try again.

Can you recall how that feeling of happiness felt?

And just move towards this now.

Even if it's vague and subtle,

That's okay.

We don't need to erupt into a ecstatic state of joy.

It doesn't need to be like that.

Just subtle is fine.

Just moving towards what that feeling was like.

Can you remember what that felt like?

And just bring your conscious awareness to,

Even if it is just the memory of the feeling,

Just keep moving awareness towards that feeling.

Go towards it.

Go into it.

Yes,

It might be dense.

It might be vague.

It might be heavy.

It might feel very obscured.

There might even just be a tight ball of numbness there.

This is useful information.

This is wisdom you are developing now.

Can you just push through the heaviness,

The denseness,

The numbness and just recall that feeling?

Keep the visual image of that time strong and vivid in your mind and just recall the feeling,

Just the feeling,

Just the feeling.

Edging slowly towards that.

It doesn't have to flood your awareness.

Just a vague reopening of that area.

What did that feel like?

How did it feel in the body to be happy,

To be joyful,

To be filled with freedom and vitality?

Let it into the body.

Very good.

This might just be little split-second glimpses of this emotion.

That's good.

That's fine.

Once your system has a taste for this emotion again,

Something powerful begins to happen.

We are planting a powerful seed.

Just allow split-second glimpses of that feeling edge towards,

Edge towards.

Yes,

There is nostalgia.

Yes,

There is longing.

But as we're about to find out,

There is no need for the nostalgia or homesickness because that period of time never ended.

It is the mind and the events,

The circumstances and situations in life that have enshrouded and clouded that feeling of happiness.

But that happiness never went anywhere.

It is still there in you now.

So we shall begin discarding those dark heavy clouds and just continually turn the brightness up on that image.

And with that as our grounding,

Our centeredness,

As we move towards that memory of happiness,

We are now going to be bringing this emotion actually into the forefront to make it prominent in your present,

Current experience now.

You have a strong visual image of that memory,

That period of time,

That situation,

And keep the vividness where it is now.

And now go to the memory of the senses.

The first one we are going to visit here is scent.

Your sense of being.

Your sense of smell.

This next part may feel unusual,

But it is absolutely crucial and you will see why in just a moment.

During that period of time that you were happy or that event in which you were happy,

What was the dominant scent at that time that you can really recall?

What was the perfume or aftershave that you were wearing at that time?

Or perhaps a deodorant?

There will be a strong,

Powerful memory of this scent.

Perhaps the scent of a certain room,

Upholstery.

Perhaps the scent of a certain building or vehicle.

When you passed your driving test,

For example,

What did the car smell like at that time?

Perhaps a period of time at school in which you were happy and confident.

What did the individual classrooms smell like?

What was the scent?

And find that scent now as a memory and turn the vividness up on that,

As though you can smell it now.

Now.

And continue to hold the memory of that scent.

Just allow it to start forming your current experience as though it were happening now.

It could be anything.

It could even be the scent of a certain food or drink.

Or the scent of nature,

If it was a period of time you visited nature often.

Everything has a very particular scent to it.

Just turn the vividness up on that.

Very good.

And now can you recall?

Certain sounds at the time.

The best one for this is to recall the most popular song that was playing on the radio at all times during that time.

The particular number one hit that everybody was singing and was always playing on the radio.

That catchy tune that played in your mind constantly during that period of time.

Or perhaps just a significant piece of music that happens to relate to that time.

Just keep searching until you find one.

And it will be a piece of music that just evokes a certain,

Yes,

Nostalgia,

But also takes you back to that time.

So with that scent and with that song.

And if there is no piece of music that comes to mind,

Is there a background sound that you heard at that time?

Something you don't hear now.

It could even be something like particular traffic noise or just the noise of something that would happen in the background during that time.

Perhaps even the sound of someone's voice.

And now just visiting the sense of touch.

This can be an interesting one.

Just was there a particular fabric that you could feel at that time?

Is there a feeling of a school uniform or perhaps the feeling of a particular piece of clothing?

Or was there a favourite piece of upholstery that you used to sit on or lay on?

The feeling of a certain sofa or bed.

The feeling of a certain car seat or perhaps a just very comfortable pair of shoes that you used to wear.

Or if there was any activity that you engaged in with your hands.

Perhaps you were handling certain models or animals or musical instruments or anything you did with your hands.

What did that feel like?

The stroking of a certain pet.

The working of a certain tool.

The feel of a certain surface.

Perhaps the feeling of a certain wooden door.

The feeling of a concrete post.

Anything.

The feeling of water even.

Is there a memory of a beach or swimming lessons or anything like that?

Like just feeling,

Feeling the sensations on the skin.

Revisiting that sense memory.

And notice how powerfully this re-evokes emotion.

So now there is the scent.

The sound.

And the touch.

And touch includes temperature as well,

Interestingly.

So if the memory is of a particular holiday,

Can you remember how hot it was or how cold it was?

And don't just go to the mind to remember this,

Feel it in the body.

You'll find that you can re-feel this temperature.

It's quite astounding.

Very good.

And now going to taste.

This is powerful.

What was your favourite meal at the time?

Or even if you didn't particularly enjoy that meal at the time.

Just a particularly vivid taste.

Perhaps a certain type of confectionary or sweets or chocolate.

Perhaps even food you didn't particularly enjoy but had a very distinct taste.

This could be school food or the food of a certain work canteen.

It was a period of happiness but you still had to endure the food that was present at the time.

Or perhaps the food itself is a very pleasant memory.

Home cooking or the cooking from somebody who you loved.

Just that food,

What was the taste?

You may not have tasted it in some time but just recall.

So through those senses we have built up a very powerful,

Very vivid sense field.

And bring them all together.

The scent,

The sound,

Touch,

Temperature,

Taste and that powerful visual image too.

And we're going to begin disengaging the mind.

Just don't worry about any words really.

We're not going to be forming too much of an analysis or an opinion on anything.

And we don't really need any narratives now.

We're not looking at why things were so good or so bad or why things changed or ended.

We're not interested in any of those stories.

It's just a story.

The only thing that we're interested in now is the vivid,

Pure,

Raw,

Intense sense memory.

That's all.

The senses.

Senses don't have a story.

Senses do not have a narrative.

There is nothing attached to the senses.

They are pure.

Raw and immediate.

So just go to the raw sense now.

This is the practice.

Go into it.

Go into it.

Feel every single one of them.

The scent.

The sound.

The touch.

The temperature.

The taste.

Feel it.

Feel it.

Feel it.

Now.

Now.

Now.

There is no past.

There's no such thing as the past.

It doesn't exist.

The past is a myth.

The senses are happening now.

The feeling is happening now.

You cannot feel a memory.

That's a trick.

You cannot feel a memory.

The feeling you are experiencing now.

So keep the vivid sense picture.

No stories.

No attachments to this.

No implications.

Nothing.

It's raw and open.

Free.

This is freedom.

We don't have to do anything to the feeling or with the feeling.

Don't try and hold on to anything.

Don't try and push anything away.

Just raw,

Vivid,

Sense memories.

And these are all happening now.

You are experiencing these now.

You are not experiencing the past.

You are experiencing the present.

You cannot experience the past.

This is all happening now.

Now those sense memories will have evoked feelings that previous to this meditation you were not feeling.

These were dormant feelings.

Feelings that had been buried and now through that practice of sense recollection we have now re-evoked those feelings.

They have come out of their hiding place.

Allow the nostalgia to be there too.

The homesickness can be there too.

The longing.

The wistfulness.

The grief at loss.

All of it can be there too.

That is fine.

Just allow the happiness alongside those unpleasant emotions.

Happiness is there too.

That's what we are going to become more and more interested in.

This happiness is happening now.

There is no past.

It wasn't the situation or circumstance that created the happiness.

The happiness is always there.

The situation and circumstance just happened to align in a way that made it easier to feel this happiness and joy.

But understand that happiness and joy is always there.

It must be because you are starting to get a feeling of it now despite the fact that nothing is happening.

All that is happening is that you are listening to a meditation.

Nothing more.

Just allow.

Just allow.

Just allow.

If this happiness is elusive and keeps going to hide back into the shadows again,

Just revisit the sense memories and get vivid.

Scent.

If no feeling is being evoked,

Just change the memory.

Is there a different scent?

A different touch?

A different sound?

A different taste?

Just keep cycling through them until one of them lands and has that sharp pang of emotion rising within it.

And now the last part of this practice.

Allow those sense memories to be there but instead of focusing on them,

Focus on the feeling itself.

And with your conscious awareness,

Meaning your awareness of experience,

Just go to the feeling and allow that feeling to become the entirety of your experience as though nothing else actually exists.

There is no outside world.

There is no inside world.

There is no mind.

There is even no body.

There is just that feeling.

The joy.

The happiness.

The freedom.

The liberation.

A sense of empowered vitality.

Allow that feeling to be the only thing that you are feeling now.

The entirety of your experience.

The focus point of your meditation.

Just focus entirely on that feeling.

Nothing more.

No more memories.

No more senses.

No more anything.

Just let go of everything else.

The only thing that truly exists now is that feeling.

No outside world.

No inside world.

No body.

No mind.

No memory.

No situations.

No circumstances.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Just the emotion that arose from the memory.

Allow it to be here.

It is not lost.

It has not gone anywhere.

You are rediscovering something that has always been there but was just forgotten.

Buried.

Hidden.

Left aside.

But now,

Do not let it fall back into the shadows ever again.

Let it be the forefront of your experience.

Let it be the guide.

Let it inform your decisions,

Your behaviour,

Your thoughts,

Your words,

Your interactions with people.

This feeling is deep in your heart.

It is the foundational essence of you.

So just be this.

Nothing else matters.

In a moment we are going to be leaving the formal aspect of this meditation.

If there has been any of that positive,

Beneficial,

Healthy vitality,

Feeling of joy,

Happiness and freedom,

Even if it's just a small spark for you,

I'd recommend if you do have the time and space to do it,

Just spend some time preferably alone to just enjoy the feeling.

Just protect your space for a moment.

This is a hard won battle and so it's worth protecting the treasure that was won.

Sometimes we just need to allow that little seed of brightness just to pervade back through the system.

Just a sense of not losing sight of this.

This rediscovered joy and happiness.

You don't need to walk around in low mood and sadness.

There are ways out of this.

There are ways to reawaken your joy.

Trust it.

Trust the pure emotion itself.

This is something you arrived with.

It's not something that was conditioned into you.

You arrived with happiness.

You arrived with love.

You arrived with joy.

No matter how dark the years have been,

And I do know they get so very,

Very dark,

It doesn't matter.

There is something deep in you that cannot be obscured.

It can't be.

It can be temporarily enshrouded,

But that's all.

Like a single cloud blotting out the sun,

The sun continues to shine with fierce intensity.

It is only temporarily hidden from view.

This is how happiness works.

It's always there.

So no matter how dark things have been,

How flat you have felt,

How numb you have felt,

Do not fall into despair.

Do not continue to sink and go down.

I know it's tough.

I'm speaking from experience here.

We can bring it back up.

Say to yourself,

I'm not going down.

No further.

No further.

Say something's off here.

And I choose to pull myself out.

I choose to move forwards from this.

And this practice we have done today is a powerful step forwards in this.

So well done.

I congratulate you on your courage and confidence in doing this practice today.

Keep doing it to reaffirm the practice and reaffirm the feeling.

You might be surprised at how quick this transforms the emotional world as you navigate through life.

Continue to turn towards joy and happiness as the guide,

As the starting point,

As the focus point.

Not using the mind,

But use the heart as your guide in life.

That's how we end up creating situations and circumstances that provide us with a happy,

Healthy life.

Thank you so much for doing this meditation with me today.

It takes a huge amount of courage,

Discipline,

Focus and confidence to do this.

This type of meditation and this type of healing is very beneficial not only for you,

But for everyone around you.

Everyone in your life will benefit from you doing this meditation.

I always have a sense of gratitude to anyone who does these meditations because you're going a very long way to brightening humanity as a whole and removing just part of that shadow,

That darkness from the common stock of humanity.

So my gratitude to you for doing this practice with me today.

Thank you so much.

Take care,

Be well and stay present.