If you turn this on,
You are on the IFS path or curious about it.
Then again,
Maybe you were scrolling and felt my face by accident.
Either way,
If you're listening,
I'm happy to be part of your process.
I'm grateful you're part of mine.
IFS is a system of relating to ourselves with the understanding that we have many parts within the totality of our self.
An inner child,
A functional adult,
An angry teen,
And so forth.
The practice of metta is a Buddhist tradition of goodwill or friendliness.
Traditionally,
We direct this energy,
Which in IFS we would call self-energy,
To ourselves and other beings,
Starting with ones that are easy and lovable,
Progressing to neutral and difficult beings.
Today we take this timeless Buddhist practice and direct towards,
You guessed it,
Our parts.
Let's practice.
Bring yourself to a comfortable meditation posture.
You could be seated,
Standing,
Or lying down.
Your spine should be straight,
Your head above your shoulders,
Shoulders above your hips.
The posture is often overlooked,
But it is valuable to find one that is straight and supportive of energy flow.
The posture ought to feel stable and relaxed.
No need to force perfect straightness,
Though.
Once you've found your posture,
I'll invite you to close your eyes.
Unless for some reason you're listening to this while driving,
Then please,
For goodness sake,
Keep them open,
You menace.
First,
Start with the intention directed to yourself without considering parts.
Start by repeating the phrases to yourself in your head or aloud if the situation permits and you wish.
May I be happy.
May I feel safe.
May I be healthy.
May I live with ease.
Notice your body's response to these phrases as you continue repeating them to yourself,
Perhaps anchoring each phrase with your breath.
When your mind wanders,
Just notice and return to the phrases.
This is just the mind doing its job in thinking.
It might feel like a problem,
But I suspect it's better to have an unruly thinking mind than none at all.
Now,
Let go of yourself.
And that's it.
You're awake.
Oh,
Okay,
Still have a self?
Then we'll continue.
Now bring to mind a part of yourself that is very likable,
A part that you would like to be all the time.
Perhaps a joyful part,
Creative part,
Comedic part.
Maybe you have an image of this part,
And maybe you can feel it in your body.
And holding those in your mind and body,
Begin to repeat the phrases of metta.
May you be happy.
May you feel safe.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
Repeat these phrases,
This part in your heart,
And feel the experience.
Letting go of this part for now,
Thank it for all that it does.
Now bring to mind a part that feels relatively neutral.
This may be a part you don't know well or isn't very dramatic.
Perhaps your responsible part,
Your good student part,
Your lawn maintenance part.
Just find someone who doesn't have a very strong charge in your body one way or the other.
See if you can feel this part in your body,
Maybe the image in your mind.
And with the intention of goodwill,
Repeat the phrases to this part.
May you be happy.
May you feel safe.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
Notice your experience as you do this,
And notice if any other parts arise during the process,
And try and get in the way.
Just acknowledge them before returning your attention to the chosen part in the phrases.
Letting go of this part for now,
Thank it for all that it does.
Now bring to mind a part of you,
A part of yourself,
That you have a difficult relationship with,
Are afraid of,
Or even hate.
Perhaps your inner critic,
Wounded child,
Or escapist part.
Feel them in your body.
Feel your reaction towards them.
Maybe you have an image for them as well.
Call that to mind.
And with the intention of goodwill for all of you,
Start sending the intention of kindness to this part.
May you be happy.
May you feel safe.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.
Notice how this part reacts,
How your body feels as you repeat these phrases.
And just return.
Now letting go of this part.
Thank it for all that it does as well.
Finally bringing into your awareness all of your parts of self,
Known and unknown.
And with the same loving intention,
Repeating these phrases.
May all my parts be happy.
May we all feel safe.
May all my parts be healthy.
May all parts live with ease.
Now letting go of the phrases.
Notice your body and mind.
Has anything shifted from when you started?
Can you feel a little more compassion for any of your parts?
If so,
That's great.
And if not,
It's totally normal and fine.
These things do take time.
But the fact that you made the intention in this direction matters.
It really does.
Thanks for your practice.
