Finding Joy In Hard Times ✨ Sleep Meditation

[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Carissa Vacker and welcome back to Sleep Wave, a podcast where we let waves

[00:00:16] of relaxation wash over you through original sleep meditations created to help you fall

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[00:01:32] I had the loveliest conversation with an old friend the other day. It's ironic that it was lovely because she and I are both going through some tough things.

[00:01:37] She a divorce, and for me, cancer treatment.

[00:01:42] She and I have been friends for years but have also lived in different cities for much

[00:01:46] of that time, so have gone long stretches without speaking.

[00:01:50] We reconnected around my diagnosis and just after she shared the news of her impending

[00:01:54] divorce, so have been sending each other encouragement throughout the last few months.

[00:02:00] What made our conversation so healing the other day, though, was that we were able to

[00:02:04] laugh about the painful and awful things that have happened recently.

[00:02:09] There is a certain beauty in accepting what is happening and just laughing about it all for a bit

[00:02:14] with someone else who can really truly understand and hold space for you.

[00:02:19] While I don't wish these kinds of life challenges on anyone,

[00:02:23] we all have to face hard things in this life.

[00:02:25] And when they come, it's good to have some tools in your back pocket for how to handle

[00:02:30] them.

[00:02:31] An author I've worked with in my audiobook narration work reached out to me and said

[00:02:36] that she helped both of her daughters through breast cancer and that the key that helped

[00:02:40] them all was, ironically, finding the joy and laughter.

[00:02:45] It seems such a strange thing to try to find something to laugh about in the face of grief

[00:02:50] or fear or pain, but I promise you that joy is there, sitting side by side next to pain.

[00:02:59] I remember when my dad was in hospice and close to passing, my mom and sister and I

[00:03:04] shared some of the most unexpected belly laughs.

[00:03:08] It's like our bodies need to balance the scales.

[00:03:11] Sorrow and joy are opposite sides of the same coin.

[00:03:17] Meditation also helps us reconnect with joy in hard times.

[00:03:20] When you slow your thoughts, you also slow your reaction to the thoughts.

[00:03:25] And it's in our reactions that we can get stuck.

[00:03:28] If you can make it a practice to let the thoughts come and go without reacting to them while you said in meditation,

[00:03:36] then you give yourself relief.

[00:03:38] You gift yourself peace.

[00:03:40] You are present in this moment, not at all needing to answer the questions or worries

[00:03:46] or concerns that like to ping around in the mind. Whether or not life is challenging for you in the

[00:03:53] moment, this meditation will help us all find this simple joy and relief that comes with stillness.

[00:04:00] Take a deep cleansing breath and let yourself drift to sleep too.

[00:04:06] Finding Joy in Hard Times by Billy Gill.

[00:04:20] No one in life gets only joy without any sorrow, and no one gets only sorrow without any joy.

[00:04:27] Both are intrinsic parts of the human experience.

[00:04:31] The chances are very good

[00:04:33] that if you're listening to this, you are a human being.

[00:04:36] There is something fundamental about your existence,

[00:04:39] and in at least some capacity,

[00:04:41] your human identity is part of that fundamental existence.

[00:04:46] You can't really separate your human from your being.

[00:04:50] They are inextricably tied to each other.

[00:04:53] All humans experience both joy and sorrow.

[00:04:57] It is our birthright as human beings to have access to both.

[00:05:02] While most of us prefer to experience joy, and we may think that a life

[00:05:06] filled only with joy would be desirable, in reality, they are two sides of the same coin.

[00:05:13] We know joy because of sorrow, and we know sorrow because of joy.

[00:05:18] Sorrow and joy are the emotional responses we have to events in our life, or more likely, they are responses

[00:05:26] to the thoughts in our own heads.

[00:05:28] Tonight's sleep meditation dives

[00:05:30] into these important aspects of our human experience

[00:05:34] so that our minds can resolve the tension between them.

[00:05:38] Make sure that you have found your way

[00:05:40] into a comfortable and relaxed position.

[00:05:44] If possible, rest on your back and allow your spine of your lower back to curve naturally away from the bed.

[00:05:51] Perhaps you can achieve this with a slight shuffling of your shoulder blades toward one another beneath you.

[00:05:57] This opens the chest and relaxes the pectoral muscles.

[00:06:02] If your pillow causes your chin to dip toward your throat, you might remove

[00:06:06] your pillow or consider a lower pillow to start. In order to maintain a natural curvature in the

[00:06:13] back of the neck, tilt your forehead slightly back until the chin and the bridge of the nose are at

[00:06:19] the same height. Of course, the most important thing is that you are comfortable and relaxed

[00:06:26] enough to breathe smoothly and evenly. Give yourself the freedom to make any necessary

[00:06:33] adjustments. And then, finally, in your mind, I will now practice this sleep meditation.

[00:06:56] For the duration of this meditation, I will remain very still. Of course, if you need to move at any time, please feel free.

[00:07:12] Just try to be aware of any tension or worry.

[00:07:31] As you feel the cares and worries of the day flowing out with the exhale,

[00:07:37] observe any experience of space that may appear in your awareness.

[00:07:47] Again, breathe in through the nose when you are ready, filling the lungs with air. Exhale through the mouth in your own time, and follow the exhale all the way to the bottom of

[00:08:12] the breath. Notice the brief pauses between the breaths. No rush. Let your lungs set the rhythm.

[00:08:26] No rush, let your lungs set the rhythm. Once more, when you are ready, breathe in, breathe out.

[00:08:37] Feel the rise and moves in the torso, perhaps at the belly.

[00:08:50] Inhale, navel rising.

[00:08:54] Exhale, navel falling.

[00:08:59] Inhale, navel rising.

[00:09:04] Exhale, navel rising. Exhale, navel falling.

[00:09:09] Inhale, navel rising.

[00:09:13] Exhale, navel falling.

[00:09:19] Continue on for a few moments. You You You You Joy and sorrow are threats in the fabric of our experience.

[00:11:28] They are intertwined and interwoven in our daily lives without exception.

[00:11:34] They are as fundamental as day and night.

[00:11:39] They are also as interdependent as day and night.

[00:11:43] They represent the y Yin and Yang elements.

[00:11:47] The ups and downs of life are inevitable

[00:11:50] and we need not dwell upon the downs

[00:11:53] lest we forget that the ups are just as inevitable.

[00:11:59] Sorrow is often thought of as a negative emotion

[00:12:03] but it has its own beauty and function as well.

[00:12:08] Deep spiritual transformation can emerge from the depths of sorrow.

[00:12:14] Another principle of Yin-Yang theory is that of mutual transformation.

[00:12:21] Joy and sorrow have the capacity to transform into one another.

[00:12:27] When joy becomes chaotic, it can turn into sorrow.

[00:12:33] Joy can become manic, finally crashing into depression.

[00:12:38] At the same time, deep grief can lead to an unexpected catharsis of laughter and tears.

[00:12:48] Let the textures of these emotions be felt deeply in your body.

[00:12:54] When you access joy, where does it appear in your body?

[00:13:00] Have you ever considered that before? Allow a joyful memory to arise and notice how your body responds.

[00:13:16] Now, consider the tears you've shed and the hardships you've endured.

[00:13:23] Does the body constrict?

[00:13:25] Is there a familiar texture to those feelings?

[00:13:39] Allow these sensations to give shape and form to your human experience and embrace them both as

[00:13:46] your birthright.

[00:13:49] Breathe in.

[00:13:53] Breathe out.

[00:13:56] Breathe in.

[00:14:00] Breathe out.

[00:14:04] Breathe out. Breathe in.

[00:14:08] Breathe out. You You Relax and bring your awareness to your right hand.

[00:15:19] Right hand thumb. 2nd finger, 3rd finger, 4th finger, 5th finger, palm of the hand, back of the hand, the wrist,

[00:15:35] the lower arm, the elbow, the upper arm, the shoulder, the armpit, the right waist, the right hip, the right thigh, the

[00:15:51] kneecap, the calf muscle, the ankle, the heel, the sole of the right foot, the top of the right foot, the big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth

[00:16:11] toe, fifth toe.

[00:16:14] Become aware of the left hand thumb, second finger, third finger, fourth finger, fifth finger, palm of the hand, back of the hand, the wrist, the

[00:16:31] lower arm, the elbow, the upper arm, the shoulder, the armpit, the left waist, the left hip, the left thigh, the kneecap, the calf muscle, the ankle,

[00:16:52] the heel, the sole of the left foot, the top of the foot, the big toe, second toe,

[00:17:10] The big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe. Now, the back, become aware of the right shoulder blade, the left shoulder blade, the right buttock, the left buttock, the spine, the whole back together.

[00:17:31] Now go to the top of the head, the top of the head, the forehead, both sides of the head,

[00:17:44] Both sides of the head. The right eyebrow, the left eyebrow.

[00:17:48] The space between the eyebrows.

[00:17:51] The right eyelid, the left eyelid.

[00:17:55] The right eye, the left eye.

[00:18:00] The right ear, the left ear, the right cheek, the left cheek, the middle of the chest, the right leg, the whole of the left leg, both legs together.

[00:18:51] The whole of the right arm, the whole of the left arm, both arms together.

[00:19:25] together. The whole of the back, buttocks, spine, shoulder blades, the whole of the back and front together. The whole of the head.

[00:19:30] The whole body together.

[00:19:35] The whole body together.

[00:19:39] The whole body together.

[00:19:46] The whole body together.

[00:19:51] The whole body together.

[00:19:56] The whole body together. There. You you You You Total awareness, no movement, the whole body long on the bed.

[00:22:11] Become aware of your whole body lying on the bed.

[00:22:17] Your body is lying on the bed.

[00:22:20] See your body lying perfectly still on the bed in this room.

[00:22:29] Visualize this image in your mind. you You Feel a sense of acceptance and peace as you embrace the interconnectedness of joy and

[00:23:40] sorrow. Just as the night sky holds the promise of a new dawn, every moment of

[00:23:48] sorrow carries the potential for growth, resilience, and transformation. Imagine a vast canvas

[00:23:58] in the sky, where emotions are brushed on like watercolors. Envision a brilliant rainbow, arching gracefully across the canvas.

[00:24:11] It's vibrant hues shimmering with the promise of joy.

[00:24:17] Now turn your attention to a soft, billowing rain cloud that hovers nearby. Picture it with a gentle grace, not ominous or

[00:24:29] foreboding. This rain cloud embodies the inevitable sorrows and challenges that come

[00:24:37] with the human experience. It is not a storm, but a gentle, nourishing rain that falls delicately upon the earth.

[00:24:49] As you breathe in, imagine inhaling the essence of joy, letting it fill every corner of your

[00:24:57] being.

[00:25:01] Feel the warmth and radiance of the rainbow infusing your heart with gratitude and appreciation

[00:25:09] for life's beautiful moments.

[00:25:15] On the exhale, release any tension or resistance.

[00:25:23] As you breathe out, envision the rain cloud releasing a gentle, soothing rain.

[00:25:30] The tears and sorrows that, just like the rain, have not only a purpose, but a benefit.

[00:27:10] Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. You You The radiant hues of the rainbow begin to merge with the falling raindrops. Joy and sorrow intertwine in a dance of colors and droplets, creating a beautiful and harmonious

[00:27:19] symphony of life.

[00:27:22] The rain doesn't wash away the rainbow. Instead, it enhances its beauty, adding depth

[00:27:31] and richness to the spectrum of emotions. Feel the connection between joy and sorrow, realizing that they aren't separate but interconnected parts of

[00:27:47] the same experience. Allow yourself to be present with both emotions, appreciating the Which brings to your life.

[00:28:07] Breathe in.

[00:28:14] Breathe out. You Something Something transcendent emerges when we allow joy and sorrow to lose their zero-sum relationship.

[00:29:40] When we take a big step back and see them as interconnected and complementary opposites,

[00:29:48] we begin to access a joy that is beyond joy and beyond sorrow as well.

[00:29:56] The mundane highs and lows of our activity fade into the background as we begin to get a glimpse of the divine, what is beyond that fabric

[00:30:08] of our human experience. Breathe out.

[00:30:27] Breathe in. you You As you feel your body growing more and more relaxed, observe with a sense of pure observation, and an attitude of a witness, the thoughts and feelings and emotions that arise

[00:31:50] as you allow yourself to drift between the realms of joy and sorrow, recognizing the delicate

[00:31:58] equilibrium they share. Like the rising and setting sun, joy and sorrow take turns painting the canvas

[00:32:09] of your life with vibrant hues and subtle shades.

[00:32:18] Beyond the yin and yang of sorrow and joy is the undifferentiated state of the Dao. The spaciousness of the Dao is the sky

[00:32:29] that holds both the cloud and the rainbow. As your consciousness expands, appreciate the

[00:32:39] totality of life and acknowledge a profound opportunity of being a living, breathing human being.

[00:32:50] To paraphrase the poet Walt Whitman, to think that you are now here, flexible, feel, and bear your part. That is the gift of a human life. Joy and sorrow lie

[00:33:12] within that immense scope. Surrender into the very fabric of existence as you drift off to sleep.

[00:34:47] as you drift off to sleep. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. You Sleep. Sly. Sly.