Guided Meditation - Addressing upsetting, stressful thoughts
A guided meditation in the spirit and traditional format of Plum Village.
If this is your first time experiencing one of my guided meditations, consider first visiting A Guide to the Guideds, which offers brief background and a few simple suggestions.
Photo by David W. Levin; Estes Park, CO, 2024
An audio version of this guided meditation may be found below.
If I can say anything to you, it is to invite you to look deeply and recognize the real enemy. That enemy is not a person. That enemy is a way of thinking that has brought a lot of suffering for everyone. This is an opportunity for us to sit down, be calm, and do just that—identify the real enemy and seek ways to remove it.
Thich Nhat Hanh, from the book “Peace Begins Here”
Breathing in, I recognize my very-human tendency to be upset about situations beyond my control
Breathing out, I draw calm from my practices and community helping me to handle such feelings
Human tendencies…drawing calm (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I see ways in which concerning thoughts can appear to magnify and multiply
Breathing out, I smile, understanding I have the ability to focus on just one arrow at a time
Concerning thoughts…ability to focus (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I sense how my body often responds to stressful thoughts
Breathing out, I take refuge in my techniques to help my body process and heal
Body responding…body healing (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I observe with tenderness the impulse to avoid or numb myself from discomfort
Breathing out, I summon the protective energies of compassion, knowing that I have the ability to positively respond
Tenderly observing…summoning protective energies (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I allow myself to consider unwelcome outcomes that may result from negative situations
Breathing out, I envelop those thoughts with my understanding of impermanence – how all things change
Considering outcomes… impermanence (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I imagine ways in which impermanence means positive change is possible
Breathing out, I gain strength from how the universe is always in a state of emerging, of creation
Imagining positive change … always emergence (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I’m aware that I’m breathing in
Breathing out, I’m aware that I’m alive and thus have the gift of helping shape the world to come
Aware of breath…aware of the gift (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I imbibe all sources of positive energy
Breathing out, I gently expel elements that are unhelpful or limiting
Taking in positivity… expelling limitations (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I know I’m not alone
Breathing out, I feel deeply my presence in the larger Sangha body
Not alone…place in the Sangha (invite the bell)
Breathing in, I sense the farthest perimeter of my body and spirit
Breathing out, I expand exponentially in Sangha, multiplying many thousands-fold
Individual perimeter…expanding exponentially (invite the bell)
I am reluctant to say that I am on your side, that I support you wholeheartedly, and will do everything you want me to do. I am not ready to take sides like that.
I would ask, "Yes, I am ready to take your side, but are you ready to take my side? I am a human being like you. Do you know what my side is? It is that suffering must stop. I agree with you that there must be something that can and should be done to stop the suffering. I want to act, I want to have compassion, but I don't want to act out of anger, violence, and discrimination. If you take my side, I will be with you one hundred percent."
When you support someone, you bring your whole being to support him or her. In your being is your wisdom and compassion. Without that wisdom and compassion, you cannot support someone.
I believe that there are many ways to stop the suffering, and to help the so-called enemies stop suffering too. For me, there is a path that is quite clear. If we keep the poisons of despair, anger, and violence within us, we will continue to suffer, and whatever action we take will not benefit anyone.
That is why to go to the mountain, to lie down, and allow the water of compassion to transform you and remove these poisons from you is so crucial. I am not here on the mountain to ask the gods to join me in fighting my enemies. I am here to allow the gods to help me remove the poisons of violence, fear, despair, and anger. Then I know that when I go home as a new person I can help many people, because now I am equipped with the elements of understanding, compassion, serenity, and solidity.