Hello and welcome to the Sweetheart Meditation.
This is a meditation that can be done with a sweet,
Kind,
And compassionate attitude toward yourself.
More specifically,
The parts of yourself that you sometimes try to avoid because it's easier to not deal with these difficult parts of ourselves that are hurting,
Confused,
Angry,
Afraid,
Sad,
And dealing with all of the trappings of being a human being.
So keeping this attitude in mind,
The same attitude you would use to support and nurture your best friend or a child who came to you and was hurting and needed you to listen and encourage and understand and normalize.
Practicing talking to yourself with this kind of compassionate self-talk is a very healthy practice we can undertake in order to befriend these difficult parts of ourselves.
So beginning with a dignified posture,
Sitting upright but also relaxed,
And taking some nice long exaggerated exhales.
A deep inhale is fine,
But an even deeper and longer exhale.
Just doing this for the next moment.
Deep inhales,
Deeper exhales.
Now,
Keeping in mind there is a window of tolerance and a window of overwhelm.
And in a moment I'll ask you to bring to mind a situation or an event or a person that has a tendency to evoke this difficult part of you that is sometimes uncomfortable to bear.
So maybe it's a current world event that's bringing up fear or frustration.
Maybe it's a relationship that brings up pain or confusion.
Or bring to mind another example that might bring up sadness or another difficult emotion.
And that's what we want to work with today,
Through the window of tolerance.
Being able to turn toward it and work with it,
Knowing that we've made this mind-body connection with our breath.
And if it becomes too much,
The window of overwhelm,
That's enough for today.
You're allowed to take a step back,
Make a cup of tea,
Go for a walk and practice self-care.
So moving into this situation where you call to mind this part of you that is sometimes easily avoided,
You'd rather not deal with.
And notice how that feels.
What comes up in the body.
And make contact with that difficult feeling.
Creating enough emotional space to hold this difficult part.
Similar to how you would hold a child or a pet in a kind and compassionate way.
If the pet or the child is hurting,
We have enough equanimity and balance and emotional space to be with that without needing to change it.
Just supporting and holding with presence.
So,
Making contact with it and engaging in some self-talk,
Similar to how you would talk to your best friend who was also confused or angry.
You'd listen,
Do your best to understand and offer your compassion and forgiveness and a real nurturing,
Kind,
Accepting attitude.
So in this way we are also turning toward ourselves and learning how to befriend this difficult part of ourselves.
Remembering that you're human and like the rest of us,
You don't get to go through this life without experiencing the pain of difficult relationships or the pain that comes with relationships ending or the challenges of being human.
So this part of you that is difficult to be with,
Remembering that that's part of being human and that's okay.
You are allowed to feel this way.
And the self-talk might sound like,
I see you.
You're doing okay.
I see you.
Keep going.
I see you sweetheart.
It's okay and you're okay.
I love you.
Keep going.
I love you sweetheart.
Keep going.
And you can play with whatever phrases or wording that works best for you.
This is just an example.
So you can keep working with this on your own.
In a moment we'll wrap up this meditation congratulating yourself for doing this difficult work.
This is a hallmark of mental health when we are able to integrate as part of our whole,
These parts of ourselves that we're somehow or sometimes fragmented or separated from.
So this is important work and you courageously today allowed yourself to do this difficult work.
So recognizing this act of self-care and coming back to this meditation or this practice again tomorrow or as needed throughout your day,
Thank you for listening.
