Accessing Internal Resources To Calm Worries

In this meditation, you will be guided to connect with your inner strengths to achieve a state of calmness and clarity. You’ll create a peaceful scene, immersing yourself in a place of complete relaxation and contentment. This meditation helps you engage with your worries in a new and meaningful way. As you observe your thoughts, you will gently remind yourself of your innate ability to address worries effectively. You will connect with a version of you that embodies tranquility, wisdom, and resilience.

This practice serves as an introductory guide to holding space for your worries while responding to them with the strength and serenity of your Most Resourced Self.

Music: Composed and performed by Mylana Lunde
Artwork: El Rio de Luz (The River of Light), 1877, Frederic Edwin Church

Influences: Internal Dialogue Technique - Janina Fisher, Ph.D., Internal Family Systems Theory - Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., Anchored Relational Framework - Patti Miller, MA, LP, Phyllis C. Solon, PsyD, LP

Transcript

For the next few minutes, Give yourself permission to access relaxation and present focused awareness. Get comfortable in a seated or lying position. Allow yourself to ease into this moment. Turn your attention inward. Tune into what your body is communicating to you. Notice where you have been holding tightness or tension. Gently allow your muscles to ease. Settle into yourself. Notice the rhythm of your breathing without trying to change it or make any adjustments to it. Just be present with the pace of your breath as you inhale and exhale. Make note of where you feel the sensation of your breathing most prominently. Feel the air enter through your nose. Feel its coolness as it meets the warmth of your body. Feel it fill your lungs. Notice your chest and diaphragm expanding and contracting to accommodate the flow of air through your body. Observe the pace of your thoughts. Notice any busyness in your mind. If you notice a feeling of urgency behind your thoughts that are making it difficult to focus on this present moment, Take some time to tend to those racing thoughts. See if you are able to connect with the wisdom and resources that are innate within you. You have already demonstrated your capacity to call upon these strengths by dedicating this time to slowing down. Remember the intention behind that decision. All of the worries flooding your mind can be reassured that you will tend to each and every one of their concerns after you've taken a few minutes to get back to a state of calmness and contentment. Remind these worried thoughts that you will be able to be your most effective self in responding to their needs when your nervous system is regulated. See if those worried thoughts are open to giving you the time and space for the next few minutes to do so. Remind these worried thoughts that you will not ignore their needs. See if you can nurture the feeling of self-trust in order to take the next few minutes to not hold so tightly to those worries. Allow the feeling of contentment and calm rush over you as the worried thoughts create some space for you to take care of yourself. Call to your mind a visual representation of what it feels like to be in your calm and center. The you that is most at peace, Gentle, Quiet, Still. Call upon your creativity and imagination as you sculpt the image in your mind of you at ease, Connected, Wise, Grounded. What do you see? Set the scene. With your mind's eye, Observe yourself in your purest form of stillness and calm, Completely relaxed and in tune with yourself. Where are you? What setting allows for you to be so at peace? Are you surrounded by warmth and light, Or a colorful mist of calm? Are you in nature? What calming scents waft through the breeze? Do you hear soothing, Hypnotic sounds that lull you into a state of complete stillness? What do you feel? Take a few moments to fill in the details of your most tranquil self. Feel this tranquility integrate into your being. This image in your mind of you at peace is not just some fragment of your imagination. You are getting a glimpse of your internal resources that are inherent within you. This version of you at peace is available to you whenever you need to call upon it. Step into yourself. Allow the feeling of calm and relaxation to fill your being. Tranquility is not the only resource that this part of you has to offer. This part of you can enable you to approach your life with non-judgment and curiosity, Helping you to manage reactivity and emotions that might otherwise override your intentionality. This part of you also holds clarity on situations, Which gives way for meaningful perspective and creates space for more calmness. It allows for creativity in how you respond to and overcome life's challenges, And it maintains confidence in your resilience. This part of you also holds boundless compassion for yourself and others. It fosters a feeling of connectedness to yourself, Others, And the world around you. This part of you that has access to all of these qualities is your most resourced self. These are not qualities and characteristics that have to be developed or created. You have access to these resources at any time. However, If you are finding it difficult to connect with these qualities of your most resourced self, Or if you are noticing self-judgments emerging about your ability to embody these qualities, Take a moment to respond to those worries. Reassure yourself that there have been times in your life where you were guided by these strengths and qualities. Call to your mind an example of a time in which you felt calm and confident. Remember how empowered you felt. Remember how it felt to be so centered in yourself. Search for evidence that you have the capacity to call upon these resources inside of yourself when the circumstances call for it. Maybe there is a time that you have truly surprised yourself with your ability to respond intentionally to a challenging situation. Maybe there has been a time recently when you listened to your inner voice to do something kind for yourself or another person. Remember that you have already accessed these internal resources today by choosing to take the time to be present with yourself. Take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate the ways in which you have called upon your most resourced self now and in the past. There is another strength that the most resourced self holds that hasn't yet been mentioned, And that is courage. Call upon your courage in this moment and trust in your ability to maintain your connection with your most resourced self, Even as we begin to allow space for some of your worries to re-emerge. You can engage with these worries without being overtaken by them. The goal of this practice is to validate these worries and to offer them guidance and reassurance, To build on your ability to quiet feelings of overwhelm and self-doubt. Listen to what the worries have to say. What are they so concerned about? What outcomes are these worries working to prevent or protect you from? Find a piece of these worries that makes sense to you. Validate these worries in yourself by sitting with them for a few moments. Allow your most resourced self to communicate to them that you understand why their worries are so concerning and feel so urgent. Have your most resourced self extend some appreciation for the protective intentions of these worries. Take some time to be with those worries while continuing to access the strengths that your most resourced self has to offer. Call into your mind the setting you created to get to know your most resourced self. Remember the scene that you set. Call back to your attention the imagery and sensations that you experienced when connecting with the version of yourself in your most tranquil state of being. See if this most resourced and tranquil part of you is able to extend a welcoming gesture to the worried parts of you. Allow space for these worries within your scene of tranquility and calm. Let these worries know that they are welcome with you there. These worries may need some time to warm up to the idea of being taken care of by your most resourced self. See if you can ask them what they might need from you to make them more comfortable. What do they need in order to build trust in your ability to nurture them? Take a few moments to imagine your most resourced self and your worried parts engaging with one another with a shared appreciation for one another. Your most resourced self can offer your worried parts reassurance and nurturing whenever they might need it. Your worried parts are welcome to share in the abundance of your internal resources in order to respond to life's stressors in intentional ways. Your most resourced self can be there to listen to these worries and can offer clarity and perspective that the overwhelming worries might not have insight into. Your most resourced self can offer guidance and help find creative solutions to life's problems. You can offer your worried parts courage and confidence when they need it the most. Notice how your worried parts respond to the feeling of being heard and taken care of. Notice how your most resourced self feels while holding space for these worries and extending compassion and peace to them. Now it is time to return to your day. Remember that you can access these internal resources whenever you may need them. Make a commitment to your worried parts that you will continue to be there for them in this loving and compassionate way. Carry with you the feeling of calm and confidence throughout your day. Now reacquaint yourself with your surroundings. Observe your environment with the curiosity innate within you. Reconnect with your body by gently moving and stretching to ground yourself back into the day that awaits you.