Take The Mask Off

A guided meditation exploring the mask we wear even when no one else is around. We gently look at why being alone with ourselves can feel unfamiliar or scary, then move through breathwork and affirmations to practise meeting yourself exactly as you are, without pretense.

Music by Viacheslav Starostin from Pixabay

Transcript

Welcome and find a place to settle in. Wherever you are right now. Let your body soften into whatever is holding you up. A chair, A bed, The floor. You don't have to sit up straight. You don't have to look a certain way. No one is watching. Take a breath in. And let it go. Another breath in. I'm out. Just arrive here. In this moment. I want to talk about masks. The ones we wear for other people, So they'll accept us, So they won't worry. So we won't disappoint them. But taking the mask off isn't only about other people. It's about having at least one place. Even if it's just this room. Just you. Alone. Where you don't have to perform. Where there's no pressure and no pretense. Or you can just be you. We should be able to take the mask off in our own presence. Not just with a partner or a friend, A therapist. But alone. And here's the part that's harder to see out loud. Sometimes the hardest place to take the mask off. Is when no one else is around. Because if you've been disconnected from yourself for a long time, Being alone with yourself. Can feel unfamiliar. Even I'm safe. Think about it. With other people, At least you know what you're managing. You know which parts to soften. Which parts to hide. Which parts get you the reaction you want. There's a strange kind of safety in that. Even when it's exhausting. But alone. There's no one to pull form for. And if you're not performing. What's that? Who is that? For a lot of us, We genuinely don't know. We've been so busy being who we needed to be for everyone else. At the version of us with no audience? Feels like a stranger. And underneath that. Is a real fear. What if I take it off? And I don't like what I see. What if underneath all the managing and softening and hiding? There's someone I don't recognize. Or someone I've spent years running from. I want you to know that fear is allowed to be here too. You don't have to already feel safe with yourself to start. You just have to be willing to sit in the same room as yourself. For a few minutes. Mask or no mask. And see what happens. And that's what we're going to practice right now. Let's breathe together for a moment. Breathe in slowly through your nose. And release it slowly through your mouth. Again in I'm out. Maybe a little deeper in. And out. As you keep breathing at your own pace. I'm going to offer you a few words. You don't have to believe them yet. Just let them sit with you. I am allowed. To be here just as I am. I am allowed. To be here just as I am. What is underneath the mask. Is still worthy of kindness. What is underneath the mask. Is still worthy of kindness. I can meet myself exactly as I am right now. I can meet myself exactly as I am right now. I do not have to have it figured out. To be worthy of my own patience. You do not have to have it figured out. To be worthy of my own patience. Whoever is under the mask, She is still mine. I'm not running from her anymore. Whoever is under the mask. She is still mine. I'm not running from her anymore. I can be curious about myself. Instead of afraid. I can be curious about myself. Instead of afraid. And stay here for a few more breaths at your own pace. No mask. No performance. Just you breathing. Whatever you found underneath today. However much or little you were able to see. That's enough for today. You don't have to take the whole mask off all at once. You just have to know it's possible. You have to know there's a version of you that doesn't need to perform, And she's not gone. She's right here. Under whatever you've been carrying. You don't have to figure out how to keep that feeling for the rest of the day. You don't have to bring the full mask-off version of you into every room today. That's not the assignment. The assignment is smaller. Somewhere today. In a small moment. Notice when the mask goes back on. Notice it without judging yourself for it. Just notice. That noticing is the whole practice. And that noticing. Is how we start to loosen the mask. And maybe tonight or tomorrow morning. You give yourself another minute like this one. Just you in your own room. No audience. Not to fix anything. Just to keep practicing being in your own company. Whatever is under there, It's still worth being met with kindness. And it's still worth being seen. I see you. And it's beautiful. Take one more breath in. And let it go. Start to bring a little movement back into your fingers and your toes. When you're ready, You can open your eyes. And carry this with you into the rest of your day. Stay Crappet!