All right,
So let's take a moment to focus our attention on what we're experiencing right now.
So you want to shift your focus from me to what you're feeling,
What you're thinking.
So to do this,
It might help for you to close your eyes if you want to,
And just start off doing a body scan from your head down to your toes,
And just notice,
Are you feeling any tightness or tension?
Perhaps a feeling of tightness in your shoulders,
Or a knot in your stomach,
Maybe it's a headache.
And just focus your attention on this area of yourself.
If you'd like,
You could lengthen your inhales and your exhales,
Do some deep breathing,
And see if you can focus in on one area of yourself where you're having any discomfort.
It might be a physical area,
Or it might be just a thought or a feeling that you're having.
Noticing what you're thinking,
Noticing how you're feeling,
And consider that this thought or feeling may belong to just one part of you,
That it may not be all of who you are.
And this realization alone can bring relief from difficult thoughts and feelings.
So as you focus in on this one part of who you are,
This one part of your soul,
Giving it all your attention right now,
Notice,
Does this part know that you're there?
Is it aware of your presence with it?
And how does it feel to this part to take in your presence?
How does it feel to this part to have your attention?
It may help to develop some sort of an image of this part.
Now,
Not everybody gets images,
But if you can,
See if you can come up with some sort of a visual for it,
Like a cartoon character,
Maybe one of the emotions from the Inside Out movie.
And then see if this part would be willing to unblend from you just a little bit to come out to about an arm's length in front of you.
Not too far,
But close enough so that you can connect with it and get to know it better.
And as you do that,
Ask this part if it wants to share any more about what it's feeling.
Does it want to tell you more about where it came from,
About what its fears are,
About what its concerns are?
And as it's sharing its fears and concerns,
Ask yourself,
How am I feeling toward this part of me?
Are you glad that it's there?
It may be that you don't really like this part very much,
In which case you've discovered another part of yourself.
You might call it your inner critic.
And it may help to just ask this inner critic if it would be willing to step aside,
Maybe behind a glass wall so that it can watch and just be willing to wait just a few minutes to pay attention to what we do with the original part.
So with this inner critic behind the glass wall,
Not too far away,
But not getting in the way,
Return to the original part and see now,
Is it aware of your compassionate presence with you?
Is it aware of your compassion and your curiosity for it?
See if you can extend even more compassion,
More curiosity toward this original part of yourself.
And is it taking in this compassion and curiosity from you?
Now ask this part,
What role has it been playing for you?
How does it think that it's helping by repeating these thoughts or carrying these feelings around?
How does this part think that it's serving you by taking over the headquarters of your soul?
Extend your appreciation and see if this part is all alone in what it's been doing.
It might be tired and maybe it wants some help.
If this part is willing,
Consider inviting Jesus to be near.
Would this part like for Jesus to draw near?
And if so,
Go ahead and let that happen.
Invite Jesus to be close to this hardworking,
Tired,
Loyal part of your soul.
Notice how Jesus shows up and then just notice what needs to happen between them.
Are there any thoughts or feelings that this part would like to hand over to Jesus?
Maybe in a box.
What is it willing to give over to him?
It may work for the part to release the burdens into the sky,
Giving them over to angels,
For example.
Whatever works to help this part unburden from these painful,
Heavy feelings and thoughts it's been carrying around.
And now see if there are any gifts or resources that Jesus would like to offer this part of you.
Does it have any words of affirmation?
Any words of encouragement?
Does he want to give any of the fruit of the Spirit?
Love,
Joy,
Peace,
Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Gentleness,
Faithfulness,
Self-control.
What resources does this part need from him?
And let him give those things to this part of you.
And notice now what role this part would like to play for you now that it has Jesus there.
Perhaps it's the same role as before,
But just in a less extreme way.
Or perhaps it wants to transform from being fearful to being courageous.
Or from being angry to advocating for you or for others in need.
If it was a task manager,
Maybe it wants to encourage you to get your job done.
And when the part is ready,
Let's shift our attention over to that loyal inner critic behind the glass wall.
So checking in with the inner critic,
Was it watching what we did with the original part?
Did it notice what happened between the part and Jesus?
What does it think about what happened?
Would it like to know Jesus too?
If so,
Invite the inner critic to step forward from behind the glass wall and to join that scene.
Notice what happens between this hard-working inner critic and Jesus.
How would the inner critic like to transform?
Maybe it would like to become your champion.
Now notice if you can see these parts sitting around a table with Jesus.
Seeing them all together,
Are they aware of one another?
How is it for them to notice one another?
And are they willing to be on the same team?
When you're ready,
Just extend appreciation to these parts for showing up for you today.
And let's shift our attention to the part that's not there.
And when you're ready,
You can begin to return your attention to the room,
Perhaps jotting down any thoughts that you had in a journal,
And taking note of any discoveries that you might want to share with a trusted friend.
Thank you.
