Schema Repatterning Meditation, Emphasising Understanding

Taken from our weekly live meditation session. The schema repatterning begins at 7:52 after a period of arrival and grounding in the body. 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. In this meditation, we not only work through the schema but seek to understand how it formed.

Transcript

So sitting up straight,

Pushing the crown of the head up towards the ceiling,

And starting to settle in.

So we'll start with three deep breaths.

So go ahead and inhale very,

Very deeply and retain the breath below the navel.

Retain.

Exhale slowly,

Extending the length of the exhale.

Inhale very deeply.

Retain.

Exhale.

Okay,

Good.

Now feel the feet,

Legs and hips.

Exhale.

The feet,

Legs and hips relax on their own with no effort,

No intention.

And now feeling the abdomen rise and fall.

Exhale.

Exhale.

Now the chest,

Expand and contract.

Have this quality of openness and just a non-interfering observation.

Just noticing.

That's right.

And now feeling the shoulders and upper back.

Exhale.

Now feeling the arms and the hands.

Exhale.

And now the head,

Neck and face.

And now take a deep,

Deep breath and feel the whole body all at once.

Exhale,

Allowing the whole body to exhale,

Relax.

Good.

Now,

Here we're going to kind of elicit the schema,

Get clear on what it is that we want to work on.

And here we're going to spend a little bit more time than usual.

Really studying the mind,

Studying our schema,

Our,

Call it problematic emotional learning.

Okay.

What is it that you want to work on today?

Bring that to mind.

Now go ahead and review.

Keep the Glacier And first,

Simply notice how this is a mental event.

This is arising right now for you.

Notice how it colors so much of your life,

At least in this moment.

Notice how there's a coherence,

A consistency.

It colors things in a consistent,

Predictable way.

Now generate some appreciation and interest.

Aha,

Look at this.

This is so well organized.

Okay.

So now I'm going to ask you some questions.

If you're able to actually answer out loud,

That's great.

You're all muted.

So what is it that you believe about yourself?

Who are you?

What are you like when you're entirely believing this schema?

And answer this like you're a five-year-old with no sophistication.

Who are you when you're believing this thought?

Keep investigating that.

What related beliefs come up about yourself?

What do you believe about the world?

And what do you believe about others?

When you're fully believing the schema.

And again,

Answer this like a child,

Completely naive child.

I think others are like this.

I think the world is like this.

Keep going with this.

And also notice how the belief about self and the belief about others,

You know,

Relate with each other in a coherent kind of organized way.

They fit together.

There's an intelligence to your schema.

Just notice that.

Okay,

So now given that you believe whatever it is about yourself and you believe whatever it is about the world and about others in the world,

You must respond in such and such way.

What is that way?

How do you need to respond?

So now let's investigate that.

Given that you believe the thing about yourself and the world,

You must respond this way.

And it can be various ways.

Basically,

You kind of swing between different ways of feeling like you need to respond.

Keep going.

Once again,

Just see how sensible this is,

How this makes sense.

Sure,

Anybody that would think that thing about themselves or that other thing about the world would respond in exactly the same way you respond.

Good,

Now imagine yourself floating up into the air and then floating back on the timeline,

Back either to childhood or some other time in your earlier life where you had some experiences that reinforced this negative learning or where you were triggered in the same way.

Let's study that.

That's right,

Keep going.

Also,

Now this is very important.

See how this is just learning?

It's not that this is neither good nor bad.

In a sense,

It's good.

You adapted.

You came into conformity with the situation that you were presented.

And now see how this learning that took place,

This learning that brought about this negative schema was the adaptive response to your environment at the time.

In a sense,

It would have been pathological not to learn this lesson.

And it's not your fault.

This is just how causes and conditions were at the time.

And now that might help you just see all of it with this quality of broadness of mind.

Go ahead and come into this perspective taking view.

Broaden out the mind.

Step back and just study your history.

Study what happened.

And just see the natural cause and effect relationship of what happened to you and then the learning that it caused.

Go ahead and study that now.

Keep studying this.

Of course,

You learned this lesson.

Just incidentally,

This lesson has not been valuable later in life.

It was later in life.

This lesson has not been very,

Not had a very accurate,

It's not produced a very accurate model of the world,

But it was at the time.

Okay,

Good.

Now,

Have the imaginal parents or another imagined responsive other come into the scene to protect you,

To help you and support you.

They can remove you from the scene or you can stay in that same scene.

But there is this clear sense and we'll go with the imaginal parents that they are entirely on your side.

They see it from your perspective.

It was unfortunate that this happened,

That you learned this lesson.

But they know it's not your fault.

They're also entirely confident that you're going to move through it beautifully.

There's also this quality of complete receptivity and responsiveness to your emotions and what's coming up for you right now.

Right now.

Go ahead and take a minute to develop that scene.

That's right.

Keep going.

They really,

Really get it.

Of course you would think that.

Of course you would feel that way.

Anybody would.

All right.

That's right,

Keep going.

See how these imaginal parents really help you understand the situation,

Understand this isn't your fault.

And also help to correct the situation,

Help make you feel better with this quality of total patience,

Complete attentiveness.

That's right.

They just keep helping you process and work through this.

And again,

Now notice this total sense of confidence that they have in you.

You're going to move through this beautifully and they're going to be there the whole time.

So it's not that you're alone in this at all,

To the contrary.

So you of course you would have these feelings and thoughts about this situation.

Anybody would.

And also really get the sense that your perspective here is valued and supported.

Well,

So they console you in just the right way to help you move through this.

Take another minute with this.

Good.

Now what we'll do is we'll take a corrective action.

So now you and these imaginal parents look back to the scene.

And if someone treated you poorly,

Which is maybe the case in say two-thirds of these type negative learning situations,

You and the imaginal parents confront these people,

Explaining to them how the way that you were treated is not right.

How this was toxic,

This was inconsiderate.

And then if this is an kind of impersonal situation or a situation where you weren't treated badly by someone,

Take some sort of other corrective action in the scene.

So Now also notice how these imaginal parents have a tremendous authority and really set the other parties right.

They're very confident in the way that they correct the situation or even reprimand the other person.

We feel stood up for and protected.

That's right.

And now have this other person,

If there is another person in the scene,

Apologize and acknowledge again if this is relevant.

It's like oh I see how this really hurt you.

I was foolish.

Now go ahead and develop that scene.

Now this might bring up some grief or sadness and if that's the case you can be comforted by the imaginal parents or just develop the scene however it fits you right now,

Trusting your intuition.

Okay,

Thanks.

Now,

I'm kind of mind reading,

Guessing where you're at with the process.

Please modify as you see fit.

But now have,

We'll have an emotionally corrective experience that brings about a disconfirming knowledge.

So now think about what is the opposite or what is a lesson or an experience,

Conditioning,

That would disconfirm,

Juxtapose your actual experience here.

And now you can draw this from real life,

Reflecting on how,

In fact,

Your schema is kind of wrong.

It's not correct.

It's actually misinformed.

Life is not this way.

You are not this way.

And therefore it's not obligatory that you respond in this kind of symptom producing way.

Or you can just do a scene with these imaginal parents or another imaginary figure that disconfirms this negative belief.

So go ahead and develop that scene.

Again,

This would be something similar to like a positive opposite of the schema.

And now have a real emotional lived experience of this.

Please deal it in the body.

That's right.

Bless this.

Now,

Touch back into your earlier schema.

Bring it up.

How triggering is it?

If earlier you were triggered 10 out of 10,

How compelling or how triggering is the schema now?

And now bring up this new disconfirming knowledge and pattern over this old belief once again.

Or if you need some comfort,

Do that.

Protected.

And now touch in one more time to the old schema.

See how the resonance is really decreasing.

And now come back to the new experience that's confirming of the old belief.

Really feel into that.

Okay,

Good.

And now look into your real adult life going forward.

But now stay in this new schema,

This new positive belief.

Notice how everything unfolds much more easily.

It unfolds beautifully.

You get the responses from others and from the world that you desire.

See that now.

Now notice how you feel good about yourself.

You feel lighter,

You feel lighter,

Bouncier.

Others really value you.

There's a sense of confidence and competence,

Self-agency.

Okay,

Good.

I really feel that in the body.

Feel that in the mind.

See how everything that you see is consistent with this new belief,

With this new experience,

With these new expectations of the world.

They're so much more accurate and functional.

Good.

And now let that scene dissolve.

Now look back.

What was this like for you?

What did you learn?

Review this.

So yeah,

Just these were some,

Your schema was just based on some unfortunate learning.

Didn't really have anything to do with you.

And now you've appreciably corrected it.

Good.

Now we'll let that go.

Now bring the attention to the rising and falling of the abdomen.

Now open the eyes halfway,

But keep following the abdomen rising pull.

Then release that and then open the eyes entirely.

Reviews

Absolutely profound. Allowing this positive remapping to take roots is going to fundamentally improve my wellbeing. I’m so glad you and this meditation practice exist. 🥰