A spoken guided meditation encouraging listeners to bring mindful attention to their most challenging feelings and to repeatedly inquire what core needs those feelings point to. The session teaches gentle breathing, curiosity, and self-directed questions (e.g., "What do I need?") to cultivate self-care, self-compassion, and an ongoing lifestyle of caring for oneself; it closes with an informal prayer/blessing.
Foreign.
Guided meditation is for so many people, the best way to truly gain benefit in your response to personal challenges. As you invest in bringing your own experience to the guided meditations, you'll give yourself the best chance to change long standing patterns from suffering toward a state of well being, peace and healing. It's important to put yourself in a comfortable body position in a private space where you're not disturbed. Turn off your phone and be ready to really be alert.
Let yourself breathe as sensitively, naturally as possible. No need to force things. It may just be a subtle tweak of going a little slower, a little more rhythmic with the same rhythm. Ask what are you feeling either in this moment or or recently that is most challenging to you now? Notice the way the words are being spoken to you right now. There is a sense of caring about what you need. This is so important to help guide you. Take your time and keep reflecting until you're really clear about what you feel. Remember now and see if you can plant seeds forever that every challenging feeling has core needs that will guide you towards self compassion. Take a moment and ask, does this make sense to you? This connection between valuing your challenging feelings and then at the same time having the sensibility to ask what is my core need? Or what are my core needs that would best help take care of me when I'm in this feeling? Now this is only the beginning because identifying your core need doesn't automatically bring you there. But that's where we'll be going in all the future meditations. Again, every challenging feeling has core needs that will guide you toward self caring, self love, self trust, self empathy and self compassion. See if you can let this in because it's a revolutionary concept. Most of us feel a feeling and we just stay there. We don't have a voice that comes in and asks us how do we take care of ourselves? What do I most need? And this needs to be injected not only in your conscious mind, but in your unconscious so you know you want to care for yourself no matter what you feel. So return to your most significant challenging feeling and take a few moments to really feel it. Now, the more you can feel your feelings, the deeper you will go and the closer you'll be to the clue of what do I really need while I'm feeling this feeling? It could be starting with something like acceptance. Yes, it's okay that I feel like this. Now that might sound obvious, but recognize right now that it's very likely not the way you normally go. When you feel a feeling, you don't like you're adding a yes, it's okay, I feel this way. And this could lead you to realize, oh, I need to communicate this. Or I need to be gentle with myself while I feel this. Or perhaps I need to be stronger or empathic, courageous. Sometimes it's just trusting or being understood by someone else. Or perhaps even understanding yourself. Support your feeling now as you allow your body to breathe into where it's most affected and be inspired to be curious. Asking again and again, what do I need to best take care of myself? Allowing yourself to go deeply into this, you will start to enjoy the very taking care of yourself. And you'll realize that a difficult feeling is not a monopoly, it's the starting point. It gets to catalyze you to ask that question. How do I take care of myself? What do I need? Notice how you respond as you hear those words. See if you can enjoy yourself as you're curious. Because when you're in a difficult feeling, of course it's not going to be a joy, but there can be a subtle place of I'm actually learning how to care for myself. While I don't feel good, my mind is my friend. My mind can be my wisdom. Guiding me to my needs with a deep gentle breath recognizes curiosity as to how to best take care of yourself is like being your own best friend. It is an act of self love. Do you get that? And if you do, it'll be very motivating and not just once in a while. Not just as a hobby, but as a lifestyle. And for those that practice this more and more you can start to see the older you get, the wiser you can be, the more you can take care of yourself. And there's a lot to look forward to as you get older and wiser and more automatic in this way. Do you get that this is not a homework assignment. This is common sense that you we all have not been taught. It's a gift that you can give yourself. It is accessing your own guidance. At first it will feel a bit contrived, but it's being true to your nature to have great interest in your own quality of life. Let yourself end with an informal prayer. May I make this link from whatever challenges me to be drawn to, discover and dedicate myself to my needs. This is a blessing from your heart. May it be so.
