Tag Archives: Emotion

Meditation during times of immensely stressful situations – am I turning into a snail?!

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So …. once again, a long time since I posted anything. What can I say – it’s sad that when big stuff happens you either get inspired and create through your pain, or turn inwards, like retreating into a shell – and just cope! I have done the former in the past, but when things are too big it is far easier to do the snail thing – and that is where I have been lately – popping my head out every now and then, but more often retreating into my safe shell house!!

However on the plus side, during this on-going stressful time I have completed a Mindfulness Meditation course – very interesting – for a long time I have been aware of and attempted to spend more time in the ‘now’ – or the ‘present moment’ and if you can switch the mind off long enough and really ‘be’ in the moment it does feel ‘special’ and can be very calming. As I have discussed before, our thoughts of the past and the future can totally take us away from actually experiencing what is actually happening in that very moment. Whether it is missing a truly enjoyable moment while too busy planning the next thing, or supressing a very powerful negative feeling to prevent feeling the pain or dealing with the issue.

How does it compare to my normal meditation methods of Creative Visualisation?

Hmmm that has been very different because while ‘visualising pictures or colours’ or ‘changing feelings’ one is still using the mind to do something – it is busy and still ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’! Mindfulness Meditation involves focussing on the breath and returning constantly to the breath (this is the basic Meditation – there are other aspects which involve feeling and sending loving kindness and working on stressful physical and emotional feelings – however ultimately it comes down to constantly bringing thoughts back to the breath). THIS IS SO HARD!!! However once mastered (this could take your whole life – I am 2% of the way there) bringing awareness to the breath and the felt sense (feelings within the body) creates an amazing self-awareness, self acceptance and a healing transformation starts to permeate the mind and body. Every time something hurts whether physical or emotional, bringing ones attention to the feeling and the breath and the present moment helps to heal….amazing…..

Is it helping during my times of immensely stressful situations – YESSSS!! I would highly recommend it!!

p.s I’m not giving up the creative visualisation meditations – they will be back!

Love to all
xx Nicky xx

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Change the way you feel!

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So to live a content, happy and fulfilled life, we mainly want to feel emotions such as compassion, acceptance, love, gratitude, peace, enthusiasm, motivation, positivity, empowerment, forgiveness and hope.

But sometimes we can’t help but lose ourselves to the lower energy emotions such as fear, anxiety, disappointment, anger, frustration, pessimism, shame, sadness and bitterness.

It is normal, it is life, often driven by our egos, by past experiences, by attachments to possessions and people and a constant barrage of gloomy news and media driven expectations.

If we have a desire and have an intention to spend more time living the higher energy positive emotions, we can use relaxation, meditation and visualisation to help us achieve this:

  • Find a quiet place to sit or lie down, listening to some relaxing music and close your eyes
  • Take some nice deep breaths, allowing your body to relax with every outbreath.
  • Get a sense of what emotion it is you are feeling and whether you feel it in your head or anywhere else in your body.
  • Breathe into that area, and imagine you are letting it go, it is softening and releasing.
  • Use your intention to release the feeling, and on every outbreath notice it moving and letting go, see it leaving your body from wherever feels appropriate.
  • Sometimes it is helpful to imagine a jug of liquid gold light pouring into the top of your head and as it travels down your body it heals, moves and helps the negative feelings on their way – out of your body.
  • When that feels better, as you breathe in, draw in the positive feelings you want to experience. Say the positive emotions to yourself and keep breathing them in, allowing the feelings to fill your entire body.
  • Repeat for as long as you need, imagining the colours associated with those feelings and allow those colours to fill all your cells.
  • Enjoy the new feelings and make an intention to do this any time you need to change the way you feel.
  • When you are ready, take some awakening breaths and return slowly to the room and your day.

Have a happy day! Until next time.
lots of love
Nicky xxx

Release the negative self talk

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Haven’t we all experienced it? Some of us daily, hourly, minute by minute, some of us less so, but still they sometimes reoccur – the voices criticising, the judgement, the loss of self esteem – the voices affirming negative statements in our heads and we believe them, until we become aware of them and realise these are just thoughts that can be changed to allow us to move forwards and feel positive.

Using Visualisation can be a great way to change these thoughts from negative to positive:

  • Find a relaxed, calm place to sit or lie and listen to relaxation music if you like.
  • Close your eyes, take some relaxing breaths and continue until your body feels heavy and deeply relaxed.
  • Tune into your negative thoughts and be present with them for a moment.
  • Where in your body do you feel them and how do they make you feel?
  • On your outbreath, imagine you are shouting the negative words from where they originate and they flow out from your mouth.
  • You see the words landing on a large artists pad. Continue with as many as you need.
  • Now take a paint brush and using any colours you like and with a watery brush, paint over the words and they all run and become one messy page.
  • Toss that page into the bin, and on a fresh sheet, using appropriate colours, write all the positive feeling you want to experience.
  • Then as you breath in, take each positive emotion or statement one-by-one into your body and mind, and breathe it through every cell to the essence of your being. Really experience the feeling of that positive emotion.
  • Use statements to reinforce each emotion eg; I am happiness, I am forgiveness, I am acceptance, I am confident, I am calm, I am coping etc.
  • When complete take a nice big deep breath and feel attuned to those positive feelings.

    • Return to your day feeling uplifted, positive and happier.

    Enjoy! Until next time.
    lots of love
    Nicky xxxx