The BLIIS Method

I was meditating this morning and something new kind of fell into place. It felt simple and grounded, almost obvious once it clicked. I started calling it BLIIS. Breath, Love or heart connection, Intention, Imagination, and Sanctuary or safe place. It is easy enough to do on your own and it works just as well with clients.

I figured I would share it the way I actually do it.

I begin with my breath. Five slow nose breaths in and out. Sometimes more if my mind is busy. When I breathe in I let it fill my diaphragm and my belly, not just my chest. A full inhale and a full release out. After a few rounds everything softens. My awareness drops out of my head and into my body. It gets me into that parasympathetic state where the mind slows down.

Then I bring my attention into my heart. Not in a forced way. I just think of people I care about or things in my life that I am grateful for. Breathing into the heart space for another five or ten breaths. It opens things up in a strange but gentle way.

After that I set an intention. Usually just a couple emotional states I want to access that day. Peace, courage, focus, compassion, equanimity, anything that feels right for where I am. One to three is plenty. I let those words rest inside me for a moment.

Then I move into imagination. This part is where things usually shift. I imagine those emotional states floating around me like energy in the air. I picture myself calling them in, almost like downloading resources. Even if my analytical mind tries to argue, I still do it. The unconscious responds to imagery more than logic and when I breathe these states in, my body starts to believe me. Five or ten breaths of that and it always feels different.

Next I choose what I want to release. Fear, judgment, guilt, worry, whatever has been sitting in the background. I imagine those emotions inside my body and exhale them out. Sometimes they show up in my mind like smoke or something heavier. I let them go breath by breath until there is a little more space.

Once that is done, I imagine a sanctuary forming around me. A sacred place. It can be anything. A forest, a cave, a room, the ocean, clouds, outer space or somewhere else. Today it was a mountain with clouds drifting below and the sun rising in front of me. I sat there and let the environment feed me the emotional states I wanted and I let the old stuff fall away on each exhale.

Something unexpected happened here today and I want to share it because it shook me a little. While I was in that mountain scene I asked for a guide to show up. I am not religious. I grew up Catholic but I have not been to church in maybe twenty years and I have never loved the dogma or the structure. I keep a healthy distance from anything that feels rigid.

But when I asked for a guide this morning, Christ showed up. And I figured I would not analyze it. I would just go with whatever came up.

He took me to a field. There was an altar there and on it he offered me the Eucharist. The body of Christ. I have not thought about communion in decades, and yet there it was. Calm, simple, not dramatic. Just there.

The message he gave me was I am within you. That was it. Nothing more. It landed in a way I did not expect. I am still sitting with it. Maybe I do not need to understand it. Maybe it is something to carry around for the day and see what it stirs.

After that I just came back slowly. Eyes open when it felt right.

This whole thing can be ten minutes or fifteen. I usually take twenty to twenty five because it feels good to linger. But even a short version can shift your whole day.

If you try it, let me know how it shows up for you.

Below is a PDF that summarizes this method