This is part three in the series coming home to the body,
The mind and the whole self Welcome back You've already walked with me through coming home to the body through befriending the mind and now we arrive here at the place where all of you is invited in This meditation is not about fixing yourself It is not about becoming someone else It is about remembering that even on the days you feel empty you already belong to yourself as you are in all your wholeness So let's begin gently Find a comfortable place perhaps seated perhaps laying down There is no right or wrong way to arrive here you are welcome however you are and rest your hands together in your lap or fold them over your heart or simply let them lie softly where they fall feel the simple weight of them your hands carrying you through so much let that touch be an anchor to you Now take a slow natural breath no need to deepen it just let it come as it is in and out The body breathes,
The mind watches the self witnesses Often we are taught to see ourselves in parts the body that must look a certain way the mind that must think the right thoughts the feelings that must be managed hidden or denied but here is the truth,
You are not separate compartments you are a whole being your softness,
Your strength,
Your ache,
Your joy,
They all belong wholeness does not mean perfection it means nothing is exiled it means you can stop slicing yourself up into acceptable and unacceptable pieces and instead gather all of you into the circle of your own belonging so just pause for a moment,
Breathe that in you do not need to exile any part of yourself to be worthy or whole and i wonder if you can imagine yourself on a beautiful endless golden beach the sand is soft and warm the waves are gentle and tender ebbing and flowing up and down the sandy shore and just imagine now you draw a circle gently in the sand around you you make this circle wide soft but unbreakable and you stand there inside this circle present and where all of you every part is welcome picture yourself inviting in the parts you usually try and keep out the parts of you you hide maybe it's a part of your body you don't deem it to be perfect but it is a part of you and it's the only one you have maybe it's the part of you that feels anxious the part of you that feels messy or chaotic or the part of you that feels tired or angry or too sensitive let them step into the circle there is no judgment here only belonging and isn't it wonderful that the whole of you belongs to yourself to be fully welcome and wanted whisper to yourself you are all welcome you are all me and i am whole with every part of me here avoiding your feelings that you don't think you should have doesn't make them vanish pushing them away doesn't make them gentler in fact when we refuse to welcome them in they often grow louder knocking,
Banging,
Demanding to be seen they can feel frightening but only because you've kept them outside you've never actually met them but when you open the door when you allow them space to enter you begin to see them more clearly that they are not as scary as what you thought and they are not permanent they do not define you instead of the door staying closed and those feelings trying to bank it down due to avoidance once you open the door the feelings,
The worries,
The fears they all move through like those clouds drifting across the sky and when the door is opened and the feelings are faced you can witness them and in that witnessing you discover their true nature old thoughts just passing through old feelings floating by not scary just being available to be watched and once you do that you can see that the feelings were not that scary after all and once you do that that your body is beautiful because it's yours and it's your only one it's your biggest supporter and those messy thoughts are also not that scary but you have held them for so long so just see how strong you are now take a quiet moment and gently ask yourself which feelings have i kept outside the door?
What might happen if i let them be witnessed instead of feared?
Simply notice what arises you don't need to solve or change anything simply see what shows itself and trust that even the heaviest clouds in time will pass now ask yourself gently which parts of me have i pushed away?
What parts have i judged or silenced or buried because i thought they were unlovable?
Notice what comes maybe it's a memory maybe it's a feeling maybe it's a word just notice and then breathe and say softly i will not exile you anymore you are a part of me and together we are one we are now imagine that within the circle another presence steps forward it is you not any single part but the essence of you your whole self see this self however it arrives as a light as a figure as a feeling notice how it stands with you quiet steady radiant this is the you who has always been the you who is not broken the you who does not need to perform now let yourself approach this self let yourself feel its nearness and when you already imagine embracing it the embrace is full and complete because you are finally embracing you as you hold this self whisper these truths i belong to myself i am not separate pieces i am whole i do not need to be perfect to be worthy i carry all of me with compassion and acceptance that those words echo within let them soften something inside of you that has been waiting to rest bring your awareness back now to your body sitting or laying here feel your hands your feet your chest rising and falling feel the ground holding you and notice this body is yours this body belongs to the wholeness of you it is not separate from your heart or mind it is all one thank you body for carrying me now notice the thoughts that may still flicker notice how they are moving how they come and go and instead of fighting them say thank you mind for trying to keep me safe your thoughts are not enemies they are part of you too you can thank them and still not be defined by them now notice the quiet awareness behind it all the witness the you who sees this awareness has always been here when you were a child when you were a teenager now as an adult this awareness has been constant that is yourself whole steady unbroken say softly again thank you self for never leaving me return now to the circle see all the parts of you gathered within it the anxious part the joyful part the tired part the strong part the tender part and at the center the self see them all belonging together not scattered not exiled whole and as you watch see this circle glow brighter stronger steadier this is the circle of your own belonging you can return to it anytime bring your hands together now holding them gently as though they were the hands of your whole self feel their warmth feel their life and take one more soft breath you're ready slowly open your eyes carry this truth with you you do not need to divide yourself into acceptable and unacceptable parts you do not need to exile who you are to be loved wholeness has always been yours you can begin to live from it namaste
