The grieving process can promote feelings of helplessness and loneliness and dealing with loss can forever change the way we view the world. Recognizing the void that loved ones leave in our lives, hearts, and minds can be a very important part of the grieving journey itself. As you find a new place for the memories of your loved one, you can learn how to live, grow, and smile again. Often, it is challenging to find ways through the low points of grief but using strategies to compensate for the changes in mindset can be a place to start.
Incorporating mindfulness into daily life or “maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens” (Greater Good Magazine) can help you cope with the grieving process. Practicing mediation is one way to be mindful and think through ways to continue the grieving journey.
Quick Note: Meditation is not for everyone. If you are struggling to navigate through grief, it’s advisable to find a health professional and to seek friends, family, or support groups for help.
Meditation helps teach how to hold space for yourself in a grieving process. Meditative practice strengthens your mind, just like physical exercise strengthens your body. In this practice, you can find a space for healing, acceptance, reconciliation, and letting go, releasing the tension and expectations we place on ourselves that cause pain and heartache. While not necessarily simple or easy, meditation can be the key to making room in our daily lives to connect with the loved ones no longer with us.
Practicing meditation for grieving can give us the room we need to experience and process the emotions we are feeling or are lacking in. Through meditation, we are able to sit with our feelings with the goal of cathartic release and, eventually, healing.
- Listen to this Guided Meditation For Grief With Gratitude And Forgiveness by Patty Bates-Ballard, part of the Carson’s Village family.
- Read more about the benefits of Meditation for Grief from the mindfulness app “Headspace