Letting Go of Jealousy

Hi, it's Eve here. Thank you for joining me in this guided exercise on letting go of jealousy. Now, jealousy can be a very strong emotion. So please don't give yourself a hard time if you are experiencing it. As human beings, we feel a whole host of emotions and jealousy is just one of them, but it means it is something to work with. So you've come to the right place. Often when we feel jealous, it is accompanied by a sense of being in competition with someone or something. There is perhaps a sense of losing out or being surpassed or left behind. And naturally this may leave us feeling hurt and upset. And jealousy can show up in a variety of different ways. And these thoughts and emotions can become quite dominant in the mind so much so that it can mean we lose our sense of perspective. We essentially become quite closed off to other ideas or even other people's experiences. And we can often act or do things that may cause discomfort to ourselves and others. We may unintentionally cut someone out of a conversation so that we look good, or perhaps we hold back information that might help someone. And we can often act in this way believing that it is benefiting us, but working with jealousy can actually mean that we're able to confront defeat or to meet rejection, but we can do so skillfully, recognizing that as human beings, we all experience pain. And for some of us that can manifest as jealousy. Where there is jealousy, there is almost always pain or discomfort. And when we're acting from a place of pain, of hurt, it can be hard to make space for healing, but that is what we're going to open space for today. And part of that process is giving ourselves permission to let go of that pain and to heal. So I invite you to get into a comfortable seated position, either sitting in a chair, or you can lie down for this exercise, whatever is going to be most comfortable for you. And you can close the eyes if that feels right for you. We're adopting a soft, downward gaze. And as we settle into this practice, taking a couple of big, deep cleansing breaths, breathing in through the nose and then out through the mouth. So making these the biggest breaths that you have taken so far today. And allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm and rate and resting your attention with the breath. And if the breath is difficult for you, you can also allow your attention to rest with a different anchor point, perhaps the sensation of the hands in your lap. So doing what you need and what feels right for you. So taking a few moments just to check in with the mind and body, noticing the different points of contact, the body pressing down into the seat or the...