Hello,
I'm Dr.
Candice Kreesman,
And this guided meditation is on healing the source of our inner critic,
The wounded inner child.
This can be used as a standalone practice or in conjunction with day six of the course,
Healing Your Inner Critic.
The inner critic has a powerful impact on how we experience ourselves,
Our relationships,
And the world in general.
This power comes from how true many of our negative self-judgements feel.
Our inner critic has access to our memories,
And of those memories,
Our earliest hurts are often the seeds for the rigid identities the inner critic helps us to construct.
We begin to see ourselves as being damaged,
Less than,
And otherwise unworthy very early in our life.
And our inner critic then uses those labels to assess our setbacks,
Mistakes,
And losses.
Our work today centers on offering ourselves the compassion we crave,
The nurturing we are seeking through our efforts to prove the inner critic wrong.
It can be helpful to find a picture of yourself as a child for this meditation,
Though that's not required.
Our goal is to access a heart full of compassion for ourselves as children,
So whatever helps you to connect to that warmth and concern will suffice.
We will begin and end with a bell.
Take a few breaths to find your heart space,
Breathing gently into the space behind the heart.
Allow yourself to experience the breath itself as an act of kindness.
Stay anchored in this warm center of your chest throughout the meditation.
Come back here to the breath whenever you need to.
Take a moment to connect with the theme of your inner critic's narrative.
Does it tend to tell you that you are not good enough,
Not deserving,
Or bad?
Judgments like stupid,
Crazy,
Lazy,
Desperate,
Or mean all point to a deeper sense of not being good enough,
Of being unworthy,
Or being bad.
So go deeper until you get to the most basic part of your inner critic's story.
Feel that hurt in your body for just a moment,
Noticing where the core of those judgments arise in your body.
If it becomes difficult to tolerate that pain,
Find a place on your body that is not impacted by your inner critic.
This might be your knees,
Your fingernails,
Your earlobes.
Find some place that is neutral and safe.
Now imagine yourself as a small child.
You can refer to the picture of yourself now if you have one.
Take a few moments to create a vivid image of yourself at an age when you were small,
Vulnerable,
And craving love and kindness from your caregivers.
Use as many details about yourself as a child as you can,
Imagining the clothes you were wearing,
The shape of your face.
Feel in your heart the innocence,
The basic goodness of this child.
See how they are naturally open,
Wearing their emotions on their sleeves,
And deserving of love in every way.
Imagine this child comes to you,
Your adult self,
And tells you that they feel really bad about themselves.
They fear they are not good enough,
That their parents wish they were different somehow,
That they feel there is something fundamentally wrong with them.
Allow your heart to open to this child,
Filling with warmth,
Concern,
And love.
As you see this young child suffering,
How would you comfort them?
Would you sit her on your lap and hold her?
Would you give him a hug?
Would you look in their eyes and tell them you love them,
That they are enough,
Just as they are?
Take a few moments in silence to be with this beautiful,
Vulnerable child,
Offering them kindness and love.
Notice,
As the child responds to your comfort,
Watch as they dry their eyes.
Smile sweetly,
Knowing they are cared for,
Knowing that they are worthy and whole.
Tell this child that you are always here for them,
And that you will love them no matter what.
Allow the image of your inner child to gently fade from your mind,
Bringing your awareness back to your heart space.
Feel the lingering sensation of compassion there,
The warmth,
The openness.
Feel your inner critic's anger,
Impatience,
And urge to lash out,
Diminishing as you offer yourself this unconditional love.
Know that whatever story your critic tells you,
At its source is pain that you have all the power to heal,
All the power to nurture back to wholeness.
Take a few moments to ground yourself in your breath,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Letting go of thoughts as they arise,
Staying with the breath.
