Feeling Seen

Welcome to Day 8 of Insight Timer's Reset & Refresh Challenge. In today's session with Alex Elle you are exploring what it means to feel seen in your life. You'll be practising the power of self-awareness and connection because being seen is not just about the gaze of others, but also about the acknowledgement of our own essence, and embracing and accepting our strengths and weaknesses.

Transcript

Welcome to Day 8 of Insight Timer's Reset and Refresh Challenge.

Your call to break free from the ordinary,

Let go of what's been holding you back,

And step into your life with a fresh perspective.

Let's jump into today's session.

Hello everyone.

Welcome to Week 2 of Insight Timer's Reset and Refresh Challenge.

My name is Alex L.

,

And I am thrilled to be here with you for the next seven days.

Last week,

With Sarah Blondin,

It was all about shifting your perspective and changing the way you look at the world.

By evoking feelings of awe,

Wonder,

And tenderness,

You were encouraged to step outside of the daily grind and reawaken the love and gratitude that you have for your life.

What a beautiful way to start 2024.

Now that you have this renewed sense of joy for the things around you,

It's time to turn inward.

The aim of our week together is to sit with and consider what you need to let go of in order to make space for the person that you are becoming.

Through introspection and honesty,

You'll make room for your true self by focusing on the things in your life that make you feel seen,

Heard,

Loved,

Aligned,

Joyful,

And more.

My hope is that you'll emerge with clarity on what's in alignment and what you want in your life in 2024,

While also giving yourself grace as you say goodbye to the parts of you that are no longer in alignment.

Today,

We are touching on feeling seen in our lives.

We're going to be exploring the power of self-awareness and connection,

Diving into what truly makes us feel seen in the depths of our souls.

Being seen is not just about the gaze of others,

But also about the acknowledgement of our own essence,

Of our own existence and glory.

It's about embracing the beautiful mess that we are and finding the light within.

So I'd like us to take a few moments to reflect on what makes us feel the most seen,

Both by ourselves and by the world around us.

To get grounded,

Let's close our eyes and take a deep breath.

Inhale deeply,

Filling your lungs with the present moment and exhale,

Releasing any tensions or worries.

Feeling the weight of your body ground into the earth,

Continue to breathe and soften.

As you're calibrating,

Ask yourself,

What does it mean to me to feel seen?

Is it when someone listens intently to my words,

When I'm understood,

Or when I'm appreciated for my unique perspective?

Take a moment to think about this.

And then I want you to think about,

When is the first time you felt unseen?

When did you feel like you had to shrink in order to be received well?

In this practice today,

I want us to put those feelings of doubt,

Fear,

And rejection on the shelf.

I'd like to welcome an air of self-acceptance,

Self-awareness,

And permission to show up exactly as you are in this moment.

So as you open your eyes and we start peeling back the layers of how feeling seen makes us feel in our lives,

I want you to recognize any thoughts that came up during our grounding,

Any feelings or needs without judgment.

Being present with ourselves as we are in this very moment is not easy.

But it is something that we can do to offer visibility to our true self.

The practice of self-compassion is something that's deeply beautiful.

It's this invitation to extend the same love and kindness to ourselves that we so readily offer to those around us.

I want to invite you to turn inward.

Offer yourself a loving gaze.

What do you see when you look within yourself?

Can you acknowledge your strengths and vulnerabilities?

Can you embrace them with open arms for what they are and for how they are?

That,

To me,

Is feeling and being seen.

When we give ourselves permission to show up wholly,

Truly,

Authentically,

We also give ourselves permission to actually be visible to those around us.

We're not shrinking.

We are standing tall in our truth.

And that is a glorious act of self-love.

Feeling seen is not just about seeking that external validation,

But rather about nurturing our authentic connection with ourself.

In 2024,

I want to invite you to do that more often.

Because when we acknowledge our own worthiness and the depths of our experiences,

We can radiate a sense of authenticity that naturally draws others in.

I often call this healing by example.

Living by example.

Showing up by example.

When we do this,

We offer others the permission,

Without saying a word,

To do that for themselves.

I'd like to invite you to expand your awareness outside of yourself for a moment and think about the people in your life that make you feel seen.

These are the individuals who hold space for your thoughts,

Feelings,

And dreams without judgment.

They see the beauty in your imperfections,

And they love you in a way that is healthy and grounding.

Feeling seen is a reciprocal exchange.

Just as we seek to be seen by others,

We must also practice seeing them in return.

Having this type of connection with someone is all about cultivating empathy and truly listening and accepting.

I think that is something that brings me great joy.

I feel most seen when I know and trust in my body that I am accepted.

That I'm not being asked to change my true self in order to make someone else comfortable.

Yes,

Change is good and growth is great.

And it is also wonderful when we have people in our lives that allow us to be exactly who we are without any shame or guilt attached to it.

So as we think more about this,

As the days go on,

I'd like us to consider offering gratitude to those who have made us feel seen along our journey.

Maybe even opening up your journal and making a list of those in your life who you feel seen by and who you truly see in your relationships.

As you're doing this type of writing practice,

Remember the warmth of their spirit and the comfort of knowing that you don't have to hide your true self in their presence and vice versa.

When we have connections and relationships like that,

They are so valuable.

At the end of the day,

Feeling seen is about creating a safe and nurturing space for ourselves and others.

It's about fostering those genuine connections where vulnerability is celebrated and welcomed.

It's about putting down those masks and not performing in order to be accepted.

It's in these moments of authentic connection that we find the true essence of being in community and being in relationship with ourselves.

Let's get centered into that.

Close your eyes and take some deep breaths,

Bringing your awareness back to your breath and to the thoughts of being seen,

Feeling safe and supported in your life,

In your relationships,

In how you are showing up in the world.

Inhale deeply and exhale slowly.

Ground down into this present moment.

Right now,

You are seen for exactly who you are.

Give yourself that gift.

Everything doesn't have to always look or be pretty.

We also need to see those parts of ourselves that may need some adjusting,

That may not be the best,

That are still changing and evolving into who we want to be.

As you move throughout the rest of your day,

Remember,

Feeling seen is an ongoing practice,

A practice of self-trust,

Of self-acceptance,

And of vulnerability.

It's a beautiful dance of self-discovery and connection.

Continue to cultivate self-awareness,

Compassion,

And authenticity for these practices.

Thank you for joining me today.

Tomorrow,

We're going to be talking about feeling heard in our lives.

I'm excited to dive in with you.

Until then,

Take good care.

Reviews

Thank you, Alex, that was lovely — and I see you! 🙏🏻🤗💝🙏🏻

This was a great meditation for me today to sit with myself and look deep within. I realized most of my life I have not felt seen starting very early in my young life. I even married a man that the recurring theme has been that I feel unseen a lot of the times. Powerful experience for me today, thank you 🙏🏻 ✨💜

It was exactly what I needed to hear. Your voice and message, and the delivery, brought me to a grounded, peaceful, and safe space within. Many blessings for this beautiful reminder. 🙏🏽🕊️🪷

Very helpful ♥️🙏🌻

Affirming meditation. Thank you . 🙏💕

Thank you, Alex!❤️

🙏🏻

Hello

I did this as part of the 2024 Refresh and Reset program originally. And, I cannot believe at that time I didn't recognize the greatness of this segment.

This really made me reflect on how I treat others as well as how I show up to others.

Thank you-thank-you-thank-you.

It is very inspiring. Thank you for that🙏🏻

Absolutely amazing. I felt seen just listening to this, Alex. Thank you for sharing your light and gifts. So much gratitude flowing your way! 🪶🤎✨

This was beautiful. Definitely coming back to this one.

You are speaking my language right now.. keep it coming! 🙏

Such a beautiful practice for getting seen. ❤️✨

I loved it

That was really beautiful. By allowing our light to shine on ourselves and be seen, we allow others to find their light to shine and be seen. Thank you.

Thank you for the Being Seen / Unseen meditation. I have some work to do here and this meditation really made me look deeply into areas I feel unseen currently. This is powerful work. Thank you for putting this out here to explore.

Peace, Love, and Deep Respect to you for this work. 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you for your beautiful meditation about being seen.

I'm rereading Sisters of the Yam with a circle Black Femmes and we discussed self actualization vs being born actualized and this helped me think more deeply about what that means. 🙏🏾

Fabulous

Thank you for allowing me the courage to open my eyes !
❤️