Change Your Relationship To Alcohol With Love Vs Shame

Hello and welcome to your loving kindness practice.

This is a practice of self reflecting compassion really directly from the physical heart space.

In Buddhist tradition this is called Metta meditation,

Translating into loving kindness.

It is the quality of the energy in which we need to not only shift our relationship with alcohol but open to a new perspective of how we see the world,

How we can look at the world from the place of the heart.

Finding a comfortable seat,

Allowing the eyes to slowly close.

Lean back into the space behind you slightly but just enough that the spine is still erect.

The legs either crossed if you're seated on the floor or the feet firmly placed on the floor.

If it is more comfortable you could also do this practice lying down.

There is a great power to the physical heart space that houses our ability to experience inner peace.

And this is what we will focus on today.

It is the relationship we need to cultivate towards ourselves with ourselves that creates the lasting joy and happiness we seek in the world.

We must first be able to validate our own experience if we wish to give and attract the love we seek in the world.

As you inhale follow your breath in through the nose and allow the belly to expand.

As you exhale open your mouth and allow your shoulders to relax.

We'll follow that breath cycle two more times.

Inhale through your nose.

Allow the belly to expand the front and the back and the sides.

And as you exhale open the mouth soften now the back of the neck the shoulders the spine all the way down to the hips getting a little bit heavier in your seat.

The palms can rest open on the lap in a gesture of receiving.

And one final time now follow the inhale through the nose let the belly expand lift up to the heart and then up to the throat really opening up the central channel.

Without forcing it nice and slow.

Like a waterfall the exhale moves out through the mouth as you soften now from the crown of the head to the eyes to the jaw to the teeth to the throat to the shoulders the spine the belly the hips.

The arms all the way down through the feet into the legs.

Breathing exclusively in through the nose and out through the nose slowing down the breath consciously relaxing and lengthening the inhalation.

And letting the exhalation gently rock the body into a more receptive state.

With each breath in you make room and space for more peace joy and love and with each exhale.

You seek to relax that which is being held on to.

And so see if you can notice any part of the body where you're feeling tension and allow yourself to focus on that area and simply ask your body to let go.

For our practice of loving kindness we will use the breath to guide an internal mantra or phrase but we will focus the attention on the heart space the physical heart space that space that dwells in the protection of the rib cage.

Bringing your awareness there staying soft and relaxed.

Simply notice your heart beating.

Allow the belly to be soft.

If at any point the mind starts to drift away which is the natural tendency of the human brain just gently bring it back to the space of the heart at the center of the chest.

And just take a moment to imagine your heart inside of your chest three dimensionally so viewing yourself the 360 degree view of the rib cage and the body and then the heart resting inside.

You can kind of remote view it from more of an aerial perspective seeing that inside of yourself.

Imagine the heart luminescent and glowing.

And now drop the awareness back inside again really focusing on that glowing heart.

Keeping your soft attention here there's nothing to change or shift or do on the inhale breath we breathe the mantra may I be healed.

Focusing on the heart letting that phrase settle into the heart space trusting it feeling it leaving it knowing it.

And the exhale breath may I be whole.

Your next inhale breath may I be loved.

And you exhale may I be loving.

Again the awareness gently resting in the heart.

Two more times we repeat this these phrases may I be healed.

As you breathe in may I be whole as you breathe out.

May I be loved as you inhale.

May I be loving as you exhale.

And this energy starts to spread through the body.

Inhaling may I be healed.

May I be whole.

May I be loved.

May I be loving.

Just notice the sensation of the heart.

Has it become warmer more apparent has the body relaxed around the space.

And although we'll still be focusing on the heart the proprioception of awareness expands to the full body.

As you inhale light below me and whatever image comes for you imagining light below you.

The awareness still resting at the heart exhaling light above me.

Inhale light within me.

And light surrounds me.

Two more times like that.

Light below me light above me.

Light within me.

Light surrounds me.

Light below me.

Light above me.

Light within me.

Light surrounds me.

Now seeing yourself with light spreading from the center of your heart through your entire body out past the shell and the layer of the skin.

Sitting in this orb of gentle light.

Let it move about six feet in every direction.

Then imagine from the heart space sitting across from you is a child version of yourself maybe six.

Whatever first age comes to you and see that person sitting there.

See yourself with this glowing light in this healed and whole heart.

And then from the belly imagine a smile lifts smiling in the belly and then projecting that smile towards your child self.

Maybe the light from your orb moves to her heart and then this inner smile lifts to your physical heart.

As you inhale you can feel the corners of your heart lift and as you exhale you project the smile to her in a gesture to let her know she is seen and recognized and whole and holy and loved.

And then the smile lifts yet again to the corners of the mouth.

And this soft happy peaceful grin this present moment where nothing has gone wrong.

You project that smile to her again and she smiles back.

So happy.

And then the smile lifts one final time to the corners of the eyes.

The outer corners of the eyes lift and the inner corners soften.

And you project this to her again and you see her eyes brighten.

And now imagine the whole body smiling from the toes to the crown of the head.

And your gaze your inner gaze just lifts the chin lifts a little and you project this whole body smile to your child self.

And from the heart space you say to her may you be healed.

May you be whole.

May you be loved.

May you be loving.

Light below you light above you.

Light within you.

Light surrounds you.

Notice what is her tendency.

What does she want to do.

See her peaceful smiling and whole.

See her in this beautiful orb of luminescent light vibrating at the highest frequencies only.

Penetrable by love.

Taking a deep breath in sending her one more full body smile.

Exhaling through the mouth.

Coming back to your own physical body and noticing.

What has shifted.

Where can you release old story that is no longer serving you.

And where can you own and honor your own power and step into.

That space unapologetically as you move out into your day.

Blessings to you on this beautiful day.