Welcome.
In this meditation,
I'll guide you to bring up a situation you find habitually irritating and to use intentional breathing and pausing to respond to it,
To create an alternative to your habitual reaction.
Practice when the situation is not happening so that when it is,
The alternatives of breathing and pausing are more likely to come to mind,
Giving you other options.
It is possible to find space between the event,
Like someone cuts you off in traffic and your reaction,
Yelling.
When there is space,
You can respond rather than react because space equals choice.
I will ask you to feel physical sensations like feeling your skin against the surface,
To notice the difference between a thought,
My feet are on the floor,
And the wordless experience of feeling your feet,
Of being inside your own body.
You may feel nothing or a little bit of something.
You may have a lot of thoughts.
All normal.
Do your best as you will.
It's a practice like learning to play an instrument.
At the end of the meditation,
I say,
Be well.
Let's begin.
Settle into where you are physically,
Sitting or standing.
Bring attention to where you are rooted.
Your feet.
Are you wearing socks?
Feel skin against socks.
Barefoot?
Feel skin against whatever surface.
Now,
Notice your breath.
And we're going to breathe in deeply and hold that at the top for a moment.
So,
Breathe in deeply and hold that breath at the top for a moment,
Then exhale for longer than you inhaled.
And do it one more time.
Now,
Pause.
From the inside,
Feel yourself breathing and rooted.
From this place,
Bring to mind the irritating situation.
Not the worst,
But something that occurs consistently,
Where you react without thinking,
Where you believe there is no space between the event and your reaction.
As I mentioned earlier,
Something like someone cuts you off in traffic and you immediately swear or yell.
In whatever way that works for you,
Bring that situation to mind.
We are not all visual thinkers.
So,
If you feel it or have some sense of it,
That's fine.
But do not get involved in the story even though it will surely arise.
Note it,
But don't add to it.
When feelings of anger and annoyance arise,
Note them,
But do not add to them.
It's as if you're in your body next to the experience,
Watching,
As if you were a kind and curious observer.
Now,
Note where irritation and impatience live in your body.
Where do you feel irritation?
In your throat?
In your chest?
Where is annoyance?
When you locate it,
Placing your hand where you know it is or gently on your heart if it is not clear can be soothing.
Feel free at any time to soothe yourself.
And feel,
Really feel what it's like to be with,
Be next to this irritating experience.
If at any time you feel overwhelmed or distressed,
Just pause the meditation and do some intentional breathing until you feel regulated.
So with the situation in mind beside you,
Bring your attention back to where you are rooted,
To your feet.
Because you are here with the body,
Sitting or standing,
This experience is not happening now,
But the body has the experience of it.
Notice that space between you and the situation,
No matter how narrow.
If you can,
Sense into the space between the event and your observation of it.
It may not be obvious and that's okay.
As you feel your body sitting or standing,
Your feet on the ground,
Breathe in and as you exhale,
Let that breath be longer than your inhale.
Breathe that way again.
And as you exhale,
Expand beyond your skin as a boundary.
Feel into,
Breathe into a permeable space around you and into that space between you and the situation.
This space is welcoming and alive.
Our skin is not a barrier,
It is permeable.
Expand into that space.
Breathe in again and breathe out.
And as you expand again,
Push that boundary so that the situation is within this animate energy,
This welcoming,
Alive space.
You and the situation are enveloped in an enlivening,
Generous energy.
I'll give you a short space to breathe and sense.
If you don't sense anything,
No worries,
Just breathe.
You may have thoughts coming and going,
Just allow.
As much as you can,
When you find yourself caught,
Just come back to breathing.
Now,
As we come to the end,
Note what it felt like to observe the situation that causes irritation,
But not to be engaged in a story,
Adding to a story or nurturing more irritation.
Thank yourself for being present in whatever way you were present.
Do you feel a bit more ease,
A bit more peace no worries,
If not,
Just take your time.
Come back to this meditation and others I've created and keep practicing.
So again,
Breathe in deeply and at the top of the breath,
Hold it for a moment and exhale for longer than you inhaled.
Thank you so much for practicing with me,
Be well.
