Especially for those 2am wakeups when my mind is spinning out, catastrophisizing the problem de jour. Repeating…
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be free.
…calms me right down.
I always forget about it and then remember again and I’m like oh yeah that’s why I’m not normal. You can write this into your journal every day to hold yourself accountable and keep track of your moods. You can look up safe calm place meditation on YouTube but it’s essentially a visualization technique where you imagine a place where you can be safe and totally at ease and the sensory experience of that—mine was a grassy meadow with a stream of running water and cows mooing nearby. The more you build it up and return to it the more powerful it can become when you need it. I really enjoy Tara Brach’s body scan meditations and her felt smile meditation too. These are all for trauma obviously and the TICES log isn’t really relevant, but they could be really helpful for stress too I think because most of them are just basic elements of well being and awareness. I need to get back on this myself in these trying times…
