Hello everyone.
Thank you for joining me today.
Part of our meditation practice is turning inward.
And for many of us,
We can face resistance to coming inside of ourselves throughout the day because there can be a lot of fear,
Anxiety,
Pain.
So today we're going to walk through an exercise to become more confident in being able to ride the waves of our internal experience.
So as you're ready,
Find a comfortable spot to rest the body.
Making sure you take extra time to put yourself in the shape where you feel supported,
Where you don't have to hold on or control any part of the body,
Where you can fully surrender.
And once you're here,
Let the eyes softly close.
Invite the muscles in the face to relax.
Invite the muscles in the body to let go.
Allow the bones to be heavy.
Allow the breath to slow down.
Our breath being the bridge between the external and the internal world.
When we bring our awareness to the breath,
We are training our brains to become present.
And as we slow down the breath,
We are sending signals to our body that we are safe,
That we can move into a state of relaxation.
Take a few moments to notice the texture and quality of the breath.
It might take a little while to find a rhythm with your breath that feels natural and flowing.
And that's okay.
And as you move into a deeper state of stillness,
Imagine your awareness traveling beyond layers of muscle and bone into the emotional world,
Exploring what you've been carrying in your heart and in your body.
And if you meet something that feels painful or stressful,
No need to run away,
No need to get worried.
Just meet this part of yourself with curiosity.
Our emotions are here for a reason.
They give us important information and they don't last forever.
They're like waves rising,
Cresting,
Crashing and receding.
There's one particular emotion that's the most pressing or that's taking up the most space inside of you.
Let's bring our awareness and focus to that one.
Just begin to notice it.
What is the experience of that emotion like in the body?
Does it feel heavy,
Light,
Warm,
Cold?
Where is it located?
In the chest,
The shoulders,
The stomach?
Does it have a shape?
What's its texture like?
Can we approach this feeling as an observer with interest and without judgment?
Imagine you're walking down the street and you pass a small child alone who is emanating the very feeling you've come into contact with.
We wouldn't walk by this child.
We would kneel down next to it,
Look it in the eyes,
Ask it,
What's going on?
There would be this urge to soothe it,
To understand,
To help,
To attend to the feeling so that we could take care of the whole person.
Let us begin to approach our feelings this way.
Nothing to be scared of,
Nothing to distract from or run from,
But to approach with curiosity,
Compassion and an understanding that when things come through to us,
Especially in a profound way,
That they are begging for our attention so that we can know ourselves better,
So we can take care of ourselves better,
So that we can live a life full of meaning and deep understanding,
Not one where we fear what is inside.
So imagine that you are picking up this feeling and holding it lovingly in your hands,
Holding it close to your heart with every intention of taking care of it and making it feel better.
And you can spend as much time as you need engaging with this feeling,
Getting intimate with it,
Listening to it,
Asking it what it needs from you.
And then when you feel ready,
You can put it down lovingly and start to bring your awareness back to the breath,
Noticing the texture and quality of the breath in the body,
Beginning to notice sounds,
Smells,
And when it feels like time,
You can open your eyes,
Knowing you can come back to this place inside of yourself and converse with everything inside of you whenever you'd like.
Thank you.
Have a sweet day.
Goodbye.
