Befriending An Inner Demon Part Of You With Parts Work / IFS

Learn the 7-step process to working with one of your "inner demons" so you can get to know it, hear its story, come up with different ways it can help you, and invite it to transform. This meditation is excerpted from my Insight Timer course "Your Inner Hero's Journey." You can check it out by visiting my profile and clicking on the "courses" tab. This meditation is inspired by Parts Work, but does not exactly follow the IFS protocol and is not an official IFS meditation. Enjoy!

Transcript

Before we begin the meditation,

I want to spend some time discussing the seven steps of working with an inner demon.

These are sequential steps that build upon each other.

It will be necessary to do the previous steps before moving on to the next ones.

The first step is Connect.

In this step,

You will connect to the inner demon character within your own body.

The second step is to Personify.

In this step,

You will personify this character,

Moving from being inside of it to being outside of it and there with it.

In step three,

You will witness this demon.

You'll watch it doing what it does,

Seeing how it acts,

Looks,

And feels.

Then,

In the fourth step,

You'll make sure you're connected to your inner healing intelligence.

This will help you interact with this character from open,

Curious,

And loving awareness so you can befriend it.

This step is very important and you need to do this step before moving onward.

In step five,

You will listen to your inner demon and befriend it.

You will hear the inner demon's story,

Finding out how it got this way and why it does what it does.

You will listen deeply so that this character feels heard.

This is also a very important step.

Many people will want to jump to asking the character to transform,

But it's necessary to hear it out first.

After you listen to your inner demon and befriend it,

You can then do step six and consider the impact of your inner demon's actions from the perspective of your inner healing intelligence.

You'll likely come up with a different way that your inner demon can carry out its positive intention.

Lastly,

You will invite your inner demon to transform and help you in a different way,

Changing from what seemed like an adversary into an ally.

For example,

This could look like asking your anger to alert you when you need to set boundaries instead of raising your voice at others,

Or asking your procrastination to tell you what it needs in order to feel more confident doing a project instead of stalling.

This is one important thing to recognize is that your demon may or may not feel ready for change.

Each of these steps are powerful and can help you progress.

Your inner demon may not be ready to do all seven steps at once.

If your inner demon doesn't want to change,

Honor their boundaries and focus on listening and befriending before moving forward.

In the meantime,

You can set boundaries of your own with this part of you,

Allowing it to coexist with you without calling all the shots.

Another thing I want to reiterate and expand on before we start is the importance of staying grounded in your inner healing intelligence while you're working with this inner demon.

Ideally,

You will be able to feel your core self-energy within your own body as you work with your inner demon.

Inner demons soften when they are heard and seen.

Go ahead and get ready for the meditation because we will be starting in just a minute.

Let's begin this meditation.

Take a moment to get into a comfortable seated posture,

Sitting up nice and tall in your spine,

Balancing your head and shoulders over your hips.

Alternatively,

You can lay down,

Relaxing and releasing into the floor underneath you.

Feel the weight of your body supported by the surface underneath you.

Close your eyes and turn your focus inwards.

Now,

See if you can feel your core self-energy within your own body.

You can pause if you need more time here.

Then,

Hold the inner demon that you'd like to work with in your mind.

Welcome this part of you forward.

If it helps,

You can bring yourself back to a recent situation where this part of you was present to bring it up,

Remembering how you felt in your body at that time.

When you can feel this part with you,

Bring your awareness to however it is appearing inside of you.

The part may present itself to you as a feeling,

A thought,

A voice,

A color,

Or an energy.

Hold space for it to be there and see what you can notice about it.

Now,

See if you can get some space from this part,

As if you are moving from being inside of it to looking at it from the outside.

You may even be able to see an image of this part in front of you.

Witness this character doing what it does.

Sense how you are feeling towards this part of you.

Are you feeling open towards it,

Or are you feeling something else,

Such as anger or fear?

If anything else other than your core self shows up in your body right now,

See if you can get some space from those feelings too.

Check in with yourself and see if there's any one of these parts that has come up that you do feel friendly and curious towards.

If you are able to feel some core self energy towards the part of you that you're going to work with,

See if you can open up towards it with curiosity,

Connection,

And compassion,

Or have your higher self do so.

Notice what it feels like to be present with this part of you in this way.

Now,

Extend your friendly curiosity towards this part of you and see how it responds to your presence.

See if it would be willing to talk to you.

Let it know that you want to learn more about it.

And then we will move into a dialogue with this part of you.

I'm going to offer some questions.

If some of these questions don't feel relevant,

You can skip them.

You may or may not get through all the questions to the end.

Honor where you are and pause at whatever step you need to.

With time,

You may be able to get farther.

You can pause this meditation at any time if you need more time.

You can ask the daemon,

What do you want me to know about you?

What's your story?

And how did you become this way?

What is your role in my life?

And how are you trying to help or protect me?

Are there any needs you're trying to get met for me?

Or are there any needs you're trying to tell me are not being met?

Do you like doing what you do?

Or would you rather do something else?

And if so,

What else would you like to do?

Is there anything stopping you from transforming into what you'd like to be?

What else do you want me to know about you?

What is your positive core intention for me?

Do you want to request anything from me that would help you feel welcome,

Safer,

And more taken care of?

If it feels genuine,

You can let this character know that you see it,

You hear it,

And you get it.

You understand it better now.

See how the character responds to this.

Now,

Take a moment to check in with your core self.

Consider whether this character's actions are helping or harming you.

Do you need this character to keep doing what it's doing?

Or is there a possibility for change?

Consider how this inner character could act in a way that would be in accordance with your highest good.

If it feels right,

You can let your inner daemon know that there's an opportunity for change.

You can also ask this part of you if it would be open to a change,

Where it can still fulfill its positive intention for you in a way that is healthier.

If your inner character is open to changing,

Provide the healing for this part of you.

You can let your inner healing intelligence take over here.

The healing could be very visual,

Emotional,

Or energetic.

Take all the time you need for this transformation to occur.

Then,

Notice how this part of you looks,

Acts,

And feels now.

Really take a moment to integrate the transformation that has occurred.

You can now go into a dialogue with this character about how to maintain this change.

Then,

Let this part know that it can always communicate with you if it needs to,

Now that you've made a connection with it.

And then say goodbye for now.

Allow the visualization to dissolve.

Integrate what just happened and allow it to sink in.

Feel the support of your guide as you do,

Coming back to your center and resting in the knowledge that things can be different now.

Whenever you're ready,

You can slowly start to come back into your body,

Feeling the surface underneath you and beginning to hear the sounds around you,

Feeling your breath in your body.

If it feels right,

You can stretch or move your body a little bit as you prepare to come back into the room around you.

And then,

Whenever you're ready,

You can open up your eyes.

This meditation is now complete.

Reviews

I love this partwork. I had a huge insight with! Thank you!

What I didn't like is that I felt hurried through the partwork and it's uncomfortable being pausing the recording.

This was super interesting and opening as Well, My evil twins know now how to cheer me and help me with My boundries and open My mouth when I need to. Not evil way, just firma courage. If its possible to get a little bit longer version would Be great just to talk a bit longer with whatever comes up. Thank you greatly ✨🙏🩷

Powerful practice. What I initially perceived as the Demon was in fact a Defender trying to protect me.

Lovely, lovely, lovely. Thank you for helping me establish a relationship with my inner drill sergeant. He just wants to motivate me.

Very good, helps pin point things you don't want to admit to yourself... isolating the "demons" for self-observation.

An astounding journey into my internal system. This invitation introduced me to an “inner demon” I’ve never met before. He has no intention of transforming for now. But I am eager to get to know him. Thank you Emma!