So,
This meditation today is stop being so hard on yourself.
Lighten up.
So make yourself comfortable as you settle in to your posture.
And if it feels right for you,
You can close your eyes or lower your gaze.
And as you're settling in,
Take a slow deep breath and let go of any tension as you feel yourself sinking into the surface you're resting on,
Becoming still more comfortable and relaxed.
Take another slow deep breath and release your thoughts,
Letting them drift far,
Far away.
Take another slow deep breath and know that in this moment,
All is well.
Allow your breath now to return to its natural rhythm and pace,
Taking a few moments here.
And if you will,
Imagine you're walking along a quiet path through the woods on a beautiful spring day.
The trees form a canopy of bright new leaves,
Making lacy patterns against the sky.
The ground beneath your feet is layered with old brown leaves and twigs from years before,
Sweet wildflowers and even little mushrooms popping up here and there.
All is calm.
And you're taking your time to walk along,
Observe nature and spot squirrels and chipmunks running by,
Commuting from tree to tree.
And now up ahead,
You can see an old stone wall winding its way along the path,
All shades of brown and gold covered here and there with soft green moss.
A few small birds are flying in and out of the trees nearby or hopping about on top of the wall.
There's an enchanting feeling in the air and you have the uncanny sense that you're not quite alone here.
And so out of the corner of your eye,
You begin to catch a glimpse of two or three small people sitting on the wall by the path up ahead.
But as you look toward them,
They disappear.
And as you start to look away,
You can almost see them again or feel them.
And as you come closer,
You start to hear bits of conversation.
They're talking about someone and they're saying,
So worried all the time that dark cloud has to go.
I'm bad.
I'm bad.
I'm so sad.
I'm bad.
What can we do?
Tickling?
Would that work?
No,
Too unpredictable.
Oh,
I know one of them says hugs.
You'll use hugs.
No that won't work.
Another one says,
You know,
We can't actually touch a human.
Maybe a distraction.
We could use butterflies.
Too flighty.
Another one says we should use buttercups.
Hey,
How about we just say lighten up buttercup and they all burst out laughing.
And at that point you realize two things.
One you've just come upon some kind of wood elves,
Fairies or odd little angels.
And two,
They're talking about you.
They seem to think that phrase lighten up buttercup is hilarious.
And soon they start saying it to each other and making up songs about it.
Lighten up buttercup.
No you lighten up.
But as you come up alongside them,
They all become very quiet.
You try not to look directly at them because it makes them harder to see.
And they're looking all around too,
Trying not to look at you.
As if they didn't want you to know they were just talking about you.
But as soon as you pass by,
One of them giggles and then the others start laughing.
And soon they're all singing again.
Lighten up buttercup.
Lighten up.
So you look ahead and there's a fallen log a little way up the path.
And it looks like a good place to rest for a while.
And as you sit down,
You notice a little spring just behind it with water falling down over rocks down into a tiny pool,
Making a sweet trickling sound.
You can still hear the wood fairy singing,
Lighten up buttercup,
Down the way,
But it's in the background now.
And it's actually kind of enjoyable.
You do feel a little lighter as a matter of fact.
As you sit and relax,
Consider something in your life that you're not happy about,
That you tend to get down on yourself for,
And then summarize the situation to yourself in one sentence.
For example,
I lost my temper today at work.
Now say that same sentence to yourself and end with,
But it's okay.
As in,
I lost my temper today at work,
But it's okay.
Then take a slow,
Deep breath.
As you exhale,
Allowing the idea that whatever happened in that particular situation,
It's okay.
Now relax,
Allow yourself to do so.
Relax into that feeling that it's okay.
Consider another situation in which you tend to give yourself a hard time about.
Again,
Summarize the situation to yourself in one sentence and end with,
But it's okay.
Then take a slow,
Deep breath.
Allow yourself to relax into the feeling that it really is okay.
Now take time to review one or two other things you generally give yourself a hard time over.
With each one,
Summarize the situation in one sentence,
End the sentence with,
But it's okay.
Take a deep breath and let in the idea and the feeling that it's okay.
So take some time to do this now.
Take a deep breath and let in the idea and the feeling that it's okay.
You you you you you Now imagine yourself floating It could be in a pool on a rubber raft in the ocean or in the air All around you are feelings thoughts words sights and sounds That reflect the idea that you're okay And all is well So spend some time here just being just floating As you feel all the stress you've accumulated over time beginning to soften and melt away you you you you you you you you take some time to listen to the following affirmations and allow them to resonate deeply within you today I am being kind to myself you I am easy on myself when I make a mistake and make it okay When things don't go my way I breathe relax and treat myself with dignity you I am doing my best and respect myself no matter the outcome I do what I can to take pressure off myself and live in peace I work in harmony with myself gracefully accept my faults and celebrate my successes I will always be a work in progress and can relax about my growth you I am a good person doing my best and I am okay look into the future now at a situation you may find challenging where you would normally give yourself a hard time imagine giving yourself a break instead and making it okay so take a few moments to do this now with one or more possible situations as you walk back along the path approaching the forest elves on the wall you can hear them talking again this time saying things like look how much better wow what happened see it worked we did it and after you pass by on the way out of the woods you can hear one of them call after you hey buttercup remember to lighten up and they all crack up laughing and talking again it will soon be time to bring this journey to a close but first take a moment to thank yourself for giving yourself this gift now bring your awareness gently back to your physical surroundings and take your time and when you're ready open your eyes and feel awake alert and refreshed so so so so so so
