Accepting What We Don't Like About Ourselves

Our inner critic can force us to hide or criticize parts of ourselves which we don't like, either because they bring us shame or because we don't understand them. In this meditation, you will be guided through a visualization that encourages acceptance for the parts of yourself you may struggle to embrace.

Transcript

Go ahead and find the meditation posture. Push the crown of the head up towards the ceiling. And start settling in. And now take a deep, Deep breath in. And exhale. And once again, Super deep breath in. And exhale. And one more time, Super deep breath in. Exhale. Good, All right. Now, Now bring to mind something that you really don't like about yourself, Something you struggle with. Let this trigger you. Let yourself get a bit upset about it. All right, Now see this quality of yours play out in your real adult life these days. And just notice it. Notice the thoughts that arise when you reflect on this quality about yourself you don't like. See the image thoughts. What are the images that arise when you think about this quality of yourself you don't like? And now study the quality play out. Like how does this quality show up? What does it look like? Okay, So you're seeing yourself in this scene where it plays out. And now, What do you then think about yourself? That's right. And now, Again, See the scene where this quality about yourself that you don't like plays out. And see how there's certain things that trigger this quality or this belief in you. So how do things actually unfold moment by moment? And notice what the body feels like when you're kind of triggered in this way, When you're kind of confronted with a thing that you don't like about yourself. That's right. Okay, Good. All right, And now, Now kind of step back from this scene and see yourself from afar. And especially kind of see yourself through the eyes of wisdom, Kindness, Compassion. A real kind of sweetness and openness towards yourself. And now, Think to yourself, Oh, I'm sure there's a reason why I am this way. I'm sure there's a reason. You know, I'm sure that there have been conditions that I've dealt with, Experiences that I've had that contributed to the way that I've turned out. And you know, Of course, There could even be temperamental issues. But just momentarily, Just see if you can open up to how, Okay, I am this way due to causes and conditions. Good, Good. All right, Now see, Now kind of, Once again, Reflect on these conditions or these experiences that you had that contributed to this thing about yourself that you don't like. And now, Float back in here. And to be clear, I'm assuming that we're not dealing with something like physical. We're dealing with something kind of more emotional, Cognitive, Kind of a belief, A habit. So go ahead and float back to an old scene. And to be clear, This scene can be like an amalgamated composite scene, Like a kind of thrown together scene of the kinds of things that would happen, Where you had experiences that either brought about or reinforced this belief or quality in you. Go ahead and take a moment to find this composite memory. Okay, So there you are in this old negative scene. And first, Just notice what's happening. Remember how old you are. See who you're with in this old scene. Okay, Good, Good. All right, Now also, Notice how you're thinking about yourself in this scene. What's your concept of self? And then how do you see the other? And now just take a moment and see how this concept of self and this concept of other has gone on to influence you throughout your life. Just take a moment and see that. That's right. And actually, You can see different scenes from your life where this same concept of self and concept of other have gone on to affect you, Affect the way that you behaved and saw the world. That's right. That's right. Okay, Good, Good. Now dissolve that. And now go back into the old negative scene. Okay. Now notice what is it that I actually wanted in this old scene. So see what you actually wanted. What was your desire? And now notice how the other, This is likely your parent, But who knows, How did the other respond to your desire? And it's not important whether the other knew your desire or not. Then how did you respond or how did their response affect you? What kind of impact did that have? Now really take a moment with this. And feel into some compassion towards yourself. Okay, And now for a moment, See how this dynamic and the way that it impacted you went on to affect you throughout life. So you can imagine that you kind of float up above your life. And that you look back and you see various scenes where a kind of similar dynamic played out or rather the way that you viewed yourself, The other, The way you kind of strategies that you use to get your needs met. That there's a kind of similarity, An echo, A parallel. Okay, Good. Right now, Dissolve that scene and dissolve the whole meditation. And now review, What did you learn here? What are the takeaways? What are the insights? Really, Let's take a couple of minutes with this. Okay, Good, Good. Right, Now count from five to one. When I get to one, There'll be awakened present in the room, Settled in the experience. Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Awakened present in the room, Settled in the experience.

Reviews

I listened to this in order to accept my husband. He is an extremely cruel narcissist. I imagined that his mother treated him like he treats me. Well, this meditation REALLY helps me to accept him!

Many thanks 🙏🕊️