Grief Guided Meditation Podcast
December 18, 2008
We’ve had more requests for a guided meditation for grief than anything else. It’s taken me some time to come up with something, even though I’ve been a grief counselor and experienced a lot of grief in my life. This latest podcast episode, Guided Meditation for Grief, is what came up as I reflected on my own experiences with loss.
Often the people asking for a grief meditation have lost a loved one through death, but grief is a reaction to many types of losses, large and small. Moving, losing a job or home, divorce, a change in roles — all sorts of changes can cause us to feel grief. Sometimes we even grieve lost opportunities or what “might have been”.
Losing a loved one is one of the most painful things we can ever experience. Not only is it painful, it can shake our whole world. The lyrics to Paul Simon’s Graceland say it so well:
“losing love is like a window into my heart; Everybody sees you’re blow apart…”
It can feel like your life is blown apart and your heart is going to break. Grief can bring up all sorts of emotions, not just profound sadness but anger, guilt and more. Depending on how the loss happened, it can make you question all sorts of things. You can feel confused. It can be hard to concentrate. As much as we would rather not have to experience all these things, however, the only way through grief is to experience these things all the way.
Sometimes people feel alone in their grief making it even more difficult. Some cultures and traditions support the process of mourning better than others. Often here in the US, people are expected to “move on” way before they’re ready. People are unsure of what to do and say around a grieving person and may even withdraw. And yet although no one can grieve for us, it can really help to feel others supporting us as we grieve. When my mother died, I went to a hospice support group and it made a world of difference for me.
This podcast episode is designed to help you feel supported in your loss. We hope it helps!
(You can read about grief on our companion website, Heart of Healing.)
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6 Responses to “Grief Guided Meditation Podcast”
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I have been enjoying your podcasts, but this one was amazing. I’ve been meditating, basically, since high school, when we used deep relaxation techniques as a preparation for drama groups. My practice has deepened and broadened since then, and has really changed my outlook on life.
A few months ago, I lost my mother to a long, debilitating illness, during the last year of which she was confused and totally out of it. I live in a different country, and though I visited a few times, busying myself with her basic care and needs (she was in a nursing home), my old regular weekly phone calls became impossible.
For various reasons, the family grieving process was blocked, and I have felt emotionally “stuck” for some time, unable to grieve properly and unable to move forward.
Your meditation was one of the most helpful things I experienced. I finally felt a sense of release from the numbness, the sense of choking on my grief alone.
I listened to it several times until I felt I could do it myself if need be.
I am so glad the meditation helped, Connie. It can be difficult to find the time and space to grieve. It’s especially difficult during the holidays!
Numbness can be a normal in the beginning, but other things can also block the grieving process, as you say. It’s wonderful that you are now experiencing this release. I suspect not only will you be able to do the process on your own, but you may find also that you will use elements of it spontaneously from time to time outside of meditation.
We wish you well on your journey with grief.
One thing, the meditation was one of the few situations that enabled me just to cry. We usually “give that job” to one of my siblings, who is very emotionally volatile. The rest of us, well, we just don’t cry much, and weeping in front of my husband just got him upset.
With all this, I was, for lack of a better term, grief constipated, needing to cry and express grief, but somehow unable to let go. I was waking up from strong dreams with tears streaming down my face, but until I used your guided meditation, I just had difficulty letting go.
The meditation is comfortable for me as well as PRODUCTIVE–I don’t feel I’m churning over the same issues over and over again.
This reinforces my belief that the powers of mind and consciousness are far more accessable to us than many would have us believe. As with everything, practice makes access easier. Thanks again.
– All you really have to do is sit and breath for ten minutes each day, and you’ll feel the effects. Basically, what you need to do is just sit in a quite space, breath in and out slowly, and try to focus on your mind and observe your thoughts. You’ll be amazed at how your mind slows down and how you feel so much more aware because of it.
I’m looking for specific guided meditation tape or cd or podcast that allows me to release tension and stress resulting from a recent loss of a child. I want to be able to help others in my similar situation by having group meditation classes in my home for those grieving the loss of a child. Can anyone help me find the right tape. I discovered Silva mind technique that helps you get to alpha but it’s for general centering. I’m looking for something more specific.
I’m so sorry, Laura, to hear about the loss of your child. That has to be the most difficult loss of all. We don’t have a meditation specifically for the loss of a child, but we do have a Guided Meditation for Grief which might help. You can listen to it on our Listen to Our Podcast page.
The Compassionate Friends might be a good resource for you. They are a well-established and offer grief support for those experiencing the loss of a child. There may be a chapter in your area, or you might even want to start one.