Dear creative mind,
Welcome to this soothing meditation to soften your inner critic.
Find your comfortable position today and take your time getting there.
There's no rush.
You can allow the eyes to close gently.
Take a moment to make any adjustments,
Maybe gentle movements with the head,
Some light stretches,
Letting go of the fidgeting.
Sit nice and tall,
Open your heart space and drop the shoulders.
You are here now.
There's nowhere else to be and nothing else to do.
We'll start by noticing the breath.
So take a deep inhale,
Filling the belly and releasing,
Letting go of any tension that's present in your body.
Again,
Inhaling fully and exhaling completely.
Let's take another deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And as you continue breathing mindfully,
I'll ask that you bring to mind a thought that's been present for you lately,
The resistance you've been feeling,
Maybe self-criticism or a belief around what's not possible for you.
It doesn't matter what it is.
You don't have to try and find the perfect thought for this practice right now.
So the first thing that comes to mind is perfect.
The goal is not to judge it,
But to just observe it.
And for the purpose of this practice today,
I'll invite you to choose to not wrestle with it or push it away.
It is here and that's okay.
There's nothing to fix right now.
I'll just ask that you get curious about where you feel this thought or this resistance in your body.
So try and locate where you feel it now.
And maybe there's a color you see or a texture,
An energy.
Again,
We're simply observing what's present without judging it or trying to get rid of it.
We're labeling it as bad or wrong.
It just is.
Now,
Most likely this feeling is not that pleasant right now.
Maybe there's some tension you can feel.
Maybe there's heaviness or tightness.
Try and see how you can create space between yourself and the thought that's present.
Creating space between your true self and your inner critic.
You can even choose to name it and repeat silently I see you.
I hear you.
I know you're here.
I accept that you're here.
And now we'll invite your inner mother to step in.
This is the compassionate,
Soothing,
Loving part of you.
We'll ask this part of you to help you soften the tension you may be feeling.
Maybe she has kind words to share with you.
Maybe this sounds like,
Even though I believe this about myself,
Even though I have this thought right now,
I completely love and accept myself.
Even though I may feel angry towards my inner critic and I wish it would be quieter,
I still love and accept myself.
Maybe my inner critic is there to protect me and not destroy me.
And maybe I can work with this part of me and help them protect me in ways that serve me better now.
Maybe my inner critic can become my inner coach.
You may want to ask yourself,
If I loved and trusted myself completely,
What would I believe?
What would I say to myself?
How would I act?
Just observe what comes up and if it's nothing,
It's okay.
Befriending your inner critic and cultivating compassion is a process.
There's no right or wrong way to start the process or a perfect way to do it.
But know that you are already practicing self-compassion here and now with this short practice.
And this is something you can do every day if you want to by becoming aware of our thoughts,
Stories,
Narratives of our inner critic.
By asking ourselves how we feel,
By just accepting that those stories are there,
Those beliefs are there,
We can thank our inner critic for trying so hard to protect us.
And then we can bring in our inner mother to soothe us and choose a more supportive story to tell ourselves.
And this may take time.
That's okay.
It's a practice.
And before we end this meditation,
You may want to bring one hand on your heart and offer yourself some grace,
A few words of encouragement,
A loving reminder or maybe just a long exhale.
Take your time and whenever you're ready,
You can welcome movement back into the body and slowly open the eyes.
Thank you so much for sharing this time with me.
If you enjoyed this practice,
You may want to share it with a friend that may need some words of encouragement or a bit of softening.
Have a beautiful day.
