Welcome to the negative self-talk meditation.
So often we live our lives using our negative self-talk to fuel ourselves,
To become better,
Sharper,
To curb our bad behaviors and to grow our good ones.
And yet,
We pay a price,
And that price is ourselves.
How we feel about ourselves,
How we view ourselves,
And ultimately how we think we should be treated in the world by ourselves and by others.
It's important when we step into this meditation to begin with gentleness.
You see,
So often when we attempt to address the roots of negative self-talk,
We attempt to fix it with more negative self-talk.
But this is not a situation where we can fight fire with fire.
Instead,
We have to put out the fire with gentleness.
Gentleness like anything else in our lives is a skill.
We have to view it as something we must practice day in and day out.
As any kind of negativity or self-talk can be sharp-pointed,
Laced with some form of aggression,
Gentleness is soft.
It's fluffy,
If you will.
It never aims to hurt,
But instead to cushion,
To create a more comfortable environment.
And so,
As you sit and close your eyes,
Getting ready for our meditation,
I invite you to step into gentleness as we begin focusing on the breath.
And as we focus on the breath,
We invite a gentleness in our focus.
It's not a sharp or a focus laced with our aggression or our intensity,
As we would focus on a task.
Instead,
It's a gentleness where,
Like a feather falling slowly through the air until it gently rests on the ground.
That is how our attention should rest on our breath.
Just lightly touching upon it so that we are aware of it,
But not weighing too heavily on it.
We may notice the inhales and the quality of them,
Whether they are deep and long or whether they are shallow.
Either way,
Your attention should be gentle.
And so,
With the exhales,
As we focus our mind gently resting on the exhale,
We notice where in our body do we feel this exhale.
A comforting search,
Assessing where we are with no judgment,
Just care.
A care to get to know our body better.
A care coming from love and compassion for ourselves.
Where do you feel your breath in your body?
And how does breathing feel for you when done so with a gentle awareness?
And if you feel distracted at all as we go through our meditation,
Give yourself a gentle reminder that it's okay.
That is why we are here.
We could not practice gentleness if we had no sharpness within us.
And we could not work on our negative self-talk if it was never a problem.
So if you notice any inner reprimand,
Simply practice your gentleness,
Acknowledge the negative self-talk,
Bow to it mentally if you want.
And then,
Ever so gently,
Like a feather falling,
Return to the sensation of your breath.
Give yourself the space for all the mistakes that you will make during this meditation.
Because those mistakes offer you the opportunity to practice your gentleness to yourself.
And if you find that the negative self-talk comes again and again,
You may offer gratitude to it,
Realizing that that negative self-talk,
Despite what it does,
Is only trying to take care of you.
Albeit in a misguided way.
So with gentleness,
Show it gratitude.
Thank you for looking out for me.
Thank you for trying to make me better.
But for right now,
I need to rest in my gentleness,
And I need to feel softness in my body and in my mind.
Returning to the breath.
As we take our last pause before finishing the meditation,
Allow your mind to roam as it wants.
Simply observe it gently.
Wherever it goes,
You follow with compassion.
And in your own time,
You may open your eyes,
If you chose to close them,
And bring that sense of gentleness into your day.
Remembering that the softer you can be with yourself,
The softer you can be with others as well.
May peace go with you.
