Hello,
I am Dr.
Sayiba Aiko and I will be your contemplative meditation guide for the next 15 minutes.
During this time,
I invite you to become comfortable,
Still,
And relaxed.
We'll begin today with a quote to contemplate,
Then I'll leave you in breath work.
We'll go on a guided meditation journey and I will leave you with an affirmation.
So let's begin.
Today's quote is from Wes Angelozzi and it reads,
Go and love someone exactly as they are and then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest,
Truest version of themselves.
When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence,
One is instantly empowered.
What comes to body,
Heart,
Soul,
Mind for you when you hear these words?
Go and love someone exactly as they are and then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest,
Truest version of themselves.
When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence,
One is instantly empowered.
Really taking those words in,
Allowing them to sit with you.
I'll read that once more.
Go and love someone exactly as they are and then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest,
Truest version of themselves.
When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence,
One is instantly empowered.
What comes up for me is unconditional love.
We're all worthy of this,
Yet we are unsure how to give and receive such love.
I used to grapple with loving myself unconditionally,
So I didn't know how to extend it to others.
Complete and total acceptance,
Flaws and all.
I had to release my own critical self-talk and harsh judgment.
Self-love was necessary for me to begin this journey.
In order for us to love others unconditionally,
We must first love ourselves unconditionally.
Being content with all of who and what I was and where I was in life.
Being fully happy and content with who I am and who I am not.
What happens when I love myself completely?
I noticed that as my enoughness and worth was affirmed daily by me,
Then I began to take action from a place of being.
There was this inner knowing that helped me rise to my greatest potential,
My highest self.
And it is here in that space where I began to love unconditionally.
In this moment,
I invite you to either close your eyes or lower your gaze,
Whatever feels comfortable for you.
And then I invite you to place one hand on your heart and one hand on your lower abdomen.
And begin to slow your breath down.
Breathing at your own pace,
A little more slowly and more deeply.
Breathing into your diaphragm,
So you will feel your stomach expand as you inhale and contract as you exhale,
Slowing your breath down.
And begin to notice as you slow your breath down what happens in your body.
Simply notice what sensations arise.
Maybe your shoulders relax a little more.
Perhaps your jaw softens.
Notice what occurs in your body as you are slowing your breath down,
Breathing more slowly and more deeply.
Taking your time.
All you have to be is right here and right now.
Breathing slowly and deeply at your own pace.
One hand on your heart and one hand on your lower abdomen.
Feeling your stomach as it expands and contracts.
Breathing into your diaphragm.
And on your next exhale,
I invite you to breathe out of your mouth.
So inhaling slowly through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
And we'll do that a few more times at your own pace.
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling out of your mouth.
Then I invite you to begin to steady your breath at a pace that feels good for you.
And begin to notice the ground beneath you.
And imagine that there is a magnet pulling you to the earth.
And as you inhale,
Imagine that there is a magnet pulling you to the earth.
You are magnetized to the earth.
There is a connection drawing you to the earth.
Simply imagine that and feel that in your body as the parts of you touch the chair,
The ground,
The floor beneath you.
Feel that pulling sensation.
And then I want you to search your mind's eye,
Assessing,
Examining the ways in which you perhaps reject yourself.
With your eyes closed or your gaze lowered,
Journey inward,
Assessing where are the places within you that perhaps you reject.
Simply notice,
Maybe it's in your being,
The way you are.
Maybe it's the things that you do.
Or perhaps it's in your thinking that you most show yourself rejection.
Simply start to become aware.
Maybe this began with your parents not approving or accepting all of who you are.
Maybe it began with a teacher telling you to do more of this and less of that,
Which may have been communicating to you,
Be less of yourself and more of someone who you were not.
What judgments do you still hold within yourself towards you?
Maybe it's your physical appearance.
Maybe you judge features on your face or your body and you don't fully accept your physical appearance.
Or maybe it's your intellect.
Maybe you reject a way in which you think or believe.
You give yourself a hard time because it goes against the status quo.
What might accepting all of you look like?
What might that feel like to you?
Perhaps when those thoughts arise in your mind,
You allow them to simply flow,
Not attaching to them,
Grasping to them,
Overanalyzing them,
But simply seeing them for what they are and allowing them to flow.
Maybe you no longer beat yourself up when you do certain things.
Maybe you no longer say mean things to yourself,
Criticizing you when you do or think a certain way that is outside of what's considered norm.
Perhaps you allow yourself to freely mess up and make mistakes and have fun and laugh and not take yourself too seriously.
Really feel into what accepting all of you may look and feel like.
Maybe it gives you great peace.
Notice what sensations come up in your body as you're imagining yourself.
Simply accept who you are,
All of who you are,
Your being,
Your doing,
And your thinking.
You really loving all of who you are,
Flaws and all.
You adoring and seeing the beauty in all of who you are.
And then I invite you to release that.
Release any of those things that were causing you to reject yourself,
Whatever it may have been.
I invite you in this moment to forgive yourself and repeat after me.
I release all the ways I reject myself and then repeat,
I forgive myself for not completely accepting me.
And lastly,
Repeat,
I appreciate all of who I am and everything within me.
And take a really deep breath and exhale out of your mouth.
And now I'd like you to examine the ways that you perhaps projected your own self rejection and lack of self-acceptance onto others.
Look at the ways that maybe you have rejected friends,
Coworkers,
Your children,
Your spouse,
Based on the same rejection that you were showing yourself.
This began to become aware,
Searching your mind's eye with one hand still in your heart and one on your lower abdomen and eyes closed or a gaze still lowered,
Examining the ways that perhaps you've projected your own rejection and lack of self-acceptance onto others.
Maybe it's in you trying to make your spouse do things the way that you would do them,
Which you believe is the right way,
Instead of allowing your spouse to do it their own way.
Or maybe it's you pushing your children to do things you want them to do and be who you want them to be instead of allowing them to do things the way they want to do them and be who they came to be in this earth.
What might accepting others look like to you?
Simply feel into that.
What would that look like?
You accepting others,
All of them,
Flaws and all.
Maybe you allow your children to make their own mistakes without making them feel unworthy.
Maybe you begin to appreciate the humanness in your spouse and you laugh and enjoy their flaws just as much as all the things that you believe are perfect about them.
Breathe into what accepting others feels and looks like for you.
And then I invite you to simply release this and I want you to repeat after me.
I release all the ways I reject others.
Simply forgiving yourself in this moment.
I'd like for you to now repeat this.
I forgive myself for not completely accepting others.
And lastly,
I would like for you to repeat,
I appreciate all the beautiful similarities and differences I notice in others.
And then I invite you to take the deepest breath you've taken all day and exhale through your mouth.
Continuing to breathe at a normal pace,
What feels good to you,
Feeling into this self-acceptance,
Self-love,
And really being able to accept others and love unconditionally.
Allowing yourself and others to flourish in a way that feels good and true for everyone.
May you love yourself completely and project that complete acceptance and perfect love onto others now and forever.
When you are ready,
I invite you to wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes,
Stretching your hands above your head,
Opening your eyes and raising your gaze.
When you are ready,
Today's affirmation that I leave you with is,
I completely love and accept myself.
We'll say that three times.
I completely love and accept myself.
Twice more.
I completely love and accept myself.
Once more.
I completely love and accept myself.
I invite you to be mindful,
Breathe deep often,
And contemplate all the ways you will love and accept yourself more.
Thank you for meditating with me today.
