Resilience Meditation 07

Transcript

Today’s meditation starts with conscious relaxation. As we go deeper into the practice, I will ask you to recall moments in the past when you have shown true resilience. But first, let’s settle. Find a comfortable seated position. Remember that there’s no rule to say that you must meditate in the same posture every time you practice. Give yourself permission to find a posture that works for you today. Even if it’s not the same as yesterday, or the day before, in your own time, close the eyes. Place the hands and the knees or their legs. with palms facing down, starting at the tips of the toes become aware of the whole body. The awareness travels up through the feet and the legs, the hips and the abdomen you become aware of the chest the back the right arm and hand the left arm and hand become aware of the shoulders the neck and the jaw. The jaw relaxes notice the face and the head become aware of the whole body you are aware of the whole body sitting peacefully here the whole body is relaxed. The whole body is relaxed. As you sit here you feel a sense of calm and security. The rest of the day up to this point drops away.

There is nothing to do but be here in your practice and there is no pressure no where to go. No need to be anything but you however, and whoever you are in this moment when we feel overwhelmed we have a tendency to tell ourselves that we can’t cope that we can’t manage the challenges we’re faced with or that will never feel better. It is normal and perfectly okay to feel this way. And in these moments, you can use your past resilience to remind you of your strength. You are resilient it is proven So, bring to mind the time when you overcame something difficult or challenging. It may or may not have been similar to the challenges you face today.

But it was something that made you feel then that you couldn’t do it couldn’t handle it. couldn’t overcome it. And yet, with time you did handle it. You were resilient, you are still here. Hold this memory in your mind. The body is still relaxed and at ease. You breathe gently. You are safe. You have gained wisdom and strength as you’ve moved through your life so far.

And you arrive in this moment, right now, with that wisdom, and strength.

Your past resilience is evidence of your capacity for resilience in the present. And in the future. Only you know how much any given experience hurts or challenges you.

There is no shame in feeling overwhelmed or feeling as though you can’t cope. There is strength even in acknowledging those feelings instead of burying them in the hope that they weren’t resurface.

By acknowledging your struggles, whether they are caused by external events, or are rooted in your inner world, you give yourself permission to care for yourself and to seek support from others. If you’re still holding the memory of that past challenge in your mind, you can release it now. Your body can help you let it go.

Take a deep breath in and hold that breath inside for a few moments. Then let it go. As you let the breath go. You let the memory go. You return to the body in this moment. This same body was with you when you face challenging difficult things earlier in your life. Just as you can recall events with your mind. Your body holds memories within it. Your history exists within your muscles and bones, your organs, your heart. Using meditation practice to come to the present moment does not mean that the past doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean that nothing you’ve been through until this point doesn’t matter. And it doesn’t mean that the challenges you face in your life at the moment. Don’t matter. Practicing present moment awareness doesn’t wipe away your experiences. But it can give you some true rest. When you consciously arrive here in this moment in the body as it is now You allow yourself some time in which you’re not trying to solve anything.

This practice isn’t a place to solve problems or to make everything better. It’s a place of release of freedom and space to simply be you. You have the capacity to move through difficult experiences. Just as you have the capacity to move through joyful experiences. Notice the whole of the body again. The whole body is relaxed. Your practice is complete.

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