Presence Into A Release Of Worry

Welcome,

Beloved one.

Thank you so much for joining me here for this practice,

For releasing worry and finding presence in the moment.

I recommend that you find a quiet place in which you can feel safe and secure and be free from all distractions.

It is best to silence all notifications from any devices that are in this space with you.

This practice may be done comfortably seated or even lying down if you can keep from falling asleep.

Perhaps covering your legs,

Shoulders or the whole body with a blanket may bring you a greater sense of safety and protection.

Part of my inspiration for this meditation comes from Pima Chodron's book,

Taking the Leap,

In which she writes about the importance of bringing greater personal awareness and attention to our feelings and our reactions rather than trying to run away from them or covering them up.

When the daily uncertainties of life make us feel ungrounded or shaken up or when our experiences create within us uncomfortable emotions,

Our usual tendency is often to turn away from the experience as fast as we can.

We turn away by either stuffing down our feelings or acting out in inappropriate ways or even placing blame on other people or by covering our discomfort with distractions or addictions.

We do not easily come to the realization that what we resist continues to persist in our lives.

Our resistance further empowers what we are resisting until we have learned what has been sent to teach us.

In the book,

Taking the Leap,

Pima writes,

We are never encouraged to experience the ebb and flow of our moods,

Of our health,

Of the weather,

Of outer events,

Pleasant and unpleasant,

In their fullness.

Instead,

We stay caught in a fearful,

Narrow holding pattern of avoiding any pain and continue seeking comfort.

This is the universal dilemma.

When we pause,

We allow a gap and breathe deeply.

We can then experience instant refreshment.

When we pause,

Allow a gap and breathe deeply,

We can experience instant refreshment.

In this meditation,

We will pause with intentional awareness,

Allow ourselves a gap to be fully present,

Lean into the experience and breathe deeply to create a way into refreshment.

Now that you're comfortable here,

Let's begin with some cleansing breaths.

Introducing a circular body breath with the back and the front body.

Envision the breath coming in from the heels of your feet,

Traveling up along the back of the body to the top of your head.

And then see the breath going out starting at the top of the head,

Flowing down the front of the body and out through your toes.

Inhaling through the heels of the feet,

Up along the back of the body to the top of the head.

Exhaling from the top of the head,

Down the front of the body and out through your toes.

Once again,

Inhaling through the heels of the feet,

Up along the back of the body to the top of the head,

Exhaling from the top of the head down through the front of the body and out through your toes.

And we'll let that breath go and simply be in this moment.

Now turn our attention deep within,

Deep within your heart and soul and mind and look there for your feelings of worry.

What are you worried about in this moment?

Envision the worry,

Name the worry,

See the worry in your mind's eye and call it by what it is and what it has to do with in your life.

Without having any judgment against yourself or any criticism,

Kindly acknowledge the reality of this worry or these worries that you are thinking about.

It's okay.

You are safe here in this quiet space.

I am here with you,

Breathing alongside you and holding the space with you.

Now how are these worries affecting your mind?

Are they making your mind feel very busy?

Are they making your mind feel scattered or confused?

How is the worry also making your body feel?

When you think about the worry,

Do you feel a tightness happening in your body in any particular area?

Perhaps in the shoulders or the back or even around the stomach or it could be in the arms or legs or feet and hands or even in your face.

Does the worry create tension in your face?

Do you feel your jaw tensing and tightening and the teeth locking together?

How does your body feel when you focus on the worry and think about it?

Now ask yourself this question,

Does worrying make me feel better or worse in the present moment?

And remember,

Beloved one,

We are looking at all of this worry without any judgment or criticism.

We're looking simply to find awareness,

Acknowledgement and presence with what is.

You can also ask yourself,

Does my act of worrying bring about any resolution to what I am worried about?

So the more time that I spend worrying,

Is it bringing about a resolution to this thing I am worried about?

Is it resolving it in any way?

Does my worry resolve the situation I am worried about?

Now that we have acknowledged the worry within us and that we have looked at it,

Stated it to ourselves,

Acknowledged it,

Come to an awareness of how it makes us feel in our mind,

In our body,

And take a note of if it makes us feel better or worse,

If it resolves the situation that we're worrying about,

The more that we worry as we have kindly and gently acknowledged all of that.

Now keeping these worries in mind and all of these things that you have been looking at,

We'll do a little work with our breath here.

And as we inhale,

You can admit to yourself,

I feel worry.

And as you exhale,

You can affirm to yourself,

I see my worry.

Inhaling,

Admitting,

I feel worry.

Exhaling,

Affirming,

I see my worry.

Inhaling,

Admitting,

I feel worry.

Exhaling,

Affirming,

I see my worry.

Releasing those statements,

We'll now inhale and state to ourselves,

I acknowledge my worry.

And exhale,

I choose to let go of all my worry.

Inhaling in,

I acknowledge my worry.

Exhaling out,

I choose to let go of all my worry.

Inhale,

I acknowledge my worry.

Exhale,

I choose to let go of all my worry.

And we'll let that breath and those statements go now.

Bringing attention once again to your whole body,

Your whole person here in this space,

In this moment.

Bring your awareness to your whole body.

The whole body here.

And let's imagine a warm,

Radiant light is softly floating up from below you and also floating down from above you.

It is a warm,

Radiant light like that of the sun on a cool spring morning.

If you were to find yourself walking through an open meadow,

This meadow is adorned with colorful flowers.

Birds are chirping and singing nearby and the butterflies happily flutter from flower to flower.

So many colorful flowers.

So many cheerful sounds all around you.

Feel yourself relaxing more and more as the warm light touches you and brings you a sense of loving reassurance.

You feel the sense of reassurance on your right side and a sense of reassurance on your left side.

A sense of loving reassurance at your heart center.

A sense of reassurance at your back center.

Feel a sense of reassurance bring you comfort around your whole person.

Sense of reassurance inside you.

Sense of reassurance outside of you.

With every breath,

Surrender to the reassuring warm light all around you.

With every breath,

Surrender a little bit more.

Knowing that you can always surrender just a little bit more to the radiant warm light all around you.

A loving reassuring warm light all around you.

Take a big inhale here through your nose and sigh it out nice and long.

Bring awareness to your heart center.

Imagine that you feel your breath coming into your heart space,

Expanding your heart and the whole chest creating space.

As the breath begins to leave the heart space,

It radiates outward through the whole body,

Through your head,

Your arms,

Your legs.

Inhaling in the breath into the heart,

Expanding the heart and the whole chest creating more and more space.

Exhaling the breath leaving the heart space and radiating outward through the whole body going out through the top of the head,

Out through the arms and hands and out through the legs and feet.

Breath coming in at your heart center,

Filling up the heart space,

Expanding the whole chest.

Breath going outward from the chest through the whole of the body,

Out through the arms,

Legs and head.

Breathing in to your heart,

Expanding.

Breathing out through the whole of the body.

The whole body,

Breathing in,

The whole body breathing out.

The whole body breathing in,

The whole body breathing out.

Letting go of the heart centered breath.

Return to a natural breath and bring your hands to your heart center,

Placing one hand on top of the other.

Now bring a gentle,

Warm smile to your face and keep it there as we consider gratitude.

Feeling your hands against your heart and even perhaps feeling your heartbeat.

Take a moment here to think,

What can I be grateful for in this moment?

Anything at all.

Perhaps gratitude for feeling your heartbeat.

Gratitude simply for this moment that you are breathing.

Or gratitude for a dearly loved one's presence in your life.

Or a beloved pet who is your companion and your friend.

Think of anything at all.

What can you be immensely grateful for in this moment?

Perhaps you could even think of something that you were once greatly worried about in the past.

And now that you can be grateful for it because it has been resolved.

Think of gratitude.

Feel your gratitude with a smile on your face and an expansive heart beneath your hands.

And we'll let that gratitude continue to rest here in our heart space.

For the next few breaths,

As we breathe in and out,

We'll state some affirmations.

These can be out loud or you can simply say them in your head.

As we inhale,

We'll state one affirmation.

And as we exhale,

We'll state another affirmation and we'll let our hands float away from the heart and open outward with palms facing upward as if we are releasing the breath with the hands.

And then as we inhale again,

We'll draw the hands in as if we're drawing the breath back to the heart before exhaling with the next affirmation and letting the hands flow outward with the release of the breath.

Let's begin with the hands to the heart.

Inhaling I saw and acknowledged my worry.

Exhaling I chose to let go of all my worry.

Inhaling hands to heart.

I saw and acknowledged my worry.

Exhaling hands out.

I chose to let go of all my worry.

Exhale hands to heart cleansing breath.

Hands to heart.

Next inhale.

I am breathing in calm.

Exhale.

I am breathing out calm reassurance.

Inhale to heart.

I am breathing in calm.

Exhale away.

I am breathing out calm reassurance.

Inhaling to heart.

Next inhale.

I am here in this quiet space.

Exhale I am okay in this quiet space.

Inhale to heart.

I am here in this quiet space.

Exhale away.

I am okay in this quiet space.

And inhale back to heart.

Next inhale at heart center.

I am grateful in this moment.

And exhale away.

I am peaceful in this moment.

Inhale to heart.

I am grateful in this moment.

Exhale away.

I am peaceful in this moment.

With our hands at heart center,

Deep cleansing breath through the nose.

Long exhale out through the mouth.

And you can let the hands come back down alongside the body.

With awareness,

Slowly and gently,

Begin to create some small waking movements through the rest of your body,

Perhaps starting at the toes and gently wiggling the toes.

Perhaps gently rolling your head side to side or up and down.

You could even try some mild gentle stretching throughout your whole body.

Stay observant and present with the experience,

Even now,

As you make these movements throughout the body.

Notice how the breath changed.

Notice how it feels to move and stretch the body here.

Savor the moment,

Not taking even one breath or one second for granted.

Thank you,

Beloved one,

For sharing your meditation practice with me today.

It is always an honor.

Rest easy.

You are not alone.

I hear you.

I see you.

I feel you.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti E.

Om Peace Peace Peace Namaste.