Hello and welcome to this short meditation that I hope will offer you greater peace of mind and a sense of self-compassion as it invites you to step away from negative,
Limiting,
Or unsupportive thoughts and into a broader,
Clearer perspective of who you really are.
In our modern day society,
Which thrives on competition,
Judgment,
And limited views about who we are and what we have to offer,
It is commonplace to experience some sense of lack or a sense of not-okayness due to our inability to consistently measure up in the way that we are taught to.
But in reality,
What's wrong is nothing within us.
Instead,
There is a blindness or a missightedness within our collective society at large or in the way that our modern societies are set up.
So in this meditation,
I will guide you towards lifting that veil to witness a deeper level of truth,
Which is that you are perfectly whole,
Perfectly worthy,
And perfectly enough right in this very moment.
So I invite you to begin by bringing yourself into a comfortable seated position,
Either on a chair,
A bench,
Or on the floor.
Bend the back while keeping both it and the shoulders relaxed and allow the chest to open comfortably.
Soften your forehead,
Your jaw,
And your arms,
Allowing your hands to rest wherever they are comfortable.
Now take a few moments to explore what it means to land in this space.
With closed eyes,
What can you sense about your present experience?
You might tune into the breath,
Into any visceral sensations within the body,
Or into the surface beneath you.
Whatever helps you to arrive here,
To move away from the planning or ruminating mind,
Tune into that with a softness and an openness.
Notice where there is any tension in the physical body and see if you can bring a softness to it.
Relax the belly,
The hips,
The shoulders,
The jaw,
And the forehead,
Feeling into any sensation of release that may be occurring.
Follow your breath for a few moments here,
Watching its movement into and out of the lungs.
Without forcing the breath in any way,
See if it might gracefully deepen as you relax the stomach and drop the shoulders if there is still any tightness in these areas.
If thoughts arise,
Such as any judgement about whether you're doing this right,
Any negative self-talk,
Or any preoccupation with the future or the past,
See if you can create some sense of distance between these thoughts and the higher self that is witnessing them flowing into and out of your being.
Without suppressing them or pushing them out of sight,
Compassionately acknowledge their presence without fixation,
Judgement,
Or attachment to their message.
After each thought appears,
Return to the breath to draw you back into the present moment.
Self-love and compassion are not about embodying an inflated sense of self.
They're not about being unmovable,
Unshakable,
Or unaffected by things around you.
However,
As we deepen our sense of self-love and self-compassion,
We strengthen our ability to witness the effect that things have on us from a higher or a clearer vantage point.
We slowly begin to take things less personally,
Becoming more curious about the flow of our thoughts and the emotions that our thoughts evoke.
As we begin to love ourselves on a deeper level,
We begin to see through the veil that has us believe our worthiness is conditional,
Or that our worthiness of love is based on our actions,
Our appearance,
Or any other external standard we might hold ourselves to.
So as we begin to see through these conditioned expectations we hold for ourselves,
We move closer towards experiencing unconditional self-love.
So allow this deeper understanding to unfold within you right now and over time,
Continually coming back to the stillness within your heart space that is untouched by the maneuvers of the mind.
Now draw your attention to the heart space,
Simply feeling the breaths flow into and out of this area of the chest while keeping it slow and steady.
If or when negative self-talk intervenes,
See if you can create a slight separation between yourself and this thought,
And then gently welcome the thought down to the heart for release.
Take a few more quiet moments to practice this on your own now,
Using the rhythm of your mind.
In just a moment,
You will return to the world around you.
As you move through the rest of your day,
Remember that in any moment you are free to return to the silent,
Steady space within you as you create distance between yourself and any negative or self-limiting thoughts you may have.
I invite you to bring your hands to the heart space now,
Either in prayer or palms down,
One on top of the other,
To say a few silent words of thanks to yourself for taking this time to tune into the world within.
Thank you for joining me here and I wish you a beautiful day.
