Welcome to this mini lesson and guided experience.
Brought to you by Create The Calm.
Before we begin,
Allow yourself to arrive.
Notice the surface supporting you.
Feel the weight of your body.
Let your shoulders soften even slightly.
Without changing your breath,
Simply notice it moving in.
.
.
And out.
Allow yourself to settle into this moment,
Just as you are.
There's nowhere else you need to be for these next few moments.
Nothing you need to accomplish.
Nothing you need to figure out.
Just allow yourself.
To be here.
There's a place inside of us that longs to come home,
Not to another person,
Not to another place,
And not to another version of ourselves,
Simply home to ourselves.
When we experience something that's too much for us to carry,
Something within us responds.
Our body and our mind begin doing what they know how to do to help us survive.
Sometimes that protection looks like staying alert.
Preparing for what might happen next.
Replaying the past,
Trying to understand what happened or searching for the thing we could have done differently.
Sometimes it looks like holding tension in our bodies,
Disconnecting from our feelings,
Staying busy,
Or always feeling like we need to be ready.
We often look at these responses and wonder why we can't just move on.
We wonder why something that happened long ago could still affect us today.
We may even judge ourselves for the ways we have learned to cope.
But what if we looked at those parts of ourselves differently?
What if they're not signs that something is wrong with us?
What if they're signs that something within us has been trying to protect us?
There may have been moments in your life when something happened that was more than you knew how to hold.
Perhaps you didn't have the words,
The support,
The understanding,
Or the ability to process what was happening in that moment.
So something within you stepped forward and carried what you couldn't carry yet,
Not because you were weak.
Not because you failed.
But because you were human.
Sometimes we return to the past because we're trying to understand it.
We search through memories,
Conversations,
And moments,
Hoping that if we can just find the missing piece,
We can finally feel safe.
We may think.
If I can understand what happened,
If I can figure out what I missed,
If I can find what I should have done differently,
Maybe I can make sure it never happens again.
Sometimes we move into the future instead.
We imagine the day when things will finally be different.
The day when we'll feel safe.
The day when we can rest.
The day when we no longer have to carry what we've been carrying.
These are not failures.
They are the many ways we've tried to care for ourselves.
But healing invites us into a different relationship with ourselves.
It invites us to gently return to the present.
Not because the past doesn't matter.
Not because what happened was acceptable.
Not because we should simply forget and move on.
But because the present is where we are now.
The present is where we can meet ourselves with the compassion,
Understanding,
And support we may not have had before.
Now,
Let's go ahead and move into a guided practice to explore what we've learned so far.
Take a moment to notice your breath.
Notice your body.
Notice the support beneath you.
Allow yourself to recognize that in this moment,
You are here.
You don't have to solve your entire story right now.
You don't have to understand everything that happened.
You only have to allow yourself to be present with yourself for this moment.
If it feels comfortable.
Gently bring your awareness to your body.
Notice what you find there.
Perhaps there is a place that feels tense or tired.
Perhaps there's heaviness,
Discomfort,
Or a feeling you can't quite name.
Perhaps there's nothing obvious at all.
Whatever you notice.
Is okay.
You're not searching for something wrong.
You're simply listening.
And as you listen,
Consider the possibility that your body has been trying to help you.
Consider that some part of you may have been standing watch for a very long time.
Carrying something because,
At the time,
That was the only way forward.
Not because part of you is broken.
But because that part of you was devoted to your survival.
If it feels right,
You might offer a few quiet words of gratitude.
Thank you for protecting me.
Thank you for carrying what I could not yet carry.
Thank you for staying with me.
Thank you for trusting that one day I would return.
Allow yourself to notice what happens when you meet yourself with appreciation.
Instead of judgment.
You don't have to force anything to change.
You don't have to make anything disappear.
You're simply beginning a conversation with a part of yourself that's been waiting to be seen.
And when you're ready.
Perhaps you can offer these words.
I'm here now.
I'm with you now.
I have lived.
I have learned.
I have grown.
I may be able to hold what I couldn't hold before.
You don't have to carry this alone anymore.
Take a slow breath.
And allow yourself to sit with that.
And if these words feel true for you.
Gently offer this invitation.
It's not yours to carry alone anymore.
It's time for you to come home to me.
And it's time for me to come home to you.
Healing isn't always one moment where everything changes.
Often,
Healing is a relationship that's rebuilt over time.
It's returning to yourself again and again with kindness.
It's learning that the parts of you you may have struggled with are also the parts of you that have been trying the hardest to protect you.
Perhaps today is simply one step.
One moment of kindness.
One breath,
We remember that you are here.
You don't have to become someone else to heal.
You don't have to erase your past or control your future.
You can allow the past to become something you carry with wisdom.
You can allow the future to become something you move toward with trust.
And you can allow the present to become the place where you come home to yourself.
