Step One: Surrender
A guided meditation, about nine minutes
Find a quiet seat. Nothing to achieve. Simply listen.
This is a preview. It is the companion meditation to Step One: Surrender, book one of the 12-Step Coloring Series. The book is with Amazon for approval and is not out yet. This page will keep the meditation when it is.
Read the words
Find a comfortable place to sit. Let your shoulders drop, and let your eyes soften or close.
Breathe in slowly. And let it go.
This is Step One. Surrender. There is nothing to achieve here. Simply listen.
Notice where you are gripping: your jaw, your shoulders, your hands, your plans. Name one thing you have been holding too tightly. Do not argue with it. Simply notice it, the way you would notice a clenched fist in your lap.
I notice my grip. I can soften.
Breathe in. And let it go.
Some battles are lost by the one who refuses to stop pulling. Picture the rope in your hands and feel its burn. Nothing is asked of you except to open your fingers and let the rope go slack.
I do not have to win this.
Breathe in. And let it go.
A tight knot is not loosened by pulling harder. It loosens when you ease the tension and follow one strand at a time. Breathe slowly, and let one small thing in your life go a little slack today.
I loosen what I cannot force.
Breathe in. And let it go.
How long have you carried it? Set the weight down beside you for just one breath. The load does not vanish, but it does not have to ride on your back every minute of the day.
I set the weight down. I rest.
Breathe in. And let it go.
The walls you built once kept you safe, and they also kept the light out. You do not have to tear them all down today. Just notice the one door that could open a little.
I can open one door.
Breathe in. And let it go.
You have been running the controls for a very long time, and the manager is tired. Imagine stepping away from the panel for one quiet minute and watching what the world does without your hand on every lever.
I step back from the controls.
Breathe in. And let it go.
The door may have been open longer than you knew. Sit quietly and ask what has kept you inside, whether it is fear, habit, or the belief that the cage is the only shelter you have.
The door is open. I am free to leave.
Breathe in. And let it go.
Take one more slow breath. Feel your feet, and the seat beneath you.
When you are ready, open your eyes. The door is open. Carry this stillness with you.
If this stirs up more than you can sit with, stop. You do not have to finish. See the crisis and recovery resources, or Urge Help if an urge is hitting right now.