Meeting The Needs Of That We Don't Want To Feel.

30:13

30:13

Meeting The Needs Of That We Don't Want To Feel.

by Sonja Lockyer

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

4

For a moment, can we be with the feelings we are working so hard to reject and allow them to be here? If we come into a relationship with their charge, can we ask them what it is that they want, that they need? And how would it feel to receive the support of your future self who knows this place so well and knows you are love?

Emotional Awareness Self Inquiry Loving Kindness Rain Technique Body Awareness Breath Awareness Future Self Nature Connection Emotional Resistance Future Self Visualization

Meet your Teacher

Poole, UK

Meet your Teacher

Poole, UK

Transcript

So, Welcome, Welcome, And a real sense of spring being here today. So wherever you are, Before we begin the practice, If there's any nature that you can see or light that you can see, Just let's take a moment to absorb that and a little bit of support from the natural world. And as you're doing that, You might feel into your body, And if there's any movements that would be helpful, If like us here this morning, You might have just woken up, So you can circle or stretch or wriggle, Or whatever would feel helpful to come into your body, With loving kindness. Loving kindness is our intention for today, So it begins right here with how you meet yourself in your seat. And then you might naturally feel the sense of stillness coming as you begin to settle. For our practice today, I thought we could get curious around the RAIN model of meditation as offered by Tara Brack. So we'll begin by finding our seat and feeling the ground, Giving yourself permission to become heavy, Allowing your breath to move, Maybe through your nose, Noticing how that breath is, How it feels. The simple act of noticing your breathing often changes your breathing. The relationship of awareness and breath has impact. And coming into your heart space, Invoking your awareness to move towards loving kindness. It's already here, You don't have to go out and get it. It's here within you. So we're going to investigate a feeling of something that we've noticed that we're resisting feeling. Resisting feeling shows up in many different ways, Like being over busy or blue to the phone. It can show up in the way we are in relationships, Creating drama rather than stillness. We might consume more than is good for us, Food or drink or gossip. We might get obsessive, There's many, Many ways that we resist feeling something. Oftentimes, What we're resisting can mask itself as many things that usually comes down to sorrow, Or grief, Or perhaps vulnerability. So we're approaching our practice with loving kindness, You don't have to go to the most dreadful feeling, But maybe there's something alive for you that you notice you are resisting feeling. We just open up a little window to let it be here, You can turn away any time if it's too much. Entitrate it, Feel it and then come back and go toward it and come back, Get to, Choose the experience. The first R of RAIN is to recognize. I recognize that I have been avoiding feeling and if you can't find anything to work with, For me, At the moment, I'm recognizing that I'm avoiding feeling vulnerable. It's difficult to allow the feeling of vulnerability. I can feel the charge with that and you'll notice when you find your thing, There's little charge that comes with it and then we move towards allowing and in allowing we take that feeling, Return toward it with a welcoming smile and say yes, You belong, You belong here with me, You're part of me, I allow you to be here. And sometimes the resistance to allowing can be strong and so then we work with the resistance to allowing and say okay, I see you and you belong, I won't push you away, You can be here too. Then we move toward being curious and investigating this feeling that you're resisting. Where do you feel it in your body? Why do you notice it? Is it on the map of your physical being? If you were to find that feeling that you're resisting in your body, Does it have a temperature or a texture or just an overall sense of a feeling? If it were a weather system, What kind of weather would it be? And if you can find it and you turn toward it, The feeling and ask, What do you want? What is it that you want? And then ask again, What is it that you need? And maybe, Maybe it's a little bit clearer now, This feeling that you've been avoiding. What it wants and what it needs, They're often two different things. So really acknowledging, I hear you, I hear what you want and I hear what you need. And we come to the end of rain, Nurture and perhaps we invite some support in. Maybe it's our future self. You can picture her, The you of 10 years from now, As she comes to be with you, To be with this feeling and bring exactly what is needed. Maybe you noticed the clothes she's wearing. Maybe you look into her eyes, How they look at you, How they see you. She knows this feeling well. She knows what it needs and she has it for you. Allowing yourself to be nurtured and to nurture a feeling that has been so difficult to be with. Then letting the practice go and coming back to your immense heart of loving kindness. Perhaps bringing your hands to your heart, Feeling your feet on the floor. So we offer the fruits of our practice to ourselves, To one another and to all beings. And take your time, Take your time to come back into the room. Thank you for being here.