Emotional healing
Guided Meditation for Emotional Healing and Inner Peace
Guided meditation for emotional healing is a practice where a calm voice helps you notice what you feel, in your mind and in your body, and gives it room to move. The Ubunye Method starts from a simple idea: "Emotions fuel our thoughts." And so, "you must be the driver of your own emotions. Your emotions should not drive you."
Where it starts
Why emotions stay with us
"For most of your day, you are pulled into the task at hand, and you may lose sight of your current emotional state."
What we don't notice doesn't disappear. The Method teaches that "pain carries emotion", and that "we often hide or ignore these painful parts of our bodies to function on a daily basis." Stress works the same way: many people "do not realise that they are suffering until it comes to the surface and affects the body."
The Method compares thoughts to food. "Imagine your thoughts as different food groups." Living with constant stress "can be likened to only eating junk food." Healing begins by noticing what you've been feeding yourself, and how it feels.
From the sessions Body Awareness, Stepping into the Body, Levels of Growth and The Mind-Body Connection
In the Method's words
What emotional healing really means
Healing in the Ubunye Method isn't about forcing yourself to feel better. It's gentler, and more honest, than that.
"This does not mean that your pain will be taken away, but it is being okay with the pain and suffering you have without resistance."
Energy Healing: An Opening to Self-Correction
"The pain you have at this moment will not be the pain you hold onto forever."
Journey to Happiness: Living with Alignment
"There are some fears that you may never overcome, and that is okay."
Overcoming Fearful Thoughts, Part 2
And each time you let something go, "the things limiting us become much lighter."
The Ubunye approach
How a session works with emotion
The Method's aim is to bring "conscious harmony to the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional bodies." Most sessions move through the same four steps.
First
Notice
Become aware of your "state of being", your default emotional state, and where you feel it in your body.
Body Awareness series
Then
Allow
"Just allow whatever feelings are presented to you now, at this moment, without trying to force a better feeling or a better thought."
A Rediscovery of Self
Deeper
Release
"The deeper we go into releasing built-up negative emotional turmoil, the lighter you will feel."
Overcoming Fearful Thoughts
Toward
The heart
When the mind can only cope with so much, "we can then learn about the heart."
Setting the Right Path · Living in the Heart
In the Method, "the point of the Ubunye method is oneness. It transforms inner conflict into oneness and unity." Read more about oneness meditation.
Inside a session
What guided healing meditation can include
Breath
Every session begins by breathing to a count of three, in and out. "This is merely a guide, so if you struggle to slow down, just try to focus on breathing as naturally as possible."
Body-talking
The Method's name for listening to your body. Information arrives as "thoughts, feelings, and sometimes other internalised visuals", because "the body is one of our most excellent teachers."
Visualisation
Simple images that help the mind let go, like seeing "each thought likened to a fading cloud in the vast open sky." More on guided imagery.
Energy centres
"Chakra is used in ancient wisdom, but we will refer to them as energy centres." Some sessions invite you to feel and work with them.
Listening to the heart
Resting in the centre of the chest and asking one quiet question: "What is your heart telling you in this moment?"
Inner dialogue
Gentle statements repeated in your inner voice between breaths, such as "I am more than my emotions" and "I am calm."
Try it now
A five minute practice for stress and tension
- Settle. Sit or lie somewhere comfortable and close your eyes. Breathe in for a count of three and out for a count of three. Do this twice.
- Bring it to mind. Gently "bring to mind any stress or stressor that you can feel negatively affects you." Choose something small to begin with.
- Breathe. Take two more slow breaths to the count of three.
- Feel it. "Focus on that feeling. What does that emotional energy do to you? What does it do to your body?" Just notice.
- Speak to yourself. In your inner voice, repeat slowly: "I create flow through opening up to my tension." "I am more than my emotions." "I am calm." "I am centred."
- Return. Take a final breath and open your eyes.
This is a short taster. The full guided version is Overcoming Fearful Thoughts, Part 3 in Chapter 1 of the app. If anything feels too big, open your eyes, feel your feet on the floor, and stop. Knowing when to pause is part of the practice.
Over time
What regular practice can bring
Everyone's experience is different. These are the shifts the Method invites you to look for.
From the sessions Body Awareness, Overcoming Fearful Thoughts, Levels of Growth and An Introduction to Guided Meditation
When meditation brings up difficult feelings
Feelings often surface when you finally slow down. The Method's advice is to go gently: "it is not about putting up a bravado; it is about acknowledging that fear exists." Start with something small and manageable, and let painful memories stay at a distance rather than reliving them.
Meditation supports wellbeing but it isn't a replacement for professional care, and it isn't right for everyone. Please read our disclaimer before you begin. If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services.
Questions
Guided meditation for healing: common questions
Does emotional healing mean the pain goes away?
Not necessarily. In the Ubunye Method, healing "does not mean that your pain will be taken away, but it is being okay with the pain and suffering you have without resistance." Often, less resistance is what makes the weight lighter.
Is it normal for strong feelings to come up?
Yes. The Method encourages you to "allow whatever feelings are presented to you now, at this moment, without trying to force a better feeling or a better thought." If it feels like too much, open your eyes, feel your feet on the floor and take a break.
What if I can't get past a fear?
That's okay. "There are some fears that you may never overcome, and that is okay." The aim is to acknowledge fear and meet it gently, not to force it away.
I struggle to slow my breathing. Does that matter?
No. The breath count is "merely a guide, so if you struggle to slow down, just try to focus on breathing as naturally as possible."
Can meditation replace therapy?
No. Meditation can be a valuable support, but it isn't medical or psychological treatment. If you're living with trauma, depression or anxiety, please work with a qualified professional, and read our disclaimer.
Keep exploring
Related reading
Begin your healing journey
You don't have to carry it alone
The Fundamentals, four sessions to begin with, is free. Start whenever you're ready, one guided session at a time.
