An amazing article to share by Willa Bylthe Baker
Meditation: Make Friends with Your Emotions
First, pause and take a few deep breaths. This helps us find the mental and emotional space to sit with whatever is arising.
Turn your attention away from the story behind the feeling toward the feeling itself.
Now turn your attention to your body. Where does this feeling live in your body—in your belly, heart, shoulders, back, neck, face, head? Explore the quality of the feeling there. Is it heavy, light, tight, constricted?
Next, breathe some space into the feeling. Your awareness, your self-compassion, flows into and around this space created by the breath. This gentle, kind attention comes alongside the feeling like a good friend might come alongside you when you need someone to listen. This attention is not there to fix anything or dismiss anything. It does not judge or label. It has no plans.
Now, welcome your feeling. You might even silently speak to it in our practice, saying something like, “I am not going to dismiss you or suppress you. I am just here to be with you. You are welcome here. I will be your friend.” We spend so much time fighting the presence of feelings, especially unpleasant ones. Notice how this kind of welcoming attention affects your feeling.
Trust your capacity to hold a space of welcoming and safety for your feeling. If you need to take a break at this point, you can. Sit with whatever happens. Stay open. Stay curious.
If you make a habit of this practice, you will gradually notice a shift. The feeling will begin to feel safe with you, and eventually it will begin to relax and open up. At that point, you can notice what it is like when the feeling liberates itself. Let go of the project of befriending and dwell in openness without effort. It is enough to stay here in the present moment, just as you are. This moment of awareness is luminous. This moment of awareness is spacious. This moment is free as it is.
To read the full article please visit Lion Roar: A Meditation to Befriend Your Feelings | Lion’s Roar (lionsroar.com)