Today I led the teachers and faculty at my school in a meditation. I was asked to do this but was more than happy to be chosen for it. I really enjoyed getting to share with a large group of people my relationship and journey with meditation. My meditation is as follows:
Hi teachers and staff, I am so happy to be here today to meditate with you all. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Emily Wilburn and I am a senior at the high school. As you all know, a-term has been going on and one of the courses that is being offered is Get Grounded by Training the Brain, which is the one I have been taking. I have really been connecting with the meditation aspect of the course which is why I am here today. Before I begin, I want to share with you how I came to enjoy meditation.
So really really sad fact but important fact to the story, before I came to Post Oak I faced a lot of bullying which caused me tremendous amounts of anxiety. It got to the point where I couldn’t be at school without having at least three panic attacks a day, I couldn’t communicate with my teachers what was going on, and I found it impossible to make friends. At times I found myself getting lost in the environment I was in -- because instead of being in the moment I was so wrapped up in my thoughts. Something I began practicing years ago, which at the time I didn’t even realize was meditation, was counting on my fingers. I was counting what I heard, what I saw, etc. This helped me to feel more comfortable in the environment I was in and to feel at ease. This practice I did is extremely similar to the meditation I am going to lead you all through today, that meditation being a 5 senses meditation.
I think Post Oak is in such a unique position. Our position allows us to really focus on things such as mental health and caring for students which is why I feel as though we should really incorporate exercises such as this one into our everyday lives. I really hope that you all take this and share it with your students. Because you never really know what a student is going through, but by giving them tools to help themselves in times of need, you are helping them to succeed in one of the most important things that we as busy bodied human beings tend to forget -- self-care.
This 5 senses meditation is perfect for anyone who needs help feeling grounded, but more specifically it is great for anyone who struggles with depression and/ or anxiety. This meditation will ask you all to focus in on each of your 5 senses, one at a time, in hopes of helping you to feel more comfortable in your environment.
As we begin this meditation I ask that you do two things. One: notice how you are feeling. Don’t over think it, just recognize it and allow it to be there. And two: set an intention. This intention could be an anxiety or stress you would like to adress. Take a moment to notice and give your attention to this thing you are addressing. The action we are going to be taking to address your intention is the 5 senses meditation. If you slip away from your intention at any point during this meditation that is okay. If and when this happens try to bring your attention back to it.
Now before you close your eyes take a moment to look around you. What do you see around you? Do you see your a fellow colleague? Do you see the light coming in through the windows? A chair? A desk? Take a moment to name three things around you. Look around you and become aware of your environment.
Now gently close your eyes if you would like and if you are comfortable doing so. What can you hear? Do you hear cars going by? Do you hear walking in the background? If you are Zooming in from home, do you hear your pet? Listen around you carefully for sounds that you do not normally listen for. Take a deep breath… and as you breath out listen to in. Can you hear your breath? If you are next to others, can you hear the breath of those around you? As you continue breathing, listen. Take a moment. In your head, try to name as many sounds as you can, all the sounds around you.
Moving away from what you can hear, begin to focus in on your taste. Take a sip of your drink if you have one and if you would like. What does that taste like? Can you taste your breakfast you ate this morning or gum you were chewing before this meeting? Now sit with this. Notice the current taste in your mouth.
What can you smell? Begin to focus in on the scents around you. Take three deep breaths. One... in… and out… Two... in… and out… Three… in… and out… As you are breathing in, focus on your sense of smell. Continue this for the next few seconds.
Moving on to your sense of touch. Take your hands and shake them out. Now rub them together. Do you feel the friction in your hands? Set them down to the sides of you face down wherever that may be. What do you feel? If you're touching a desk or table, does it feel smooth or bumpy? Does it feel slick or sticky? Is it hard? Try to describe the sensations that you are feeling. Take this in for a minute.
Now come back to the intention we set at the beginning of this meditation. Has focusing on your environment helped in addressing your intention? “Sometimes most of what we observe in the world around us exists only as background noise. By slowing down to describe our environment, we allow ourselves to fully appreciate the world around us. When we draw our attention to our role as observers, other concerns and worries tend to fade into the background.” Before we come out of this meditation recognize once more how you are feeling. Are you feeling more grounded? More at ease? If so wonderful and if not that is okay too. Give yourself permission to feel whatever you are feeling.
Now begin to slowly open your eyes and feel free to stretch or readjust yourself if you need to.
End meditation.
I found this to be an example of learning outcome 1 because as I was sharing my relationship with meditating (the brief paragraph before the meditation begins) I realized that this is something I should more often do. I really enjoyed sharing, however, it is something I do not frequently do. I think I could really improve here by learning to open up more. This is also an example of learning outcome 1 because I realized some of my strengths such as public speaking and leading a group.
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