Withstanding The Storms Of Life

Hi,

I'm Nora Sophia.

Thank you for joining me for this meditation.

I want you to get in a space where you're comfortable.

Whether that's sitting down,

Lying down,

Just in a place where you can be at rest.

Now we're going to start our breath work.

So take a deep breath in,

Hold it for four,

And then breathe out gently.

Another breath in,

Hold it,

And then breathe out.

Breathing is a bridge that brings us back to center.

So often in life it seems that we can feel surrounded by very high stress that leads to feelings of overwhelm,

And it feels like those things are just impossible to get past.

It blocks our vision from being able to see clearly and to create.

The best way to see through these high stress situations is to be fully conscious,

To be doing our breath work,

To really be present in our own body.

Too often we can allow these situations to carry us away,

And they make these stressful situations debilitating,

Sometimes paralyzing even.

So we learn to use awareness to focus on our breath and our body,

Where we can bring ourselves back to the present moment that brings us clarity.

So let's honor our breath now and let it bring us back into the present moment.

We're going to take five significant and purposed breaths.

So I want you to fully inhale,

Expanding your belly and chest as much as you can.

We're going to hold it for a moment.

And then exhale,

Feeling a wave of relaxation just sweep over you.

We're going to inhale again,

Filling our entire breathing system with fresh oxygen.

And now just hold it.

And exhale,

The wave of relaxation gently sweeping over you.

And now inhale so that you're just brimming with so much air and you're holding it,

Soaking in all the oxygen.

And exhale,

Your body relaxes in different areas without any effort at all.

And now inhale,

Feeling these breaths purify your entire body.

And exhale,

Just noticing how you're feeling.

Inhale a beautiful breath coming in.

We hold it feeling invigorated by the oxygen.

And finally we exhale,

Allowing the relaxation to sweep over us.

I want you to take note of how you feel at this very present moment.

You now have an abundance of oxygen.

This is how we are created to feel.

Breathing deeply and fully is an expression of self compassion and self care.

Let the flow of your breath become so natural,

Noticing how abundance feels.

Good.

Good.

Now visualize yourself standing in a big field,

There's no one else around.

Everything is calm and peaceful.

You're surrounded by nature.

I want you to just have a seat in this beautiful meadow,

Looking around,

Noticing the beauty all around you.

And you are fully relaxed.

In the distance,

You see dark clouds closing in as the sky grows just a bit darker.

You might notice that a small storm is forming and you might feel some raindrops falling down.

Imagine that this storm is your stress.

It could be a mild stress with just some rain and a little wind or it could be a very high stress with extremely strong winds and a very heavy rain pouring down.

This visual,

We're going to face a very strong and powerful storm to make ourselves stronger within our spirit and our being.

So as you feel the storm getting even stronger and the winds blowing harder and harder,

I want you to just visualize yourself sitting there in the meadow completely unfazed by the storm,

By the winds.

The storm cannot hurt you here.

You have a choice to react to the storm with fear or with love and compassion,

Knowing that the storm is harmless in this visualization that we have created.

Stress is our reaction to fear,

Worry,

High demands in life.

Whether the fear is real or not,

We can learn the proper response to all these things.

Sometimes we can't help it,

Stress takes over,

Makes us feel helpless.

In a matter of seconds,

You feel and experience anxiety.

We must learn to handle it properly or it will handle us.

It's like sitting through the storm in this beautiful field.

We realize that stress cannot harm us if we know that it will be passing by,

It's a visitor,

Nothing more.

What matters is our response to the events and the people around us.

So now I want you to visualize really embracing the stress and fully let it exist without fighting it.

I want you to imagine the storm of stress in front of you.

I want you to see it.

It's dark,

The storm clouds are thick,

It's raining down with a fury.

And I want you to see yourself choose,

You decide in the moment to get up from where you were sitting and you slowly start walking toward it without fear,

Without worry,

Without anxiety,

Just pure confidence because you know that you are safe and you are in control of your emotions.

As you get closer and closer and the storm draws near,

You feel the wind blow with tremendous speed but the winds and even the rain has no effect on you.

You can easily step forward and continue walking into it.

And as you do this,

As you look forward,

You notice the eye of the storm and around that eye,

The winds and the rain are extremely powerful and strong yet there is nothing to worry about as we step inside the eye of the storm.

And as you stand inside the center,

You notice everything is calm and peaceful there.

You can look around from within the eye of the storm and you see all the chaos swirling around you but inside it's comfortable,

It's calm.

You're fully aware of you,

Your identity,

Who you are.

This is your space.

This is where all is well.

So when the stress of life comes,

When it is attempted to fully encapsulate you,

You have a choice.

You have a decision in that moment.

You can let it blow over without a fight,

Just sitting right in the middle of it,

Realizing it cannot hurt you.

You witness your body as the center and any stress is just a storm surrounding you that moves but you are always in control and you can always come back to this safe space.

And now the storm is losing its power.

It's dying down slowly.

The rain is easing.

You see the clouds drift away as the sky gets brighter.

You notice the sunlight peeking through the clouds as they pass by and eventually burst out with great intensity,

Shining the most beautiful sunlight all around you.

You notice the birds coming out and singing.

You even see butterflies and bees buzzing around the flowers that are blossoming now after the heavy rain.

Everything is beautiful now.

This moment represents you in your state of mind where stress had no control over you as it passed you by.

Now we're going to take three deep breaths in,

Slowly bringing ourselves back to the present moment.

So take in a nice full breath,

Full of fresh energy.

And then taking in all that you learned today.

With your final deep breath,

I want you to allow the memory of your strength through the storm to be fully present in your mind right now.

When you're ready,

Fully come back to the present moment.

I am so grateful for you taking this time to meditate with me.

Remember when the storms of life come,

There may be high winds and there may be heavy rain.

There may be a force that feels like it's chaotic and pushing you.

But you remember the peace within you is stronger than the most violent winds that that storm can hurl at you.

I've got this.

Namaste.