Defense Against The Shadows

Welcome to Meditation Station.

You are listening to Defense Against the Shadows.

Prepare to journey inwards.

Find a place where you won't be disturbed.

Sit comfortably.

When you're ready,

Close your eyes.

Take deep breaths.

Deeper.

Wider.

Feel yourself relax.

Feel your body melt into your seat.

Feel your mind open to possibility.

Good.

Listen to the beat.

Synchronize your breath to the rhythm.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Listen and feel yourself connect.

Take another slow deep breath and let go of any tension.

Feel yourself sinking into your chair,

Becoming even more comfortable and relaxed.

Take another slow deep breath and release all your thoughts.

Let them drip far away.

Bring your awareness into your heart.

Notice a softness there.

A feeling of peace.

Take a moment to enjoy this feeling as you quietly focus into your heart.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Notice the energy is also moving from the sky into the earth through your body.

With each breath,

This energy moves.

Know this.

Feel it deeply.

Allow your awareness to drop down into your center.

And notice that your breathing has become steady and peaceful.

And although your body is deeply relaxed,

Your mind is bridged.

Between your conscious self and a much deeper world.

You are relaxed and alert.

Good.

Now you are ready.

Now you are ready to tap into your subconscious.

To find possibilities for action that are deeply authentic to who you are.

What you believe.

And what you want.

Let's begin.

You are walking down the street when you feel compelled to stop at a theater.

You pull open the big old doors to the movie theater and step inside.

Take a look around you.

You're in an art deco lobby.

Really cool.

There's no one around you but the place smells like popcorn.

Take a good whiff.

Nice.

If you want some popcorn,

Go ahead and grab some off the counter.

Now head into the main theater.

Again no one is there.

The lights are low.

Every seat is empty.

The curtains are pulled across the screen.

So take a minute and find yourself a seat.

Get a good one.

Settle in.

Make yourself comfy.

Notice how the seat feels.

Comfortable,

Inviting,

Luxurious.

As you might have guessed,

You're sitting in a magical movie theater.

When the movie starts it will be on the screen.

But you'll also be able to control it from your seat,

From your mind.

It's very cool.

You'll see how it works in a minute.

What makes the movies in this theater so powerful is that you can experience them from safe distance.

Yet still interact with them.

Now the lights go down and the curtain opens up.

All of this big Hollywood music comes in.

It sounds really good and dramatic.

And the title of the movie flashes up there.

Defense Against the Shadows.

You intuitively know what this movie is about.

It's about all of the forces and factors in your life that appear to challenge you,

To thwart you.

When you're moving forward in your creativity,

Your life,

Or anything else.

What's so interesting about this movie is that the same villains pretty much show up for everyone.

They just take different forms,

Different flavors,

Different voices.

And again,

From the luxury seat in the theater it's all good.

You can watch the action and even be in it without it being real.

It's an interactive movie where you are always safe.

You appear on the screen in a big white room.

You know it'll soon be time to encounter the various villains and shadow characters.

That attempt to stop you from being seen,

Expressed,

And moving forward in your life.

So from your seat in the theater,

You speak in your mind.

You say force fields,

Shields,

And armor.

Good.

Thank you.

This is where it gets kind of sci-fi.

Soon as you speak the words in your mind,

Various force fields,

Shields,

And armor appears on the screen.

Check that out.

What does that look like?

How does it feel?

Whether your shield is a translucent icy film,

Or a force field that glows with green energy,

Or a full-on knight in shining armor outfit,

It's all good.

It feels good,

And it keeps you safe.

Notice how all of this feels from way back there in your seat in the theater.

Soon you will be meeting your so-called villains.

They're going to take on the shape of a character,

A person,

Maybe even a cartoon,

Or a parent,

Or a teacher.

Some of these villains will be concepts,

But it's easy for you to personify them in some way.

And the thing about it is that although they all appear to be villains,

They're actually allies.

If you know their names and focus their power in the right direction.

The first one to show up on the screen is your inner critic.

So create a physical character of it.

Maybe it's a weenie little mouse with a big mouth.

Or someone who kind of looks like your not very cool grade school teacher.

Whatever it looks like,

It has a name tag or shirt or something that says inner critic.

As you watch from your comfy seat,

Notice how your inner critic just lays into you.

It says whatever it can to keep you down.

And the past might have stopped you from moving forward with your work.

It might have even talked you into quitting or giving up.

But this time,

Notice how all the words and energy just bounce off your shields,

Force fields,

And armor.

No sweat.

Tell your ick to bring it on and notice how it doesn't affect you at all.

Go ahead.

Ask your inner critic to step it up and notice that it's no big deal.

When your inner critic runs out of juice and starts to chill out,

It's time to tell it that you are the boss.

So go ahead and let your inner critic know that it's not running the show anymore.

Good.

Notice how the inner critic listens to you,

Pays attention to you.

It has to because it's a part of you.

Like when you tell your arm to lift up a pencil,

Your arm has to obey.

So does your inner critic.

To take even more energy from your inner critic,

We're going to do a sneaky move,

Something it won't expect.

Look your inner critic straight in the eye and say,

I love you.

Mean it.

Love melts away all negativity.

Notice how your inner critic reacts.

Notice how it softens up.

And if you feel into it,

Notice that its pain is now being healed.

You and your inner critic can now be friends.

Remind your inner critic that you are the boss and that although you appreciate the friction and challenges it's brought you at times,

Its voice is only appreciated and allowed to speak when you specifically request it.

Make sure your inner critic knows the deal,

Understands the rules.

Good.

Thank you.

And thank your inner critic.

Now your inner critic vanishes.

A similar encounter is about to happen with a bunch of different characters and forces.

We'll briefly run through the same scenario in each one.

You always remain safe in your armor and force fields.

Just watch this whole thing play out from the luxurious seat in the movie theater.

You'll meet them,

Love them,

Thank them.

And notice that their power diminishes substantially.

The next so-called villain is procrastination.

Make it into a character in your mind.

On the screen.

Now greet it.

Love it.

Use its energy to your advantage like some kind of rock star ninja.

Then remind it that you're the boss and it's only welcome when you invite it into your world.

Good.

The next character is negativity in people.

Feedback yourself.

Again,

Greet it.

Love it.

And remind it that you're the boss and it's only welcome when you invite it into your world.

Good.

The next one is plain old failure.

Make it into a character.

Greet it.

Love it.

And remind it that you're the boss and it's only welcome when you invite it to speak.

Good.

You know that you'll be seeing this guy again.

But now you're friends and you can learn from it.

There's always something to learn from failure.

Use that energy.

The next character is the concept of giving away your power.

Who or what have you given your power to?

Make that the character.

Greet it.

Love it.

And remind it that you are the boss.

Take your power back.

Feel it flow into your body,

Veins,

Mind and heart.

Thank you and thank this character for so easily giving you your power back.

All you had to do was ask.

The last character is made up of a bunch of forces,

Ideas,

Shadows or whatever.

That have been known to steal your juice.

It could be anything.

But this one is generally made up of elements of indecision.

A perceived lack of time.

Judgements of yourself or others.

Maybe the lack of discipline.

Again,

Greet this character.

Love it.

Love it deeply.

And remind it that you are in charge.

Take your power back.

Feel it infuse into your body,

Cells,

Mind,

Heart.

Thank you.

And thank this character for returning all of this energy to you.

All you had to do was ask.

As you watch yourself up there on the screen,

Notice how you are elevated.

Glowing with energy,

Lit up.

Perhaps you are standing on a little stage or a few steps.

You are physically a few feet above the floor.

As you experience this,

All of the characters you just met reappear.

But this time they are below you,

Looking up to you.

Instead of being mean and kind of scary,

They are all smiling.

They are all beaming love to you.

They are your friends and allies.

And although it may be their nature to act out sometimes,

To snap at you or be nasty,

At their core,

They do love you.

And now that they've all had this little meeting,

They know their place and they do want to help you.

Thank them again and notice how they thank you for helping them to understand their place in your life and mind.

And how they are there to help you because they are part of you.

From the comfy seat where you are watching this,

It might be a nice gesture to do a standing ovation for this movie.

Some applause.

This is a big deal.

It's a cool movie you just rewrote your story and it will alter your life and psyche long after you leave the theater.

You know this intellectually and you feel it in your body and heart.

You feel lighter,

More fluid,

More full of energy,

Creativity and goodness.

You are a movie star.

Great work.

When you are ready,

Take some deep breaths and head for the door.

Breathe again.

Wiggle your fingers and toes.

And when you get to the door of the movie theater,

Open your eyes and land back here in the 3D world in this time.

Now.