Cultivating Radical Self-Love

In Western culture, it can be very hard to practice self-love because we’re so focused on achievement and so hard on ourselves when we don't succeed whether it’s in our personal or professional life. Because of that, we shut down, we contract and we close our heart not only to others but also to ourselves. In this meditation you will practice extending the same love and tenderness you feel for your loved ones toward yourself in order to transform your relationship with yourself.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation,

Cultivating Radical Self-Love as a Path to Awakening.

In Western culture,

It can be very hard to practice self-love and self-compassion because we're so focused on achievement and we're so hard on ourselves when we aren't successful,

Whether it's in our personal or our professional lives.

And because of that,

We shut down,

We contract and we close our hearts not only to others,

But also to ourselves.

We carry guilt,

Shame,

Regret and remorse which then trigger thoughts such as,

I'm not worthy or I'm not deserving or I'm not good enough.

The key to this meditation practice is to evoke feelings of unconditional acceptance and love for ourselves and to extend the same kindness and concern that we feel for our friends and loved ones towards ourselves.

Now in order to get the most out of this meditation,

We need to give ourselves time to allow the experience of self-love to unfold slowly.

We need to give ourselves time to let this practice be a process that we can marinate in.

I'm actually going to go quite slowly in the beginning and take some time to warm us up so to speak and to get us into a place where we can be as receptive as possible to loving kindness towards ourselves.

So this will be a slow and methodical and very purposeful step-by-step guided meditation.

So let's go ahead and begin our meditation.

So we begin by just getting settled and taking a deep cleansing breath.

And it may be that you're sitting in a chair with both feet on the ground and if that's your position then be sure that you're seated just a bit away from the back of your chair so that your spine can be upright.

Have your palms faced up and sitting gently in your lap.

If you're sitting in meditation position on the ground then you also want to be sure that your pelvis is supported in such a way that your spine can remain long.

And in either case just go ahead and drop your chin maybe an inch or two towards your chest so that it's parallel to the ground.

The tendency is to let the head fall back a little bit but we want the crown of the head extended straight up.

And again just both palms on your lap,

Palms faced up.

And from this position just becoming aware of all the different places where your body meets the surface underneath you whether it's the chair or the floor.

And just noticing all the ways in which you feel supported by the surface underneath you.

And now just bringing your awareness to your breath.

Notice where your breath goes as you breathe in and where it goes as you breathe out.

And perhaps becoming aware now of the way in which your breath is like a bridge between your outer world and your inner world.

And noticing how with each breath you can begin to draw in a sense of relaxation.

And just allowing this relaxation to begin to flow in through the crown of your head as it melts down through all the muscles of your face around your eyes and cheeks and jaw.

And just letting go of any tension,

Tightness or contraction that you might be feeling in these areas and allowing your breath to be the mechanism which dislodges and dissolves any tension bringing in a warm soothing feeling of relaxation as you scan your neck and shoulders your upper back allowing your breath to bring this relaxation into those areas dissolving any tension,

Tightness or contraction.

And allowing this relaxation to flow down your arms and into your hands maybe even feeling it as a warmth or a tingling sensation.

And continuing to breathe this warm soothing relaxation down your chest and back soothing all the organs of digestion and elimination and reproduction as this warm relaxing energy flows down through your hips and into your thighs.

And just letting it all go letting go of any tension,

Tightness or contraction that you may be holding on to consciously or unconsciously sensing,

Feeling or imagining it all melting away in this warm relaxing soothing energy as it flows down through your knees and lower legs and down into your feet feeling any remaining tension,

Tightness or contraction draining out of your body and just noticing how relaxed your body feels right now.

And also noticing how when your body relaxes in this way your mind relaxes as well and that as your mind relaxes your body relaxes even more.

And just bringing your awareness once again back to your breath maybe even feeling your breath at your nostrils noticing the cooling sensation of your breath as you inhale and the warming sensation of your breath as you exhale.

Just staying focused on each inhale and exhale at the tip of your nose at your nostrils following your breath with each inhale and each exhale.

And now just become aware of how you can move your breath and your attention on your breath from your nose deeper inwards into your body towards your spine so that with each inhale your breath ascends up from the base of your spine all the way up to the crown of your head and as you exhale each breath descends back down the spine from the crown of your head to the base of your spine.

No need to try to control the pace of your breath just follow your breath in the natural rhythm of your breath.

And as you do sense or feel or imagine this movement of your breath up your spine to the crown of your head on your inhale and down your spine to the base of your spine on your exhale.

And you may begin to sense your breath as a movement in your spine it may feel like a tingling or a warm sensation moving up and down your spine or perhaps you see your breath as a light or a colored light as it moves up and down ascending and descending with each inhale and each exhale.

And now on your next breath just bringing your breath into your third eye your spiritual center the place just behind the bridge of your nose and sense or feel or imagine the breath as you inhale and exhale through this energy center your spiritual eye your sixth chakra.

And you may sense or feel the breath here as a bright light or sun or an energy sphere that gently expands and contracts with each breath.

And Dominque your bath your heart lets out its care And now slowly letting go of your attention to your breath and just sensing or feeling this space between each breath.

Putting your attention on the pauses,

The gaps between each breath.

If any thoughts arise,

Just allow them to be there without needing to do anything with them.

Bringing your focus back to the space between each breath.

And you may notice that in the same way your breath rises and falls with each inhale and each exhale,

So too do your thoughts and any feelings or emotions that come with them.

They rise and fall as well in this field of awareness.

Just noticing how these phenomena,

Your thoughts,

Your emotions,

Seem to arise out of nowhere and subside back into nowhere,

Nothingness again.

And all that remains is space.

And as you keep bringing your attention back to this space,

Just notice how the space in fact isn't empty.

Rather,

It's pure awareness.

It's filled with awareness.

It's filled with presence.

And just allowing yourself now to move more deeply into this awareness,

Into this space,

And noticing the quality of it.

Ever conscious,

Ever aware and present.

It has the capacity to hold everything without judgment.

And so from this space,

Allow an image of yourself as a child to appear in front of you.

Perhaps a time when you were a small child or a toddler,

Or a time from your childhood that you remember,

When you were happy and free of worry,

Unhindered by problems of this life and the world.

Perhaps you're playing by yourself or with a friend or a loved one.

And as this image of your younger self becomes clear in your awareness,

In this field of awareness,

Allow yourself to feel tenderness and caring towards your younger self.

In the same way that a parent or a grandparent would feel towards their child or their grandchild.

And just watching your younger self and allowing this feeling of tenderness and caring and love towards your younger self to intensify.

And allow these feelings of tenderness and caring and warmth and love to begin to permeate your heart as you stay focused on your younger self.

If your mind drifts,

Just bringing your attention back to your younger self and the feelings of tenderness,

Warmth,

Caring and love that you feel towards your younger self.

And now sense or feel or imagine that you can bring your younger self closer to you.

Maybe he or she is standing in front of you or maybe they come to sit on your lap,

But just bringing your younger self close to you so that you can hold them and look them in the eyes.

And as you look at your younger self in the eyes,

Silently repeat these words to them as you look at them with tenderness and caring and love.

Just saying to them silently,

May you be happy,

May you be free from suffering,

May you be healthy,

May you find peace and joy.

And imagine that as you say these words that a warm light radiates from the center of your heart and carries all of your feelings of tenderness and warmth into the heart of your younger self.

May you be happy,

May you be free from suffering,

May you be healthy,

May you find peace and joy.

And imagining that this light that's radiating from the center of your heart surrounds your younger self and brings him or her a sense of peace and happiness.

May you be happy,

May you be free from suffering,

May you be healthy,

May you find peace and joy.

And see or sense their happiness.

And allow yourself to rejoice in the thought of their happiness.

May you be happy,

May you be free from suffering,

May you be healthy,

May you find peace and joy.

And now imagine that you can bring this younger you into your heart and allow him or her to feel you strong within them.

And allowing yourself to feel them strong within you.

As you rest for a few moments more in this tenderness,

In this warmth,

In this kindness and love.

And now allowing this loving kindness,

This self-compassion,

This self-love to flow into every bone,

Every muscle,

Every organ,

Every cell of your physical body.

And allowing it to flow into your emotional and mental body as well as your spiritual body.

And just know that you're bringing this loving kindness into every relationship in your life but most importantly into the relationship with yourself.

And just allowing this practice of radical self-love to become stronger and more profoundly connected to your consciousness.

Knowing that you can carry this radical self-love with you into the rest of your life and into every relationship in your life.

And also knowing that this practice of radical self-love will have profound effects on every level of your being physically,

Mentally,

Emotionally and spiritually.

So just slowly bringing your attention back to your breath once again.

Allowing your breath to be the bridge between your inner world and your outer world.

With each breath drawing a little more closely back to your outer world,

Back to the surface feeling the surface underneath your body.

Just wiggling your fingers and toes or stretching a little bit.

Slowly finding your way back into the room knowing that this practice will have profound effects in your life over the coming days and weeks and even months ahead.

And as you come back into the room just coming back with a feeling of gratitude for this practice.

And whenever you're ready coming back fully into the room and opening your eyes.

Namaste.

Reviews

Wow, just finished her meditation. She takes you back as a child and you give yourself love and caring. Whew, a good one!

A powerful practice which connects with and honors the oft neglected inner child. Evokes a pure and natural feeling of self love.