Hi,
Welcome to the morning mantra series of guided meditations I've created for myself and anyone else they may benefit.
If my affirmations don't fit your individual needs,
Make your own.
Grab your phone,
Laptop,
Or tablet and record your very own morning mantra.
Using my previous two recordings,
I go back to the basics of meditation and mindfulness.
I think it's time for some forgiveness.
Shame and the inner critic are with me every single second.
Even the idea that I spent the last two mantras trying to reconnect to the basics has me actively criticizing myself.
I'm a perfectionist,
But even those of you who may not be so self-critical receive messages every day in society that you're not enough.
Grades in school,
Career goals,
And finances,
We're all exposed to a lot of social comparison.
Why are they successful and I'm a failure?
The point is we can all use some forgiveness.
Being human means making mistakes and encountering difficulties.
Today in morning mantra states,
We'll focus on one thing we're beating ourselves up about.
Whether you feel responsible for hurting someone close to you,
Missing a promotion at work,
Or something deeper in your past that you know you've never dealt with.
First,
Let's begin to get comfortable.
Lay down,
Sit,
Wiggle your arms,
Get some of that movement out,
Roll your shoulders,
And then we'll take a few deep breaths.
For this first deep breath,
As you breathe in,
Pull your shoulders up to your ears.
As you exhale,
Relax them down.
In,
Out.
Breathe in again and expand your stomach as much as possible.
In and out,
Relaxing your stomach.
One more deep breath.
This time,
Contract every muscle you can think of as you inhale.
Squint your toes,
Your buttocks,
Make fists,
And when you exhale,
Relax your entire body.
In and out,
Melting into the bed,
The chair,
Your cushion.
Return to breathing normally,
But stay focused on the in and out of your breath.
This is our anchor.
When you find yourself distracted away from today's mantra,
Thinking of your to-do list or getting caught up in the story of the event you're trying to forgive,
Come back to your breath,
The rising and falling of your chest,
The sensation of the air on your nose and lips.
In and out.
I want you to bring up an image of yourself.
The easiest thing might be to imagine what you look like right now in your chair,
On the floor,
Or wherever you are.
Perhaps,
If this isn't your first day of the mantra,
You might want to change it up and imagine your child self.
This is who we're going to work on forgiving today.
So get a solid image of yourself.
Bring to mind something that you've been beating yourself up for recently.
You're allowed to be imperfect.
You're allowed to forgive this past behavior.
Reflect on how forgiveness will help you and those around you.
Have compassion for that image of yourself and repeat the following.
May I forgive myself for past mistakes.
May I forgive myself for the things I think I've done wrong.
May I forgive myself.
May I forgive myself for past mistakes.
May I forgive myself for the things I think I've done wrong.
May I forgive myself.
May I forgive myself for past mistakes.
May I forgive myself for the things I think I've done wrong.
May I forgive myself.
May I forgive myself.
Let that sink in.
You'd never treat your best friend as you treat yourself about this particular matter.
Have compassion for that image of yourself you brought to mind.
Lovingly forgive yourself.
Take a deep breath.
Bring some movement to your body and gently come back to your day.
Blinking open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me today.
Remember,
Forgiveness isn't condoning something that you may have done,
But it's merely accepting it so that you can move forward.
It's easy to say,
Much harder to do.
Good luck on your journey and remember,
Be kind to yourself.
Much love.
