Something just happened.
And now you feel off center.
Perhaps it was a tone in someone's voice.
Maybe a message you sent that has been left unanswered.
And now what rises in you?
Is actually far bigger.
Than what is asked for.
When this happens,
Know that this part of you that is speaking is from the past.
It is the younger version of you.
And it is asking for your compassion.
Let's turn for a moment to Richard Schwartz.
He developed the internal family systems therapy.
And he teaches at Harvard Medical School.
And he calls these parts exiles.
They are the younger selves who perhaps carried what was too much to feel at the time.
And so they help to push it out of sight so that you could keep going.
These part of the selves,
These exiles,
Do not age.
They wait.
And wait.
Now if we turn to the University of Texas,
We find Kristen Neff.
Who has spent two decades researching to what happens when you turn toward yourself.
With warmth.
Rather than criticism.
Her work is filled with case studies.
And proof that The body answers.
Very well.
To your own.
Gentle hand.
When your hand rests on your chest.
Cortisol settles.
The nervous system receives the message.
That it can relax now.
The good news is that the work can be really simple.
The thing is,
It needs daily attention.
So let's walk through a process now.
Sit where you are and If possible let your eyes close.
However,
If this feels too much for now,
Open them and focus your attention into your feet.
Feel the ground underneath you.
Holding you without any effort.
Without And as you breathe out,
Extend this breath a little bit longer than what you breathed in.
And then again Extending the out-breath.
Now bring one hand to your chest and rest it there.
It's warm.
Sink through the skin.
This is one of the oldest signals of safety that we know.
Keep your hand there.
As you start to connect with the younger you.
Maybe you see an image of yourself.
At a younger age,
Or maybe you've just sensed the younger you within you.
Notice this version of yourself.
And quietly say,
I see you.
I'm here with you.
I accept you just the way you are.
I love you.
Pause for a moment more.
A hand remains where it is.
Breathing softly.
And easily.
And now.
Whenever you are ready.
Open your eyes.
And bring that younger you.
With all of you into the day.
Rather.
Than leaving this part of yourself behind.
Repeat this very easy exercise tomorrow.
The next day.
And come back to it as often as the feeling arises for you.
And over time.
The reaching for reassurance will turn more and more inward.
Knowing that this is where somebody is always at home.
And when you need to return to this guidance.
Know that it is here for you.
And I will meet you here whenever you need it.
