Befriend Yourself

Learning to believe in yourself takes practice. Give yourself the gift of accepting that you are enough just the way you are. This is a 5-minute practice that anyone can do and is especially useful for those looking to the first step in establishing a mindfulness meditation practice. For the next five minutes, you have NOTHING to do.

Transcript

What have you learned to treat yourself and talk to yourself the same way that you would talk to your best friend?

My name is Lori Wald and for the next five minutes you have nothing to do.

One of the benefits of a mindfulness meditation practice is to start to objectively hear the inner voice in our heads.

Oftentimes I talk to myself so harshly and in a way that I would never speak to another person.

But what if we could learn to talk to ourselves as if we were talking to a close friend or to a small child who we were trying to encourage?

Think of a little kid learning to walk,

A little baby toddler learning to walk.

You would never say,

Just get up and walk.

What's the big deal?

Everyone does it.

No,

You say,

Come on honey,

You're going to get it.

Try again.

I believe in you.

Let's take the same encouragement for ourselves.

Even in learning to sit in stillness.

So find yourselves in a comfortable yet dignified position.

Sitting,

Lying down,

Standing,

Eyes open or closed.

Take a couple of intentional breaths.

Breath is the one element of our nervous system we can self-regulate.

And for the next couple of minutes,

Just try to focus on your breath as thoughts come up.

Or feelings or anxieties.

Just notice lightly and come back to your breath.

As you're trying to focus on your breath,

Encourage yourself just as you would a small child learning to walk.

It's okay.

Try again.

You're going to get it.

I believe in you.

Come back,

Start again.

I believe in you.

Is it possible that you are enough just the way you are?

The need to prove you're enough is exhausting.

So try again.

Find your breath.

For the last few seconds,

Just stop trying.

This is Laurie Wald.

Thanks for meditating with me.