In our technological world there are some everyday opportunities to wake up. I am often on the computer or answering the phone to reply to or communicate with clients and colleagues and I try to use this time as an opportunity to wake up and practice some mindfulness.

I will set the intention to take 1-3 intentional breaths, just sensing and the breathing and feeling the body before answering the phone or checking the email. I hear the ring, I take a moment to center myself and breath and after I have completed my 1-3 breaths I answer (same thing works for email, after we hear the alert go off.) Often, this creates a more present and engaged communication as well, as i have taken some time to come into the present.

If you are anything like me, you receive multitudes of emails and phone calls, and this will give you plenty of time to practice coming back and touching your own experience before engaging in contact with another. Often we will forget to take our mindful breaths, and this is ok too…this is part of the practice. As we remember we come back and do the practice before each phone ring and email ping. Over and over again coming back to ourselves, our experience and from this more centered place reaching out to engage people and our world.

Waking up bit, by bit, patiently and gently. I find this makes for a kinder and gentler experience in our workday, as there is often so much aggression and rushing in our high speed technological society. Give it try.

Please enjoy the following streaming audio of a guided mindfulness and forgiveness exercise. This practice will help you begin to unwind the chronic tension in the mind and body around unfinished business with a person you feel has hurt you. Please pick something of fairly low emotional intensity to work with at first (this is explained in more detail in the recording.) We want this to be a gentle compassionate process. This exercise has been a fruitful one for my clients and I hope it is helpful to you.

Please use your discretion when using any of the guided meditations/exercises I present here. If you ever feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable discontinue the exercise. The most effective way of working with this would be with the help or support of a qualified therapist. Keep in mind that forgiveness is a progressive process and you may not feel you can completely open to or arouse and kind of heartfelt quality of forgiveness during the exercise. Approach the person, situation, or memory with gentleness and take your time. Bit by bit, moment by moment, practice by practice we can learn to let go of our pain, resentment, rage, sadness, and other types of suffering. Regular practice is required to feel the full benefits of the exercise.

Therapists and healers please feel free to link this or distribute to your clients.

Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for the next 20 minutes or so and follow along with the audio.

This is also available streaming from my website, downloadable as an mp3, or you can subscribe to this as a podcast/feed from this page.

Forgiveness is at the heart of developing compassion. Many of us carry around memories of actions, decisions, and words we have used against ourselves, and against others. We may also carry the memories and stories of how we have been hurt by others. Over time these have solidified into contraction in the mind and chronic tension in the body. Until we let ourselves feel this, and allow ourselves to forgive ourselves for how we have hurt ourselves, how we have hurt others, and begin to forgive those who have hurt us, we cannot move towards freedom and happiness.

A first step here is often to catalog those things we wish to forgive ourselves for or wish to forgive others for. It is helpful to write these down, perhaps in a journal. Look at each item and notice the felt sense in your body. Is there tension around your heart? Perhaps in your belly or jaw, sadness or the tingling of excitement or anxiety… observe your reaction. Our bodily felt sense can tell us alot about what we are carrying emotionally.

Are these memories, stories, situations that you are really willing to let go of? Do you feel ready to at least attempt forgiveness? If so put a check mark next to each one you feel ready to face and make your best attempt at forgiveness/self-compassion.

I will be posting another audio feed/downloadable podcast soon that will be a guided mindfulness exercise on forgiveness. This is a tool which you can apply to one or more of these memories you have chosen to direct forgiveness towards. Look, or should I say listen for that soon.

Warm regards,

David