Getting To Know Yourself Better With Internal Family Systems

This meditation will introduce you to a basic practice that we utilize in something called Internal Family Systems Theory.

This is an amazing way to get to know more about yourself,

To be able to understand better different behaviors or symptoms that we may be experiencing,

And to be able to heal parts of ourselves that may have experienced less than nurturing things in the past.

This is something that I encourage you to do every day,

Especially if you are just getting started with Internal Family Systems work,

As it will help you not only get to know your parts better,

But also help your parts build trust with you that you will continue to attend to them.

And so to get started,

I invite you to take a position of comfort.

Typically sitting up is best with an upright posture.

And if you have not done so already,

I invite you to slowly close your eyes.

And to begin,

We'll take a big deep breath in from the belly and slowly exhale.

And oftentimes,

Parts can manifest as physical sensations,

Thoughts,

Emotions or images.

And so a good way to identify a different part of us that may be present in this moment or one that is needing our attention is to do a body scan.

And so I invite you to slowly start at the crown of your head and take a few moments here,

Working your way down.

And just noticing and observing any sensations that may be present in your body in this moment.

Try not to judge or criticize,

But simply observe what is present for you.

And if you notice multiple sensations are present,

Just observe exactly that.

And let your parts know how thankful you are that they're willing to come forward and let themselves be known in this moment.

And let them know that you will continue to get to know each of them.

And just see if there's one in particular that feels particularly loud,

Or maybe like it needs the most attention from you in this moment.

It might feel like the most intense sensation out of all of them,

Or just intuitive knowing that this one in particular is needing some attention from you.

And as you focus in on that one part,

That one sensation in your body,

Just notice if there's maybe an image,

A thought,

An emotion that goes along with the sensation as you give it some attention.

And if it feels like it's difficult to focus in on the sensation,

Because maybe there's other thoughts or sensations trying to get your attention,

Just gently ask those parts if they'd be willing to take a step back so we can stay with this particular part in this moment.

And as you focus in on this particular sensation or part of you,

Just get a bit curious and internally ask it,

What does it need you to know in this moment?

If it had a voice and could say anything without fear of judgment or consequence,

What would it say in this moment?

And you could also get curious and ask it,

What is its positive intention?

How does it help you when it's present within you?

And even if it feels like it might be difficult for you to understand it,

As far as the reason that it helps you or that you may feel a little uncertain or negative towards it,

Just ask that emotion and that part of you to take a small step back so you can continue to be with this part of you,

Remaining curious and open to it.

And you could also ask it if there's anything that it needs from you in this moment.

And to finish up with this specific part,

Just ask it what it would like from you moving forward.

Maybe it's simply to keep checking in with it.

Or maybe it's to do some journaling to feel like it has a voice and a way to continue to communicate with you directly.

And if you're able to make that commitment to that part to honor whatever it's needing from you.

And now invite any other parts,

Any other sensations that you may have noticed before to come forward.

Again,

If it feels like there's multiple parts,

That's very normal,

Especially if we're just starting out in this work,

Because parts of us so badly want to have a voice.

So just see if there's one in particular that feels the loudest or like it might be needing the most attention in this moment.

And if it feels like you're having a hard time accessing anything,

That's okay.

Just continue to be patient,

Holding that space as an invitation to any parts that may emerge in a few moments,

Even if they're not there in this moment.

And so similar to what we did with that first part,

I invite you to focus in on the one that feels the most loud in this moment.

And just getting curious about it.

Just seeing if you notice a specific image,

Thought or emotion that appears as you give it some attention.

And simply asking it,

What does it need you to know in this moment?

Or if it had a voice and could say anything at all right now without fear of consequence or judgment,

What would it say?

And again,

If it feels like other parts are making it difficult to focus in on this one or other thoughts,

Just again,

Simply ask those parts and thoughts to take a step back.

And asking this part,

What is its positive intention?

How does it feel like it helps you?

And then asking it,

Is there anything that it needs from you in this moment,

Or maybe moving forward?

And if it feels like you're able to,

Honoring whatever commitment you can make to this part based off of whatever feedback you're getting from it and what it may need from you.

And if it feels like there's other parts that we haven't gotten a chance to get to know yet or still feel pretty activated,

You can feel free to pause this meditation or rewind and continue on with that same way of getting to know new parts within you or new sensations within you.

And if you don't have the extra time to do that today,

Just assuring those parts of you if you feel like you can make the commitment that you'll be back and that you're committed to giving space to all of your parts and getting to know all of them.

And so now express some gratitude to all of the parts that were willing to come forward and show themselves to you today,

Letting them know how much you appreciate their ability to trust and their willingness to make themselves shown to you as that can be kind of scary,

Especially again if this is a new way of being and a new level of insight and self-reflection that you're working on.

And so whenever you're ready,

Go ahead and take a final big deep breath in,

Filling up the belly and lungs with as much air as it can hold and slowly exhale and gently open your eyes.

And you can do this again as many times as you need to,

As often as you need to.

And if it feels like it's difficult to get to know your parts or maybe feels very overwhelming and you're uncertain of how to assist them,

There are many great internal family systems therapists and coaches out there that I encourage you to research if this is something you're interested in,

As this work can be profoundly healing and have a very positive impact on all aspects of ourself and our wellbeing.

Thank you for meditating with me.