Welcome to this meditation and journaling practice,
Helping you to build self-trust and overcome overthinking.
Self-trust is an inner knowing that you are there to support yourself.
You can survive difficulties,
Take care of your personal needs and safety,
And you'll be there.
You won't give up on yourself.
It's kind of like being a friend to yourself,
Knowing that you can trust what you do and say and have the strength to know that you have value.
You don't have to have all the answers or do the right things.
But when you trust yourself,
You have clarity and confidence in your choices.
And you speak and act from this sense of deep knowing.
You're able to look at your experiences openly,
Without fear or punishment.
You understand that even if things are difficult,
You'll have greater confidence when you get through them,
Which helps to further build your trust.
It can feel really difficult to make decisions if you fear you'll make the wrong choice or maybe criticize yourself after you make the decisions.
This can create low self-esteem,
Second-guessing,
Overthinking,
And trusting other people more than yourself,
So that you end up giving away your power to what other people say or think.
On the other hand,
When you create a habit of trusting yourself,
You build the strength to know that you matter,
Regardless of what other people say or think.
We'll be moving into our meditation and journaling practice.
If you need to hit pause to gather any props or your journal,
Feel free to do so.
Then as you're ready,
Bring your body into a comfortable position,
Stacking your head over your shoulders,
Shoulders over your ribcage,
Ribcage over your hips.
Notice the places in your body that might be holding on to tension.
And with awareness of these places,
Invite in relaxation,
Softness,
And ease.
We'll create a collective intention for this practice that whatever happens,
I know I can trust myself.
Whatever happens,
I know I can trust myself.
Be curious about how these words land in your heart.
Being open to any feelings of welcoming or resistance.
Take your focus into your breath.
Notice the steady rhythm of breathing in and breathing out.
This continuous cadence that's always with you.
Despite moments of mental unsteadiness or wavering,
Your natural flow of breath provides stability,
Security.
We'll return to this sense of security and stability throughout our practice here.
And know that you can come to this at any time.
Begin to bring to mind a common thought you might have when you are not trusting yourself.
Possibly a negative thought or belief.
Words that you might repeat to yourself in these moments of doubt.
Maybe something like,
Everyone else knows more than me.
I'll never get this right.
I'm too sensitive.
As you've identified what this recurring thought is for you,
See if you can confront this thought.
Turning it into something that is more positive,
Supportive,
And encouraging.
If your thought was,
Everyone knows more than me,
You might reframe that as,
I am continuing to learn every day.
If your thought was,
I'll never get this right,
You might shift that into,
I am always learning and growing.
The more we can reframe our negative thoughts,
The ones that cause us to doubt ourselves,
The more we can start to shift our mind into being more supportive.
Helping us to feel like we are on our own side.
If you start to listen to these positive words that you've reframed for yourself,
How does this feel?
If you were to believe that this is true,
What kind of shift happens within you?
You might feel more capable or strong.
You might feel more relaxed or comfortable within yourself.
I'll be offering you some statements of affirmation that you can choose to either repeat silently to yourself or to simply feel the essence of these words.
I believe in myself and my abilities.
The world around me supports me in every way.
My intuition is my best guide.
I am on the right path and my way is clear.
I listen to my inner voice.
Making mistakes helps me learn and grow.
I approach new situations with confidence and belief in my own abilities.
I am capable of handling difficulties.
I give my trust to others and receive trust back from them.
I release doubts to make space for courage.
Place your hands over the center of your chest,
Bringing hands to your heart space,
One stacked on top of the other.
Take a deep breath in,
Nourishing your heart,
And full breath out,
Letting go of any worry,
Fear,
Or difficulty.
Inhaling,
Breathing in self-trust,
Confidence,
And courage.
Exhale,
Breathing out anything that blocks your self-trust.
One last time,
Breathing in,
Nourishing your heart,
And breathing out to release any blocks,
Any resistance.
As you're ready,
You can release your hands.
Slowly begin to open your eyes,
Bringing yourself back into your space.
Moving into our journaling questions now.
We have a short time for each contemplation,
But know that you can return to these questions to explore deeper in your own time.
First question is,
What special qualities and passions do you bring to the world?
What special qualities and passions do you bring to the world?
Our next question to reflect on,
Why do you deserve to believe in yourself?
Why do you deserve to believe in yourself?
Our last reflection question,
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
When you feel ready to end this exploration,
You can mindfully close your journal,
Making peace with the work that you've done here.
I hope this practice has helped you find a deeper sense of self-trust,
Knowing that whatever happens,
You can trust yourself,
You can handle it.
May this sense of trust carry with you into your day,
Into your life,
And be integrated in whatever way you need.
Thank you for your presence and your practice.
