Schema Repatterning Meditation

In this schema repatterning meditation, we elicit the schema (negative self-belief) we want to work on and, since the mind can't hold conflicting emotional information, we set about repatterning it with positive emotional experiences.

Transcript

Okay,

So go ahead and sit up straight.

Push the crown of the head up towards the ceiling.

Starting to settle in.

We're going to start with three deep breaths as usual.

Retain the breath below the navel.

Now one more time,

Super deep breath in.

Retain the breath below the navel.

And as you're retaining the breath,

Inhabit the whole body.

And now exhale.

And now again,

Super deep breath in.

Retain the breath below the navel.

And now exhale,

Extending out the exhale.

Okay.

Alright,

So now,

Bring up the inner critic.

This can be either the unitive inner critic,

The demanding inner critic,

Or the guilt inducing inner critic.

Now once again,

Just clearly recognize,

Oh,

This inner critic is emotionally necessary.

There is some,

There is this kind of emotional knowing that I have that makes this inner critic completely necessary.

And now if you can give voice to that,

Actually speak that out loud.

What is the reason that this inner critic is absolutely necessary,

Emotionally necessary?

This is not going to be necessarily logical,

It will be emotional.

And now there might,

There likely will be a schema here,

A belief,

So a belief about self,

Other,

And world.

What is that belief?

How is it that you viewed yourself?

How is it that you view the world?

How is it that you view others?

This is probably a schema.

Okay.

And so now,

One more time,

Say the statement out loud as to how you see self,

Other,

And world.

And now for just a minute,

See how your behaviors in life are kind of driven by this belief to some extent.

Go ahead and see that just for a minute.

It's like,

Oh yeah,

My behaviors make sense and given,

Given that belief,

Oh,

Okay.

All right.

And now come back into the schema itself.

So this is the belief that the inner critic tells you about self,

Other,

And world.

Feel into it one more time.

Now reflect.

Aha,

Yes.

I learned this somewhere.

I had an experience where I had multiple repetitive experiences that taught me this belief about self,

Other,

And world.

Now imagine yourself floating back either to childhood,

Adolescence,

Or adulthood,

And then let a memory or a scene arise where you were treated in a way or that you had an experience that reinforced this negative belief.

And if it's an actual traumatic event,

Don't go into the trauma,

But you can just kind of know that the trauma happened and now it's afterwards.

Okay.

So now we're kind of adjacent or near to this old scene.

So now how old are you?

Who are you with?

Where are you?

Then very importantly,

What are the thoughts and emotions that are coming up for you?

Now give voice to those.

Actually speak those out loud if you can.

Now this is really interesting.

See how the situation that you were exposed to caused those thoughts and beliefs.

The thoughts and beliefs are just a totally natural reaction to all of that.

See that clearly.

And now just briefly see how this experience conditioned in you,

Taught you something,

Specifically this schema,

This belief about self,

Other and world that has kept influencing you throughout your life.

It kind of built up the inner critic and then that inner critic has kept having an effect on you,

Probably in both good and bad ways,

But it's had an effect on you all throughout life.

Go ahead and see that clearly now.

Just see how it's caused an effect anybody else would have responded to this same situation by developing the same emotional learning.

There's nothing especially weird about you in that regard.

Okay now go back into the scene and then feel into the thoughts and the feelings.

Oh and another note,

This can be a composite memory or an amalgamated memory.

It doesn't have to be a real memory.

But okay so what are the thoughts,

What are the feelings that are coming up?

Now have the perfect nurturers come into the scene.

And now what they're going to do is they're going to stand up for you.

Now you might,

This might be a scene where being stood up for doesn't make sense.

If that's the case just have them soothe you.

But assuming that this is a situation where somebody else treated you poorly,

Have the perfect nurturers first protect you.

They come into the scene and have you or they protect you in a perfect way.

Go ahead and see them doing that now.

They stand up for you.

They either do or say something to the person or people that treated you poorly.

It's really supportive,

Really corrective.

What is the thing that you wish had happened then?

They go ahead and do that now for you.

And also notice how they're really happy to do this.

They're a delight to them.

Really take that in.

Also and again this is assuming that there's somebody that had treated you poorly.

You and the perfect nurturers have the moral authority.

And this other person does not have moral authority.

They see that what they did was not right.

And you see how it was not right.

And the perfect nurturers see how it was not right.

And they'll really steal into what that's like in the body to be stood up for.

And now the perfect nurturers soothe you.

They also attune to you.

They lean in,

Tilt the head.

They said,

Well what was this like for you?

It must have been so difficult going through all of this.

They're just so open and receptive to you.

And also it's very important they're entirely on your side.

They see it from your perspective.

And here you're a child you don't need to consider the perspectives of others.

And also they focus on you.

They're attentive towards you in such a way that it really helps you focus on your own experience.

That's right.

So attentive.

They really get what this was like.

And they physically soothe you in just the right way.

And they lean in and tilt the head and say,

What feels most unfinished about this?

Give voice to that.

What is it that you need to get off your chest?

We really want to hear it.

And see how they're tracking exactly what you're saying.

They're nodding.

They really get,

Uh-huh,

Keep going.

They really want to understand.

So they ask again,

What's unfinished about this?

Yeah you give voice to that.

And they can be soothing you and comforting you as you say that.

Yeah they really get it.

And now also feel what it feels like in the body to be able to express yourself,

To be listened to so intently.

Now really feel into that.

You can feel that in the body and in the mind.

And also notice how you are accepted unconditionally.

You can admit whatever it is that you would want to admit.

You can say whatever it is you want to say.

You're totally received.

And really take that in.

And now very,

Very quickly we're going to redo this old scene.

So go back to the old scene before it ever started.

And now start up this same old scene but instead of the bad thing happening,

A very good thing happens.

And it is more or less the positive opposite of the bad things.

What teaches you the positive opposite lesson of the old crappy lesson.

Go ahead and develop that scene now.

Now really take this and feel this in the body what this is like.

Really feeling into that.

Okay and now making a deep impression of that.

I'll count from five to one.

When I get to one you'll be awake and present in the room,

Settled in the experience.

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

When I get to one,

You'll be awake and present in the room,

Settled in the experience.

Reviews

Thank you. Went in with no expectations and came out clear.

Loved the visualization part of this. Very powerful!