To listen to the guided version of this meditation, please click here.
This guided, visualization meditation will hopefully help you release any thoughts + feelings that maybe you grasp onto too tightly.
So take a moment to get comfortable. Lie down on a mat or in bed or even on the floor. You may choose to take a seat in a chair or on the floor.
Start with a few deep breaths. Big, belly breath in through the nose; hold at the top; open the mouth - big sigh out + let it go. Two more like that.
Deep breath low into the belly. Pause for a moment at the top. Release.
Slow intentional inhale. Pause. Long exhale to let it go.
I want you to picture your favorite river or stream. Maybe it’s in your favorite local park or a place you’ve once visited. Maybe it’s a stream in your own backyard. Picture yourself there.
Coming up to the stream… the water is trickling down, rushing down. It’s a beautiful, sunny day. Step into the water.
The water only comes up about shin deep, knee deep. As you’re standing in the water, simply observe + notice any thoughts + feelings that come up.
Often times we hold on to - we grasp - thoughts + feelings that make us anxious + worried + sad + lost. Rather than holding onto those thoughts, we’re going to picture them in that river that you’re standing in. Just simply let them float by.
They come up one side of the body - float right on by, through your center, + continue on down the river. The next thought or feeling that brings anxiety - just let it float, let it flow, let it keep on passing by.
You can imagine if you keep holding onto that thought - if you reach down in the water + grab onto that thought or feeling… if it’s strong enough, it starts to pull you downstream.
As you are pulled downstream, you go deeper + deeper into the water. And of course, it’s easier said than done to simply let go of that thought… but just try.
Whenever you catch yourself in that cycle, come back to this visualization. Standing in the river, knee deep, shin deep - just letting that thought, that feeling swim on by. If you start to feel like you’re getting pulled downstream, release what you can. Come back upstream a little.
Feel the water on your feet, against your ankles, the calves, the shins, maybe just approaching to the knees. At this level we can still see those thoughts - we can still feel those feelings. But we don’t need to attach to them. We still have enough groundedness in the earth that the flow of the river won’t drag us down. We just let those thoughts + feelings flow with the river.
On those days when there are a lot of thoughts swooshing by the ankles, maybe just take the gaze up. Don’t even look in the stream + river! Look at everything around you. Notice the trees; are there other people in the park? The blue sky, the bright sun; listen for birds chirping, dogs barking, people chatting.
It’s really easy to get stuck staring down into that river - holding onto those thoughts + feelings of anxiety + depression + worry + fear + lack. Those feelings are totally normal - totally ok to have. Can we just detach a little from them?
Take one cleansing breath. Big, belly breath in through the nose. Hold at the top. Open mouth - easy sigh out. Let it all go.
I hope you can come back to this visualization the next time you feel like you’re waist deep, chest deep, neck deep in the water. Remember - just let the river flow.