Working With The Emotions Of Anger, Fear And Sorrow

Welcome,

In this meditation we re going to work with the shadow self.

What I mean by the shadow self is that side of our personalities that we don t always like very much,

Or show to people very often,

Or when we do,

We feel embarrassed.

We want to honor all emotions as varying parts of ourselves,

And we know that they re all valid,

And they have their uses.

So what we re seeking to do here,

Are to take the ones that maybe are not serving us as well as they could,

And giving them a gentle new direction,

Or new assignment.

We ll also be practicing honoring those emotions,

Those hurt parts of ourselves,

Sending ourselves a little self-compassion.

Because this is deep emotional work,

If you feel uncomfortable at any time during this meditation,

Please stop,

Walk away,

Relax,

You can always come back to it later.

So let s begin.

Settle in,

Either lying down or sitting in a chair.

You might be cross-legged or feet on the floor with your hands in your lap.

And if you re laying down,

Allowing your arms to rest out at your side,

Your feet to fall open comfortably,

And if you re comfortable doing so,

Closing your eyes.

There will be long pauses in this meditation.

In those spaces,

If you find your mind wandering outside of this space,

Gently return to your breath and return to the visualization.

So we begin by taking some nice,

Easy,

Relaxed breaths in and out through our nose.

We re Notice how each time you exhale,

Your body relaxes a little deeper,

Feeling completely supported by the Earth.

Give yourself a moment to gently scan your body from head to toe,

Noticing if you re holding any tension,

And with each exhale,

Relax a little deeper.

Take this time to create a safe space around you,

Whether that s a cocoon,

A bubble,

Anything you need to,

That not only sets the intention of putting the outside world on the outside so that you can focus inward,

But also feeling comfortable in this space and relaxed in this space.

And if appropriate,

Calling to mind any of your supporters in the Universe and imagining them surrounding you at this time.

Imagine we re sinking inward,

Tuning inward,

Breathing in and breathing out.

Now,

I want you to imagine that all of the emotions that you can experience show up in different forms.

They could be colors,

Shadows,

People or animals.

Allow your mind to experience this visualization in any way that makes sense.

So as we think of the emotions of happiness and joy or sadness,

I want you to imagine that all different aspects of yourself are beginning to gather around you in show of support.

You don t have to identify what emotion they are or what they represent.

In your mind s eye,

Just notice the gathering around you.

And as you look around,

We honor these aspects of ourselves,

Not judging in any way.

And if you have no visualization around you,

That is completely ok.

Work with whatever shows up for you in this experience.

We re going to work with 3 emotions in particular and then close with 1 very strong emotion on the opposite side.

We are going to work with anger,

Fear and sorrow.

And we will close this meditation with a feeling of joy.

As you glance at the aspects of yourself,

I want you to ask if anger would step forward or come forward for you.

When you consider the word anger,

How does it show up for you?

Perhaps as an entity,

A color,

A smell,

A symbol?

What does anger look like in your mind s eye?

What does it sound like?

Notice how anger shows up in your body.

Where do you feel it?

And what does it feel like?

Anger is an emotion that surfaces in some way to keep us safe.

So I d like you to ask anger,

When is the first time you felt anger?

You showed up for me.

And notice what comes to mind.

When did anger first show up for you in your life?

Remembering that we are watching and observing with curiosity,

Not getting too tangled in that past experience.

Ask anger,

In what way did you protect me in that experience?

Or how did you serve me?

And now gently move a little bit forward in time.

Can you think of one other time,

Perhaps in your adulthood,

That anger showed up for you again?

How did it manifest in your body?

How did it manifest in your life experience?

And now ask this anger in this new experience,

In what way did it serve you?

Take a moment to thank anger for the way that it served and protected you.

Honor the emotion as being a part of you.

And take a moment to send yourself a little self-compassion,

Sitting with that emotion briefly without judgment.

Now ask anger,

What does it need from you,

If anything?

Does it need your compassion?

Does it need any action?

In what way can you gently shift anger to serve you better?

For example,

If there is an external event that's causing anger,

Is there some kind of proactive,

Gentle action that you might take?

Or is it simply honoring the anger and letting it dissolve as you work past whatever might cause anger?

I'll be quiet for a moment while you consider this slightly new direction for your anger.

I want you to thank the emotion for being there to serve and protect you and keep you safe.

Now allow this aspect of yourself to join the rest of the group.

Give yourself a moment to release that anger,

Coming back to your breath,

Simply breathing in and breathing out.

Take a moment as you scan your body and to tune inward to your current state.

Notice how you're feeling in this moment.

This may be enough of a practice for today,

And if so,

Please pause this meditation at this time.

But if you're comfortable continuing with this work,

We're going to move on to the next emotion.

So as you gaze around with your mind's eye,

The different aspects of yourself,

I want you to ask fear to step forward.

Notice what fear looks and sounds like to you,

Maybe even has a scent.

It could be a color,

A shape,

A person,

An animal.

Notice in your mind's eye how it appears.

And gently notice in your own body,

Where does fear show up for you?

Now I want you to gently go back in time and ask fear,

When did you first show up to support me?

Consider what you can remember from that event.

How did fear keep you safe?

We take a moment to honor fear and thank it for serving us.

And now we move slightly forward in time to a more recent event.

When did fear show up for you recently?

What triggered a fear response?

Once again,

We honor this emotion.

We don't judge ourselves for having the emotion because it is there to protect us.

So we take a moment to express self-compassion,

Understanding that fear is a natural emotion and a natural part of ourselves and our experience.

We also acknowledge that we have emotions,

But we are not our emotions.

Now if you were to gently redirect fear,

In a way that will help you grow and to make sure that it serves you better.

An example could be learning something that you are intimidated by in a safe space or taking a small risk that doesn't put you in danger.

An example could be if you're feeling socially anxious,

Taking the opportunity to say yes to a small gathering,

For a short period of time.

Or if there is a fear of traveling,

Asking a friend to support you on a short journey.

These are just two examples.

So how can you take fear and give it a gentle new direction at this time,

Understanding that it's at this time and it could change again in the future.

I'll be quiet for a moment.

And now I'd like you to thank and honor fear for the way it's showed up for you,

Honoring it as an important part of your being.

And allow fear to gently fade into the background,

Joining the rest of the group.

Allowing your mind to be at ease and returning to your breath,

Simply breathing in and breathing out.

At this time,

Choosing whether this is a good place to stop this meditation for today,

Or if you're comfortable continuing,

We are going to work with the emotion of sorrow.

And if at any time this feels too much,

You can stop and give yourself a break.

I'd like you to ask sorrow to step forward.

Or if you prefer sadness,

Because sadness is such a powerful emotion.

When we go back in time,

We remember that we are watching with curiosity from a distance.

And we may not go back to the very first time we felt sadness,

But we're going to step back in time and ask,

When did sadness or when did sorrow show up for us in a way that made us remember and feel it?

Call to mind that event as if watching it from a distance.

And notice how sorrow or that feeling of sadness shows up in our bodies.

It could be a sinking feeling,

A shrinking feeling,

Or something else.

We take a moment to honor that feeling of sorrow,

Because it meant that we were truly connected to whatever it is that we have lost.

And as we think of this event,

Whatever it is,

We honor ourselves,

We honor the loss.

And if there was a something on the other side of that loss,

We honor whatever that was,

Whether it's a person,

Whether it's a job,

A pet,

Or some other experience.

Send yourself a little self-compassion,

And understand there is no time limit on sorrow or sadness.

We each heal and process differently.

So honor that feeling in yourself,

And respect that part of yourself,

And understand that it's okay to let go of that feeling.

It's okay to be and feel any way that you need to.

Take a moment to thank the sorrow,

The sadness,

For teaching you compassion and empathy,

And how to be truly connected.

And allow the sorrow to step back and join the group.

Once again,

Calming your mind,

And tuning in to your breath.

Simply breathing in and breathing out.

And before we close,

We're going to call to mind a light emotion,

A playful emotion,

A happy emotion.

In particular,

We are calling joy to come forward.

Notice how joy expresses itself in your mind's eye,

With sights,

With symbols,

With sounds,

With smells,

Whatever it is.

Allow that feeling of joy to fill your body.

Notice where joy lives in your body,

Perhaps everywhere.

Now,

Call to mind a joyous event.

Any event that pops into your mind at this time,

No matter how big or small.

Reflect on the event,

Noticing and remembering in as much detail as you can at this time.

Allow the memory to put a smile on your face,

And feel a lightness of being.

And now ask that joyous aspect of yourself.

How can I experience more joy on a daily basis?

Or,

How can I invite more joy into my life?

And notice the answer.

And allow joy to gently join the rest of the group,

Thanking it for being a part of your life.

Keeping you motivated,

Keeping you happy,

Helping you to see the positive in the world.

And gently let the thoughts float by.

Return to your breath,

Simply noticing the inhalation and the exhalation as you rest in this safe space.

Now go ahead and come back to the present moment,

You might wiggle your fingers and toes,

Or stretch your arms overhead.

And understand that you can revisit this meditation when you're ready,

And you can always explore these emotions and shift them ever so slightly.

And work with them and cherish them as you go.

As different aspects of yourself.

Thank you for joining me.