Welcome to your mindfulness meditation of emotions.
This practice is near and dear to my heart because I know firsthand how transformative it can be to become aware of this internal weather and to come into relationship with what is present with a sense of acceptance and belonging.
Like the sky lovingly holds all the changing weather patterns,
So too can we observe our emotions without judgment,
Clinging,
Or aversion.
And while we can't control our emotions,
We gain agency in how we move through the world as emotions arise in relation to our day-to-day experiences.
So let's begin by finding a posture that is comfortable,
An upright position is best to help sustain the attention,
But rest in a relaxed way where the body is at ease.
Sometimes we're holding tension in our bodies without even realizing it.
So it might be helpful to quickly scan the body and release any areas of obvious tension.
Relaxing the brow line,
Unclenching the jaw,
Resting the shoulders down away from the ears,
And soft hands,
Soft belly.
Once you find a comfortable position,
Consider taking a couple deep cleansing breaths and let all that stale air move out and then allow the breath to be natural.
Letting go of any agendas,
Any to-do lists,
Giving yourself permission to really be present for this meditation.
Now settling in to the here and now,
Bringing your kind attention to the breath,
Noticing how the body moves,
Expanding on the in-breath and contracting on the out-breath,
Resting your kind attention on wherever the breath is felt most pleasantly.
Simply resting and simply letting be.
Just allowing your attention to rest on the breath.
And anytime you notice that the mind has drifted to thoughts,
Whether you're planning or judging,
Whatever arises,
Just gently,
Kindly bringing the attention back to the breath,
Arriving here in this moment again and again,
Always arriving.
And as the mind slowly begins to settle a bit,
Allowing your awareness to scan the sky of your mind for any emotions that are present.
They might be obvious,
Strong emotions like joy,
Delight,
Anxiety,
Or anger.
They might be more subtle and content,
Relaxed,
Trusting,
Or bored.
And if nothing is coming up for you right now,
That's okay too.
Just noticing what's here.
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to change,
Just letting be and noticing with a gentle,
Open curiosity.
If you notice an emotion arising,
Just like the sky welcomes new weather patterns,
Turn toward what arises,
Attuning to the body,
Welcoming the experience with an open,
Receptive presence.
You might consider gently inwardly naming the emotion to yourself.
Or just noting to yourself how it manifests in the body.
Is there expansion in the chest?
A slight smile to the lips?
Or knots in the belly?
Simply noting what's present without trying to change anything.
You might even notice your mind's response to the emotion.
If an unpleasant emotion arises,
Do you notice yourself trying to push it away or change it?
No judgment,
Just noticing.
If the emotion that arises is pleasant,
Is there a hint of clinging to the emotion?
What is here today in the sky of your mind?
Continuing to lovingly hold it all like the sky holds the weather.
And just as the weather changes,
So do emotions.
Perhaps an emotion you noticed earlier isn't here so much anymore.
We can gently note to ourselves the impermanent nature of emotions.
They're here,
Like the hot sun or a rain shower,
And then they're gone.
Gently giving permission for all the weather to be here.
All emotions are welcome.
None are bad or wrong.
They are simply what make us human.
And if you notice your mind is wandering again,
Simply reconnecting to the breath and opening up to the weather patterns in the sky of your mind.
Letting go of trying to control anything and simply leaning in to what arises.
And for the last couple of minutes,
Really allowing yourself to linger in those moments of stillness and wakefulness,
Gently noting the difference of what it feels like to be lost in thought versus what it feels like to be present with whatever is here.
This moment is enough.
This allowing,
Receptive presence is the path of love.
