Befriending Yourself

Welcome.

Today we are going to have the opportunity to connect with ourselves.

This is an opportunity to decide how we would like to relate to ourselves.

We have the choice to have the most intimate,

Supportive,

And sacred connection with ourselves,

As if we were our own very best friend.

Oftentimes due to a slew of reasons,

Our relationship with ourselves can be quite judgmental,

Rigid,

And painful,

As we can be extraordinarily hard on ourselves.

Yet like any other relationship with any other being that we relate to in the world,

We have choices on how we want to approach that relationship.

The language we use,

The honesty that we practice,

And the seeds that we plant for these relationships to continue to grow,

Deepen,

And evolve to continue to be resilient.

Today I'm going to invite you to make a choice to connect or reconnect with your most authentic self in the most gentle and compassionate way that you feel capable of.

In saying that this is a choice,

I also want to acknowledge and honor your courage and strength in making a choice that supports the highest and best version of you,

As I know this can feel quite vulnerable and new.

So with that,

I invite you to find a comfortable seat or to lie down.

If it feels safe and comfortable to do so,

Go ahead and close your eyes.

Allow yourself to start to ground into the space that you're in.

You can start to notice the points of contact between you and the chair,

The bed,

The earth underneath you wherever you are.

Noticing your sitz bones as they weigh heavy,

Really allowing gravity to do its thing,

And notice what it feels like to effortlessly and freely not needing to hold yourself up.

If your feet are on the ground,

I invite you to draw your attention to your connection to the earth underneath you by lightly pressing one foot on the earth and then the other,

Really noticing the solid foundation underneath you.

From this point forward,

We're going to adopt the idea of a compassionate observer if you haven't already.

So what I'll invite you to do as you notice anything that you're noticing,

We're going to notice it just as it is.

You can do so with the kindest and most compassionate version of yourself.

For instance,

As we notice a physical sensation of something we don't like,

We can notice it exactly as it is,

Observing it and describing it with absolutely no pressure to change,

Judge,

Or fix anything.

Playing with accepting it exactly as it is.

This practice actually lets you off the hook as you don't need to do anything or go into a story about it.

All there is to do is bear witness and allow yourself to be.

So let's play with this.

Let's go ahead and shift our attention from our outer experience into the breath for a few moments.

As we do this,

I invite you to explore the breath as if you were checking it out for the very first time.

Start to notice the depth of the breath.

Does it flow all the way down into the base of your belly?

Maybe you can notice your rib cage expand and contract as the air moves in and out of your body.

Maybe the breath feels more shallow and is hanging out higher in your chest.

What parts of your body move and shift as you breathe?

Allowing yourself to get curious about the flow of the breath.

Is it flowing smoothly in and out of your body or are there sticky or staggered spots as you breathe?

Now I'm going to invite you to drop in even another layer deeper to connect with you at the very core of your being.

There are many names for this part of yourselves.

Some of us may call this our higher self,

Our most authentic self,

Our inner guidance,

Our gut,

And so on.

Whatever the verbiage is that fits for you,

Go ahead and adopt that language,

Finding a name for this part of yourself.

Once you have landed on a name,

We are going to explore this part of you a bit further.

And we'll start with a gentle check-in by asking yourself,

How are you in this moment?

Now,

As you inquire,

Maintain your compassionate observer to mindfully listen to the answer.

Not as if you were just passing someone on the street,

But really listen as if you truly care about the answer.

I'll give you a few moments to inquire.

Good.

Now once you've received the answer,

You actually don't need to do anything with it.

We're just practicing holding space for whatever is true and doing the best we can to accept it.

In this place,

We're going to ask this part of you,

If there's anything that it wants to tell you,

Is there anything you want me to know?

Is there anything that you'd like to share with me?

Again,

Practicing creating space and listening.

I'll give you a few moments here to listen in.

Now as you listen to the answer,

I invite you to notice if the body,

If your body has anything to say.

Do you notice any body sensations?

Are there any emotions that are present for you at this moment?

Again,

Seeing if you can meet yourself with wide open arms for whatever is showing up for you in this moment,

As if you were your best,

Dearest,

Most incredible friend,

How would you listen and hold space for that other human being?

And finally,

Checking back in,

Checking back in again with this part of you and inquiring,

Is there anything you need from me,

Asking yourself,

Is there anything I can do for you?

Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable,

More at ease,

To allow you to feel more grounded and safe?

If there is anything I can do,

What is that?

I'm here to do it.

I'll give you a few more moments to drop in here.

Beautiful.

So before we shift,

I invite you to set an intention.

Perhaps it's birthed from the needs or wants that were expressed from this part of you.

What is it that you can take from this connection with yourself,

This opportunity to drop in and befriend your highest and best version of you?

What can you take to integrate from this dialogue and intimate connection between you and you?

As we shift and welcome the world back into your awareness,

What is your intention?

What are you going to bring with you?

Taking a few moments here.

And before we shift,

I invite you to notice what this brief but authentic connection between you and you has to offer.

This offering is not just an opportunity to connect for shorter moments of time,

But there is actually a bigger opportunity here for expansion and growth.

A bigger opportunity to step from this practice to integrate a new sense of being into the world and all that you do.

I want to remind you that at any point,

If you are needing to reconnect and to remember that you have a friend within you,

That you're here to do so.

See all relationships take work,

Care,

And connection in order to grow and deepen.

This relationship with you is no different.

And again,

Just like plants need water to grow,

The friend within you needs to be nurtured in order to mature and to feel strengthened.

As we shift our practice,

I invite you to digest this and take it with you.

From here,

We will start to bring awareness back into our breath.

And just pause for a moment here and notice if the breath feels the same as when you checked in a few moments ago,

Or has it changed at all even slightly?

And then slowly drawing your awareness back into your physical body.

Again,

Noticing those points of contact between you and the earth underneath you.

Feeling the sensation of your body resting against your seat.

Starting to notice the felt sense of the temperature or the air on your skin.

Allowing yourself to bring some slight movement in from this new integrated sweet and soft version of you.

You can start to wiggle your fingers and toes.

Maybe you're starting to stretch your head and neck side to side.

If it feels good stretching your arms up overhead.

And then just as we started,

If your feet are on the ground,

You may want to press one foot into the earth and then the other.

Really noticing that solid foundation underneath you that is always here to hold and support you in all of your connections.

You'll start slowly moving your way to a seated position if you aren't there yet.

Bringing one hand to the heart and the other to your belly.

Taking a deep inhale through the nose and a nice long exhale out the mouth as we close.

The light in me honors the light and the authentic connection within you.

Be kind to your sweet self,

You certainly deserve it.

Thank you for your beautiful practice.

Be well.