This morning I woke up with that residual ick from a bad dream–the kind you can’t shake off right away. It felt like I was underwater in an unfamiliar ocean. (Maybe it feels different to you? Please share if it does! I’d love to hear what this experience is like for you.)
A couple hours into my day I found it was still haunting me. Something was keeping my mind from feeling free. So I set up a little activity for myself–a meditation.
The meditation is below. I’ll also post a video of it so you can follow along and pause when you need to, but here’s the transcript for you to get started.**
Clearing Mind Clutter Meditation
I invite you to close your eyes or if that feels unsafe, to soften your gaze.
Start to notice your breath.
Try to notice it without judgment. With curiosity. Is it fast or slow, deep or shallow?
Notice how you feel in your seat. Can you feel your feet? Is there any part of you that’s uncomfortable?
Continue noticing your breath, slowly allowing deeper, slower breaths as you feel comfortable.
Slowly scan your body starting with your toes and moving up all the way past your chest/heart space, past your throat, and into your head.
Is there a part of you that hurts? Are there parts of you that feel free/good/neutral? Ask this with curiosity.
Imagine yourself sitting in a chair at a table. It should be a table that feels good to you, whether it’s your dining room table or a craft table you sat at when you were five years old, or something you just made up.
Imagine your chair. How does it feel to sit in it? Is it soft? Supportive?
Now tune into your mind. Is there anything that your mind feels stuck on today? Is there anything that feels like your mind can’t get past? Is there a color, shape, word that you can assign to this thing? Try to associate it with a physical object, maybe something you are neutral toward–so not your favorite thing in the world, but not your least favorite either.
When you’ve assigned it a shape, imagine physically taking that object out of your brain, plucking it out. Imagine it comes out easily, without struggle.
Place it on the table in front of you.
Do this for as many brain-sticky-objects you need. Just keep plucking them, pulling them out one by one. And place them on the table.
Now take a look at each object. Imagine holding one. Imagine how it feels in your hand. Remind yourself that you’re safe, at this table. That the object is no longer inside your mind. Ask yourself, what role is this object playing right now? Is it trying to tell me something?
What does the act of separation from self do to the object? How does observing it change it?
You may not know the answers to these questions. And that’s ok. When you’re ready, you can decide what to do with the objects. Do you feel like you need to hold onto them? If so, you can leave them here, on this table, knowing you can come back to them anytime, and that also you don’t need to carry them with you all the time. Are there any that you can dispose of at this point? If so, take a moment to decide how you want to mentally dispose of each object. Each one may require something different–throwing it in your mental compost bin or garbage can or just throwing it so hard it’s no longer in the earth’s orbit. It’s up to you to decide!
When this act feels complete (or complete for now, knowing you can return to it anytime), take a couple intentional breaths. Begin to pay attention to how your feet feel and how you feel in your seat. And when you’re ready you can open up your eyes.
**It can feel super clunky to move between a meditation and reading what’s on your screen. I will record and post this, but in the meantime, if you don’t cringe at the sound of your recorded voice, try reading the transcript out loud in your Voice Notes and then play it back for yourself. If you’ve never tried it, you may surprise yourself at how empowering your own voice can be.
