Dr. Diana Hill:
This meditation is a practice in perspective taking, which
Dr. Diana Hill:
I'm Dr.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Diana Hill, and I'm going to be guiding you through this practice
Dr. Diana Hill:
Story connect with the greater whole and take a different
Dr. Diana Hill:
Go ahead and find a comfortable position with your eyes closed.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You can lie down for this exercise.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You can sit up against a wall or you can be in a formal meditation practice.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Whatever is most comfortable for you
Dr. Diana Hill:
Begin by bringing awareness to you right now, here in the present moment.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And we can bring awareness from the outside, moving in.
Dr. Diana Hill:
So start by noticing sounds in the room around you or sounds outside of the room.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Move to other senses like temperature and touch.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Notice the temperature of the air on your skin
Dr. Diana Hill:
And notice where your body is making contact with your clothes, the floor, or.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And moving from the outside to the inside, bring awareness to
Dr. Diana Hill:
In this present moment, we can bring awareness to the movement
Dr. Diana Hill:
Noticing where it initiates from what parts of your
Dr. Diana Hill:
And allow your breath to be like this landing pad that brings
Dr. Diana Hill:
Right here.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Right now.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You can also bring awareness to other aspects of your inner experience,
Dr. Diana Hill:
Noticing any areas that feel relaxed.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Noticing any areas that feel expansive.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Just bring awareness to this inner landscape, this
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you also have inside of your body a mind, a mind that may
Dr. Diana Hill:
Maybe still caught up on what happened right before this moment.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Maybe thinking about this very exercise and just notice the
Dr. Diana Hill:
Does it feel expansive?
Dr. Diana Hill:
What is it's speed?
Dr. Diana Hill:
And what are some of its problems?
Dr. Diana Hill:
So oftentimes we have problems that are looping around in our mind that
Dr. Diana Hill:
And we do all sorts of things to try and solve these problems of the mind.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Solve the problems of our experience.
Dr. Diana Hill:
We avoid them.
Dr. Diana Hill:
We ruminate on them.
Dr. Diana Hill:
We numb them.
Dr. Diana Hill:
But what I'd like for you to do right now is allow one of those problems to be
Dr. Diana Hill:
What's up for you?
Dr. Diana Hill:
What's a problem that you've been trying to solve or get rid of or avoid?
Dr. Diana Hill:
And allow yourself and your mind to start to describe that problem.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Sometimes it can feel like a well-worn road.
Dr. Diana Hill:
This problem feels so familiar
Dr. Diana Hill:
And it may have some feelings associated with it, some imagery, some thoughts.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And I'd like for you, if you can, imagine that you're sitting
Dr. Diana Hill:
You're on the X marks the spot of right here right now in this moment with this
Dr. Diana Hill:
This hard thing.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feel the weight of the hard thing in this moment and how present it is for you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And I'd like for you to imagine that on this X marks the spot line of your
Dr. Diana Hill:
This timeline.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And to the right of you, it travels all the way forward in time to past
Dr. Diana Hill:
So here you are at X marks the spot.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And this problem feels big and it feels relevant and it feels important.
Dr. Diana Hill:
It has a weight.
Dr. Diana Hill:
It has a shape.
Dr. Diana Hill:
It resides in your body in a certain way.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And it shows up for you in your life right now.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And I'd like for you to imagine that you could get up and walk along the
Dr. Diana Hill:
Another time when there was something that was difficult for you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Maybe you were younger.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You were a child.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And there's probably lots of times that you could think of, but maybe
Dr. Diana Hill:
Like this problem is old, most likely.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And maybe there was a time where you felt something similar to this.
Dr. Diana Hill:
It had a similar flavor to it.
Dr. Diana Hill:
For some people, it may be a flavor of not good enough.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Or being left out.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Not belonging.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Worry.
Dr. Diana Hill:
But choose a time back in time when you had a problem and it was hard for you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And what I'd like for you to do is imagine that version of you at that
Dr. Diana Hill:
Imagine them, wherever they were at that point in their life, what were they doing?
Dr. Diana Hill:
How were they dressed?
Dr. Diana Hill:
See if you can bring up as much detail about them as you can, as if
Dr. Diana Hill:
Where would they be located?
Dr. Diana Hill:
And walk back in time as if you were walking back to that version of you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And as you walk back to that version of you, you start to see that
Dr. Diana Hill:
How hard it was to be you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And how entangled you were in it.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And as you look back on that version of you, I want you to imagine that you
Dr. Diana Hill:
And when they see you, they look in your eyes and they can tell that you know.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You know what it's like to be them unlike anyone else would ever know.
Dr. Diana Hill:
So you look at them and they see you and you see them and you see them
Dr. Diana Hill:
In the thing that is hard.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And as you look at them, notice just what it feels like in your body
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you can say, I know, I know.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And breathe.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you sit down right next to them.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Or maybe reach out and hold their hand.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Or maybe put your hand on their cheek or their head or wherever feels just right.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you give them some words.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You say some things to them about what it is that, you know now,
Dr. Diana Hill:
And breathe
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you take their hand.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feel it in yours.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feel the connection.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you travel with them back along the timeline.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Back along the timeline.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Back to the X marks the spot.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you have a seat and they sit down right up next to you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You feel their presence on your left side
Dr. Diana Hill:
And with their presence on their left side you come back into your problem.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Your struggle.
Dr. Diana Hill:
In the here and now.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Knowing that this is potentially old for you, it's been around for a while,
Dr. Diana Hill:
And having your younger self with you at your side.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Noticing what that feels like, how it may feel a little different having
Dr. Diana Hill:
And as you sit here, you look off to the right to the timeline of your life.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you begin to notice that walking towards you is an
Dr. Diana Hill:
20 years down the road.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you can notice how they walk.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Notice their hair and their skin that's been seasoned by life.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Notice what they're wearing.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And notice what it feels like when they catch you in the eyes.
Dr. Diana Hill:
They know.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And only they know what it's like to be you and the struggles
Dr. Diana Hill:
So as they walk towards you, as they come up, you can feel that presence
Dr. Diana Hill:
And when they get up close, they look at you and say, I know.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And breathe.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And take it in.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And maybe they put out their hand into your hand or touch
Dr. Diana Hill:
And they sit down right up next to you and they tell you a few
Dr. Diana Hill:
And listen.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And breathe.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And drink it in.
Dr. Diana Hill:
So that here you sit, X marks the spot.
Dr. Diana Hill:
You and your life right now with the things that are hard.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And right up next to you sits your past, for which you have compassion
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feel that presence of your past and everything that
Dr. Diana Hill:
And right up next to you on the other side is your future.
Dr. Diana Hill:
A future self that has compassion for you now.
Dr. Diana Hill:
That cares for you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
That wants the best for you.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And that understands.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And here you are in the present moment with more perspective.
Dr. Diana Hill:
More compassion.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And you can tell yourself.
Dr. Diana Hill:
I know.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Taking in your deepest breath.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feeling that wisdom from the inside, fill you up as you inhale.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feeling that wisdom and circle you like a cocoon as you exhale.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Feeling compassion from the left.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Compassion from the right.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Compassion from the inside out and from the outside in.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Breathe in compassion.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Breathe out compassion.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And as this meditation and visualization comes to an end, I encourage you to
Dr. Diana Hill:
use these allies, the ally of your past and the ally of your future, to remind
Dr. Diana Hill:
Take perspective.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And trust the wisdom that you already have.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Expanding your awareness to sensations in your body and your breath.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Just that simple movement of the breath.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Expanding your awareness to temperature in the room and sounds.
Dr. Diana Hill:
And when you're ready, you expand your awareness by gently opening your eyes.
Dr. Diana Hill:
Eyes wide open with greater perspective, greater self-awareness and compassion and
