This Easter weekend many of us will be spending a lot of time with our families. Sometimes it is absolutely wonderful, sometimes not. Here is a brief meditation and exercise to help you feel in control of your reactions to family situations.
Throughout this meditation keep the intention that your family are neither good nor bad, regardless of what they say or do and that you control how you feel and react to the situation.
- Find a quiet comfortable place to meditate, turn off anything that will distract you (like your phone).
- Close your eyes and sit up straight with your hands open in your lap.
- Take a minute to breath deeply and relax.
- As you breath in imagine that you are breathing in calm acceptance.
- As you breath out imagine that stress and anxiety are leaving your body with every breath.
- Breath out stress, Breath in calm.
- When you are feeling settled, visualize yourself feeling calm, content and secure.
- Imagine yourself standing outside in a warm and comforting place.
- Imagine your feet are sending down roots into the very earth and you are pulling up strength and grace from the earth.
- Feel that this is a resource you can go back to at any time. Whatever you require you can pull up from the earth through these roots; whether you feel a need for calm or focus, love, strength or anything else.
- Now imagine yourself standing in a wild wind. At first you feel a like you are being pushed around by the wind, but you soon realize that the stronger the wind gusts the stronger your roots become.
- The stronger your roots become the more you are able to bend to the wind without breaking.
- Next PRACTICE
- Imagine a person you normally have difficulties with is standing in front of you.
- Imagine they are saying something that you do not like. (Don’t imagine the words they are saying, just the feeling you sometimes get around them.)
- Imagine and FEEL yourself pulling up patience calm and any skills you need through those imaginary roots.
- Know that you have control over how you react not over how they act.
- Allow yourself to really feel in control of the situation, your feelings and reactions.
- Allow yourself to bend with the situation, imagine that no matter what is thrown your way you are able to handle it.
- You feel calm and able to react in the manner you want to.
Practicing this will make it easier to remember to use this meditation instead of reacting out of habit.
As always, please feel free to change this meditation to suit your needs
Now having said all this my Hope is that you will have a Happy Healthy and conflict free Easter!