A warm welcome to this guided meditation where we will help to tackle negative thought patterns.
First of all,
Give yourself permission to not be okay at this moment.
It's okay to not be okay.
Often,
We try so hard to push away all of these thoughts that in turn they come back stronger with more vengeance.
So as scary as it might sound to face these thoughts head on,
It can be a very effective way to deal with and overcome them.
And please be reassured that I will be here during this practice with you all the way and this is a safe space where you can be vulnerable and open yourself up to healing.
Slowly now,
Just bring your attention to your breath and I want you to focus on your belly today.
Really allow your stomach to expand with each inhale leaving your chest fairly neutral and soft.
By dropping deep with your breath you will start to send signals to the rest of your body,
Signals that you are safe and that it is okay to slow down.
Good,
Keep breathing in this way in your own time and at your own pace and if any negative thoughts arise it is okay to acknowledge them,
To see them and even to love them.
This isn't about loving the thoughts you have but rather loving yourself through these thoughts.
Before we go deeper into the practice let's do a short thought experiment.
If I tell you not to think of a big sandy desert it's very likely that this exact image has come straight to your mind no matter how hard you try to fight it.
So today is all about shifting our mindset,
Learning to accept these thoughts as and when they arise and gently investigating them with an open and curious heart and without judgement.
Only then can we start to make positive changes.
So now just allow the most prominent thought that has been troubling you lately to come to the forefront of your mind.
Give it permission to arrive without resistance,
It is okay.
Keep letting your breath drop deep into the belly as you trust your body to be calm in the face of this thought.
You inhale,
You exhale and you remind yourself that you are not this thought.
This thought does not define who you are but you welcome it nonetheless because you know that behind every negative thought is a powerful teacher.
Recognize that you are separate from this thought,
You are observing it like a passing cloud in the sky and it is very possible that this negative thought has roots that go deep and could be linked to something from many years ago.
Whether this thought is old or fairly new try to imagine it now as part of your child like self.
This thought needs compassion,
It needs understanding and patience and most of all it needs love.
And if it helps to comfort you,
You might wrap your arms around yourself,
Giving yourself a warm embrace,
Knowing that you are safe and that everything will be okay.
Self soothing is an incredibly powerful tool and in this way you can let yourself know that you will always be here.
You are ready to accept yourself no matter what thoughts arise and to always look after yourself.
You are not here to push anything away or to judge,
You are here to understand,
To learn,
To accept and to love,
To move forward with clarity and an open heart.
And now you offer this acceptance and love to whatever thoughts might be present for you.
If there are multiple thoughts showing themselves then try to select just one for the moment.
As you gradually tune in to this single thought,
Gently examine what emotions are coming through and any physical sensations in your body.
If you are still embracing yourself,
This is okay,
You can stay here.
Or if you prefer,
You can let your arms drop gently to your side.
And as you become more present with this thought and the emotions that come with it,
You can slowly start to imagine what the opposite of this would look like.
An example thought might be,
I am not worthy and with this comes hopelessness,
Resentfulness,
Despair and even self-loathing.
The opposite here would be,
I am worthy,
I deserve to feel worthy.
And with this new thought might come a spark of confidence and belief,
Self-respect and a growing self-love.
Another example could be,
I am scared of the future,
With it comes panic,
Stress and overthinking.
We can gradually turn this into something like,
I am embracing the now to ensure my future is bright.
And with this comes immediate action,
Presence and hopefulness.
Now,
Recognize what the opposite of your negative thought might be.
And recognize the opposite of the negative emotions that come with it.
Tune in to this new positive statement,
The opposite of the original negative thought.
And if you like,
You can say this new statement out loud to yourself.
Try,
If you can,
To turn it into an I am affirmation.
How does this feel?
Perhaps right now it doesn't quite feel real just yet.
This is completely normal and depending on the originating thought,
This shift might take a bit of time.
So in that case,
For now,
You might try something like,
I am willing to believe that.
And fill in the blank with your new positive thought.
Try this now.
Notice now that you are being open to the change,
Step by step if need be.
And you are willing to shift into this new positive statement.
And if you come back to this practice daily and gradually start the shift to more positive thinking,
Then this will compound.
This will gain momentum and in time,
The positive thoughts will become the default or at the very least,
They will become much easier to access.
Allow your new positive thought and emotions to guide you.
And recognize that the negative thought was simply a teacher as we mentioned before.
A lesson to be learned about yourself,
Reminding you about what you desire,
What you care about and where you want your focus to be.
We never have negative thoughts about things we do not care about.
So by reframing these thoughts,
By reversing them,
We can tap into our mind and we can connect once again to those things we care deeply about.
This time through a more positive,
Compassionate and hopeful lens.
Now,
For a moment,
Just go back to this first negative thought that you started with and let yourself be grateful for it.
It has provided you with a valuable lesson today.
It has taught you something new about yourself and it has allowed you to connect with yourself on a deeper level.
To understand yourself and your desires.
And you can also show gratitude to yourself for showing up today.
This is not easy and you have done wonderfully.
You have shown up with an open heart,
A willingness to be vulnerable and a desire to seek positive change.
And if you like,
You can give yourself another embrace as you acknowledge all of your work and your effort today.
Remember to keep breathing slow and deep,
Grounding that breath into your belly.
You can hopefully see here that by welcoming in these thoughts,
Examining them and then reversing them means that you are in control of your thoughts.
You are aware of what is going on in your body and your emotions and you have the power to change things.
Where perhaps before you might have felt powerless,
Now you have evidence that you are not.
You do have the power.
And some of these thoughts might take more time to change and that is okay.
Remember there is no right or wrong here and there is no correct timeline.
So again try to remove this pressure from yourself.
These changes happen one step at a time and today you are taking a wonderful step in the right direction.
And slowly you can start to wiggle your toes and stretch your fingers,
Your arms and your legs as we emerge from today's session.
You can come back to this practice at any time,
You are always welcome here.
There are many techniques to combat negative thoughts and emotions and this is just one of my personal favorites.
I hope you enjoyed this meditation and I hope you found it useful.
Remember small steps and gradual changes are by far the most effective.
Well done today and I'll see you again soon.
