Who makes your heart sing? Sensing into the presence of someone who loves us deeply, who offers us unconditional kindness, may help us connect to present-moment feelings of gladness. This may be someone we know personally, or anyone we look up to as a source of care and comfort.
In this guided meditation with Sean Fargo, we’re invited to bring to mind one such person, and to sense into the gladness we feel when in their (imagined) presence. We explore that gladness as a sensation in the body and breath. By doing so, we become more familiar with it, and thus potentially more aware of its presence in everyday life.
Please listen in a safe, quiet place where you can be relatively free from distraction. Practice with eyes opened or closed, in a posture that balances comfort with alertness. May this meditation be of benefit to you in your practice.
Sponsored by our Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification: MindfulnessExercises.com/Certification
In this guided meditation, Sean invites us to bring to mind a person who has supported us, inspired us, or otherwise been an example for us. Someone who makes us feel glad or joyful when we think about them. However, it’s not uncommon to struggle with identifying such a person. And yet, with a little investigation, most of us can find someone.
None of us would be living in this moment, as we are right now, without the support of someone who has offered us in-person care or who has served as an inspiration. For you, this could be a parent or guardian, a teacher, counselor or kind neighbor. Perhaps a stranger once lent you a hand or a smile when you needed it most.
We might also begin with a mindfulness role model. Who do you know who embodies presence, acceptance, loving-kindness and compassion? A very real person may come to mind, a historic figure such as Jesus or the Buddha, or a higher power. You might even feel inspired by your own future, content and healed self.
In the second part of the meditation, we explore the feeling of gladness that arises when in the presence of such a person. This too, may present us with challenges. Gladness, cheer, joy and happiness can be foreign sensations. We may feel it is indulgent or selfish to dwell in such a state.
Sensing into gladness and becoming more open to joyful emotions can be a subtle practice. As we open to it, we may notice our sense of separateness soften and feel more connected to the present moment.
Explore the sensation of gladness, and the role of those who model it, with these additional free mindfulness resources:
- Podcast: Modeling Mindfulness with Sean Fargo
- Blog: Is it Selfish to Want Happiness?
- Blog: 8 Quotes & Videos to Help You Awaken Joy
- Meditation Script: Reflecting On A Role Model
- Meditation Script: Cultivating Joy
- Meditation Script: Noticing What Brings You Joy Script
- Mindfulness Worksheet: Cultivating Joy
- Audio: Loving Kindness for Our Benefactor
- Audio: Altruistic Joy
About Sean Fargo:
Sean Fargo is a former Buddhist monk who founded Mindfulness Exercises and leads the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification.
