Thanking Your Past Selves

Written for International Women's Day, this meditation is about recognizing you, your hard work, your struggles and your successes. Today we’ll honor all the versions of you that helped you get to where you are today. Without those versions and all they’ve been through, you wouldn’t be here right now. There’s a lot to be thankful for - let’s acknowledge it.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation.

It's not always easy to make time in our calendars for a break,

Where we can sit and turn down all the noise and go inside.

So I want you to acknowledge your effort and willingness to be here right now.

In fact,

That's what our time together today is all about,

Recognizing you and all of your hard work and all of your struggles and all of your successes.

Today we're going to honor all the versions of you that helped you get to where you are today,

Helped you become who you are today,

Because without those versions and all they've been through,

You wouldn't be here right now.

So there's a lot to be thankful for today and every day.

Let's get started,

Shall we?

Find a comfortable position,

Either sitting up or maybe resting on your back,

But let's just make sure you have a straight spine.

Settle into your seat,

Maybe give a little wiggle here or there so that you're feeling just right.

Your hands can be folded gently in your lap or on your legs or whatever feels most comfortable for you.

Let's take a deep breath in,

Soft sigh out.

Pull your shoulders all the way up to your ears and hold them.

Squeeze really tight and now exhale and release.

Maybe move your head around to loosen your neck a little and just breathe.

As you settle in,

Notice the surface supporting you,

Whether it's your chair or the floor or a couch or even the bed you're lying on.

Notice whatever is under you,

Whatever is supporting your body and anchoring you to this planet in this moment.

I'm going to start by taking four grounding breaths.

Take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in through the nose and allow your body to relax as you exhale through your mouth.

Again,

A long,

Slow,

Deep breath in through your nose and a wave of relaxation as you exhale through your mouth.

Third breath,

Inhale through the nose and this time pause at the top and relax as you exhale out your mouth.

For last breath,

Draw your attention to your heart,

Maybe even putting your hands on your heart if it feels good to do so,

And inhale as if you were breathing into your heart and then exhale out your heart.

Beautiful.

We're going to start by imagining yourself as a little girl.

If you have a favorite memory of yourself when you were little,

Call it to mind now.

See her little face in your mind's eye.

Notice the color of her eyes and her hair.

Notice what she's wearing and take a moment to gaze at that face with love.

She's so innocent,

So pure.

Every single thing is new and fresh and exciting to her.

Take a moment to appreciate that.

Appreciate her genuine curiosity and naivety.

What was her life like then?

Who was she?

What were the things that she loved to do?

The things that lit her up and created that sparkle in her eye?

Bring those to mind now.

Feel the love that's coming up in your heart and in your body for her.

Notice all the sensations and keep breathing.

Now in your mind,

Imagine that she's standing right before you and thank her.

Thank her for learning and for growing and for being brave and for doing the best that she could,

And especially thank her for keeping you safe.

Tell her what she's needed to hear,

But for whatever reason,

Didn't.

Honor her by telling her all of those things now.

It's time to move on now.

Give that little girl a big,

Big hug and remind her that you're always right here.

Let's take a nice deep breath in and exhale.

And I invite you to imagine yourself as a teen.

It can be any age you want.

Maybe it's a particularly challenging time or maybe it's one of your favorite times.

Whichever it is,

Whatever version of her it is,

Bring her to mind and see her face.

How has her face changed?

What's different now?

Notice the energy she has.

Is it still innocent and pure or has she maybe some bruises and a few scrapes that she's accumulated so far in her relatively short life?

With loving eyes,

Just notice.

This age is hard in so many ways and she's doing her absolute best.

What comfort might you offer her in this moment?

What do you want to let her know?

What does she need to hear?

Take a moment and tell her.

It's time to move on now.

So let's give her a big hug and remind her too that you're always right here.

This time I invite you to imagine yourself as a young woman.

Maybe somewhere in your 20s or 30s.

It's up to you.

What does her face look like now that she's all grown up?

Picture her in your mind and think about her life up until this moment.

What has she experienced?

Maybe she's married or maybe she has a career or maybe she left her career to take care of her children or maybe she's working and taking care of her children all on her own.

Whatever it is for you,

Bring her to mind and think about her life.

What she loves about it.

What makes her sad.

What she has and what she longs for.

Notice what feelings you might be experiencing right now.

What sensations you can detect in your body,

Especially feelings or sensations in the area around your heart.

Feel into those.

Let them be present.

Let yourself express gratitude toward this version of you and thank her for being who she is.

Let her know that you see her and appreciate all she's been through because we both know it's been a lot.

If you're experiencing emotion right now,

Just allow it to come up and through.

You're simply liberating energy when you let your emotions be what they are and you don't try to stuff them down or push them away.

Nothing's gone wrong.

You're safe here and everything is okay.

Let's give her a big hug now and let her know that everything is going to be just fine and there's no need to worry.

She can rest.

We have one more stop today and that's to visit a more recent version of you.

Maybe say 10-ish years ago.

Bring to mind her face and notice all of the beauty in it.

Maybe she has a few crinkles around her eyes or maybe some laugh lines from the joy that she's experienced up until now.

She's a very strong woman.

Really,

Really notice that.

She's been through a lot and there's been plenty of time when life was no picnic,

But she persevered and she carries her fair share of wisdom now.

Acknowledge the stories behind her eyes and her beauty and her grace.

Life may not have turned out exactly as she thought or hoped when she was younger,

But she knows that's how it goes and she's learned how to make the best of situations.

Even in loss,

Even in sadness,

And even in failure,

She kept going.

And now it's time to thank her for everything.

Take a moment and offer your deepest appreciation and respect.

It's time to go now.

Imagine wrapping your arms around her and saying,

So long.

She's not that far away,

Not as far as the others are.

And that's a beautiful thing because you can call upon her wisdom when you need to.

She's always standing by,

Ready to share it with you.

All you have to do is ask.

It's time to come back to the present moment now.

There are many,

Many more versions of you that would love to connect with you.

You can do this meditation anytime and as many times as you want.

It's nice to go back and visit who you were and where you came from.

It's a beautiful way to honor yourself and your life because you are still all of those women that we visited today.

They all live inside you and are more than willing to share their gifts with you.

All you have to do is bring them online by imagining that version of you just like we did today.

You can ask them questions,

Create some safe space for answers,

And have conversations with them too if you'd like.

They're your biggest fans,

And they're always,

Always ready to help.

As you come back into your body,

Let's take a deep breath.

Mmm,

Soft sigh out.

Maybe wiggle your fingers a tiny bit.

Move your head back and forth,

And bring yourself gently back to the present moment.

Take your time.

There's no rush.

When you're ready,

Place your hands on your heart.

One last big deep breath in,

And a big smile as you exhale,

Welcome back.

Reviews

This a beautiful meditation, bless you heart ♥️ for the inspiration and insight. Thank you 🙏

The reminder that ‘she’s’ been here all the time. We’ve come so far and what a luxurious life. Thanks for the awakening!

Such a brilliant concept as I went back in time. Enjoyed every stage of me and big hugs at the end and to you too🧡

Thank you for this special meditation. There were joyful parts and not so happy parts, but each section touched my heart. I know I am still here to experience more and learn more in my journey. ❤️