The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

by J. Mark G. Williams

Once your attention has settled on the bodily sensations and they are vividly present in the field of awareness, unpleasant as they may be, you might try deepening the attitude of acceptance and openness to whatever sensations you are experiencing by saying to yourself from time to time: “It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s already here. Let me open to it.” Then just stay with the awareness of these bodily sensations and your relationship to them, breathing with them, accepting them, letting them be, allowing them to be just as they are. It may be helpful to repeat “It’s here right now. Whatever it is, it’s already here. Let me open to it.” Soften and open to the sensations you become aware of, letting go of any tensing and bracing. Say to yourself: “softening” or “opening” on each out-breath. Remember that by saying “It’s already here” or “It’s okay,” you are not judging the original situation or saying that everything’s fine, but simply helping your awareness, right now, to remain open to the sensations in the body. If you like, you can also experiment with holding in awareness both the sensations in the body and the feeling of the breath moving in and out, as you breathe with the sensations moment by moment.