This is a guided meditation to focus on the influx of emotions we experience throughout the day.
Some of our emotions are overwhelming and cause us to feel anxious while others can exhaust us and create disappointment or sadness.
Emotions change and sway throughout the day as we come across different situations and people.
It's important to remind ourselves that we do not have control over other people or situations.
They are simply not in our hands.
What we can control is how we think about our forever ebbing emotions.
Often our emotions create judgments about ourselves such as,
I never do anything right or I can be so forgetful.
Sometimes it's as simple as,
Why can't I just have a good day for once?
We need to make sure that we are not creating an identity based on our changing emotions and thoughts.
So let's now begin with our back against the chair.
Place your hands on your lap,
Facing up.
Take a deep breath in through your nose as you count to four.
Hold your breath as you again count to four.
Now slowly breathe out until all the air is out of your lungs and abdomen.
Again let's breathe in through your nose while counting to four.
Hold for four.
And breathe out slowly.
Let's close our eyes and slowly relax our bodies.
Let's imagine we are sitting on a blanket on the beach.
Pay attention to the sounds you hear.
Do you hear the sounds of water splashing as small waves roll in and out?
Perhaps the sounds of seagulls in the distance.
Perhaps you can hear the wind blowing as it grazes your face and toes.
Let's notice how our body feels as we sit on our blanket.
Notice how our feet touches the sand,
The small granules of sand that are easily moved around by our toes and feet.
Feel the blanket under your legs and bottom.
Notice the texture of the blanket.
Is it soft?
Is it perhaps similar to the one you bring to the beach in the summer?
Notice the weight of your body on the blanket as it relaxes.
Feel the warm sun on your skin and how it heats your body up.
Now let's notice what we see.
Is the sky bright?
Does it have clouds in it or is the day clear?
Is the water splashing with small waves or is it very still?
Do you see anyone else at the beach or are you alone?
Now let's stand up and slowly walk to the water.
Feel the cool water splash over your toes and ankles.
Feel your feet slightly slink into the sand.
Let's continue to move forward and feel your legs cool down as the water splashes them.
Notice how refreshing the water is.
Now let's walk a little further until the water is up to our waist and then our chest.
Pay attention to how the water ebbs and flows.
The water sways you slightly as you stand securely on your feet.
This is how your emotions and thoughts move throughout your mind.
They sway back and forth meaninglessly.
Emotions and thoughts automatically incur and we shouldn't pay too much emphasis on them nor make them into our identity.
Again notice the swaying and hold this feeling in your mind.
This is what you will remember the next time you are experiencing negative emotions with negative thoughts about yourself.
We need to remember that we can only go with the flow but without it changing how we see ourselves.
Now let's wash the negative emotions and thoughts away.
We can splash water on our faces,
Tops of our heads and shoulders and on our back.
Let's wash away any negative emotions and thoughts we were having.
Let's walk back to the blanket stepping out of the water onto the soft sand.
As we sit on the blanket let's notice how refreshed we feel.
Notice the wind and sun on our wet skin.
Notice the softness of the blanket.
Let's take a deep breath and gently let our bodies wake up.
Let's pay attention to the tops of our heads down to our faces.
Notice that your face is relaxed and the jaw has dropped.
Notice the little muscles around the eye socket are relaxed.
Pay attention to the front and back of your neck.
Notice how the muscles continue to melt away.
Feel how easily you are able to breathe.
Take another deep breath.
Breathe out and pay attention to your back and your hips.
The tension has dissipated.
You notice that your legs feel lighter as well.
Let's wiggle your toes and open your eyes.
Take care and have a nice day.
