Cultivate Self Love & Light

A self-love and light meditation. Starting with a simple body scan to relax the body, and quiet the mind, we move into a practice of words of affirmation to cultivate a deeper sense of self-love, and a recognition of our own inner light.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to a guided self-love and light meditation. This is a two-part meditation that I've been teaching for a few years. It involves a body scan and a simple meditation using words of affirmation. I wanted to start with a quote that is one of my favorites and it really embodies this idea of self-love and light. Everyone has this giant luminous being that is their true self. Everyone is a sleeping giant, So to speak, Waiting to hear the call, Waiting to surrender to it, Waiting to act on it. We've gotten caught up in thinking we are what we look like, The physical, The exterior. We think we're the lampshade. We've forgotten that we are the light, The electricity and luminosity that lights up every man, Woman, And child. The light is who we truly are. And that's from Michael Bernard Beckwith. So the first part of this meditation is a simple body scan. And this meditation could be done seated or lying down. Just find a place where you can be comfortable and allow your eyes to close. You want to imagine that your body is a candle made of wax. At the very crown of your head is the wick of the candle. Imagine that the wick of the candle is lit and your body starts to melt. So starting at the crown of your head, Feel this warmth, This melting sensation spreading down over your scalp, Down to your forehead. This melting spreads over your eyes, Over your nose, Your cheekbones, Your ears. This warmth spreads over your mouth, To your jaw, To your chin, Down your neck, Down to your collarbones and your shoulders. And this warmth spreads down your shoulders, To your upper arms, To your elbows, Forearms, Wrists, And hands. Feel the warmth in the palm of your hand and allow your entire hand to melt. And feel that warmth, That melting sensation from your collarbones down your rib cage, Your heart and your lungs, Melting down to your belly, To your hips, From your hips down your legs, Your glutes, Your thighs and hamstrings to your knees. And this warmth spreads from your knees, Down your shins to your calves, All the way down to your feet. And now your entire body is melted and relaxed and you feel warm, Safe and comfortable. Feeling this warmth that radiates from within. And imagining that there is a source of light from deep within your heart. Take a moment to picture this source of light. Maybe it's a little flame or maybe it's a glowing ball of energy. So once you've relaxed your entire body and you feel warm, We'll move on to the affirmations. So these affirmations are meant to be done with the breath. So we'll have a word or a phrase for the inhale and a word or a phrase for the exhale. And you'll repeat them several times. So for the first affirmation on your inhale, You'll say to yourself, I love myself. And on your exhale, Just as I am. So saying the words inside your head on the inhale, I love myself. On the exhale, Just as I am. And you'll repeat that five or six more times on your own with each inhale and exhale. And for the next one on the inhale, I am. On the exhale, Light. Inhaling I am. Exhaling light. So saying the words to yourself several times. And the next one, Inhale love, Exhale fear. Breathing in love, Breathing out fear. So imagine that you're inhaling to receive and you're exhaling to release. And repeat that several times. And for the next one, You'll inhale trust and you'll exhale doubt. Breathing in trust. Breathing out doubt. And repeat that several times in your mind with the breath. And then you'll inhale gratitude, Exhale suffering. Breathing in a sense of gratitude. Breathing out releasing any suffering. Repeat that in your mind several more times. And for the last round, You'll inhale acceptance and you'll exhale judgment. Breathing in a sense of acceptance, Breathing out releasing a sense of judgment. And repeating that to yourself several more times with the breath. And let's start to deepen the breath. So on your next inhale, Take in a really big breath and let out a really big breath for your exhale. And keeping your eyes closed for this last moment, I'll share that quote once again from Michael Bernard Beckwith. Everyone has this giant luminous being that is their true self. Everyone is a sleeping giant, So to speak, Waiting to hear the call, Waiting to surrender to it, Waiting to act on it. We've gotten caught up in thinking we are what we look like, The physical, The exterior. We think we're the lampshade. We've forgotten that we are the light, The electricity and luminosity that lights up every man, Woman and child. The light is who we truly are. So taking this last moment here to gather up any thoughts or insights that are helpful from this meditation, Anything you want to take with you as you move through the day and then when you're ready, Open up your eyes. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed this meditation and have a great day.