Welcome.
In this guided meditation,
We are going to work with the energy of tenderness and self-forgiveness.
The goal is to help you release from the weight and the grip of any negative emotions toward yourself that you may be harboring.
Whenever we work with difficult emotions,
It's possible that you may feel overwhelmed.
So if at any point in the meditation you feel that your level of discomfort becomes too difficult,
I invite you to open your eyes and free yourself to move about in a way that brings you some immediate relief.
The practice will be here for you to return to whenever you're ready.
Now I invite you to find a comfortable position,
One that feels good for you.
And as we begin,
I'm going to ask you to select something in your life that has felt heavy on you and yet feels workable.
Whenever you're ready,
You can close your eyes,
Softening your eyelids,
Relaxing your jaw,
Scanning your body down toward your legs,
Down into your feet,
Following each breath as it enters your body.
From the back of your throat down into the center of your chest,
Settling further into the physical sensation of a deepened presence with your own being.
Notice any tension that you might be feeling and places in your body that are calling for you to let go.
Take a few deep breaths,
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling in a way that feels natural and at ease.
And as you draw in each breath,
Notice the sensation of your lungs expanding and relaxing,
Allowing each breath to connect you more deeply with whatever is present for you.
As you begin to draw your attention inward,
Set an intention to in some way open your heart to find even the slightest space to widen.
As you scan your life,
Bring to mind some aspect of yourself,
Whether it's a behavior,
A feeling or emotion,
A series of thoughts,
Anything that has left you feeling unforgivable.
Sense for yourself a level of charge that feels workable,
One that you can hold with your hand.
With this in mind,
Where have you closed yourself off?
Where have you turned away from your heart?
You might sense someplace where you felt wrong or bad or negatively about your involvement in a situation or your handling of your own being.
There may be an aversion present or a rejection toward this part of you or your experience.
Let yourself feel what's there.
If the most vulnerable,
Hurting part of you could communicate,
What would it express?
How does this part of you want you to be with it?
Let your attention explore what is happening underneath.
What is behind this undesirable behavior or way of thinking?
Is there a need you were trying to satisfy or something you were trying to soothe within you?
Was there a need to be safe or cared for?
See if you can shift your attention to your situation with the eyes of compassion and identify an underlying part of the vulnerability that caused you to behave in a way that you now condemn.
All right?
Sensing yourself as a wise and caring witness,
Being with that vulnerable part of you.
Notice what you most need in order to allow yourself to heal,
To forgive,
To feel some relief.
And if you have any difficulty connecting with that part of you in any way,
Let yourself feel that too.
Sense what it feels like to keep your heart closed.
What is present for you when you restrict yourself from compassion by the weight of your own judgment?
See if you can extend that part of you a kind and gentle understanding.
Allow whatever images,
Feelings,
And sensations to fall into the space around your heart.
You might think of someone else that you care about and invite them into that space,
Connecting you with the known sense of loving kindness.
Keeping the intention to find even a small space to widen,
To open your heart.
Meet yourself with these words.
For the ways that I've hurt myself through action or inaction,
Out of fear,
Pain,
Or confusion,
I extend my heart in forgiveness.
For the ways that I have betrayed or abandoned myself in thought,
In word,
Or deed,
Knowingly and unknowingly,
Alongside any suffering that I have carried,
May it meet my heart with forgiveness.
And for any ways that I believe that I am not yet ready to forgive myself,
I will forgive myself when I am ready.
Take a few moments to simply sit with the intention to allow whatever wishes to be released to flow from you freely.
May the world meet you with kindness.
And may you meet the world with kindness.
Namaste.
