As a recent sky nester, I have been pop-ups of past parenting memories that were not my best time. In fact, “pop-up” is not the right word. Because it means they will leave soon. Instead, I think they were sticking to the background and were floating in the shadows. Eeks!
When I take the time to really feel these hovering memories, I find them weak, inadequate and embarrassing.
One meditation that helps to separate past memories is observation meditation. Instead of those memories floating in the shadows of your mind, you imagine a blue sky filled with all sorts of thoughts and memories, like clouds. There is a cloud of thought/memory for a lifetime, some good and bad, but in your imagination, they all make up you, so they are all similar. When you meditate on the sky and clouds, you notice one of your thoughts and memories for a while, and the cloud passes by. Pay attention to another thought/memory and pass it.
Be careful if a particular thought/memory cloud sticks a bit. You may need to repeat the mantraphrase before the cloud floats. Maybe if they feel troubled by memories, you will lovingly tell a good friend. Maybe something like, “You learned from that moment” or “Even so, you were enough.” Repeat this until thoughts/memories waft.
This meditation can be done whenever you notice that memory is hovering. Letting go is not a catchphrase, it’s a process.
Until next time,
Roller
