This is a shadow work meditation.
The shadow are the parts of yourself that remain hidden or pushed away.
Take a moment and find a comfortable seat.
Whatever this is,
As long as it's comfortable for you.
Take a moment here and notice the natural flow of your breath.
Notice the parts of your body that are touching the earth.
Feel the air on your skin.
Bring your awareness to the sounds in the room.
Pull your shoulders up to your ears and release them back down.
Pull your neck up and down in yes and no.
When you're ready,
You may begin to lie down.
Notice your flow of breath here and notice the air as it fills your belly,
Lungs and ribcage.
Bring your awareness to your feet and squeeze your feet and then release again.
Bring your awareness to your legs and then squeeze your legs and then release.
Notice your flow of breath here.
Bring your awareness to your arms and hands.
Tighten slightly and then release.
Bring your attention to the left side of your body and then the right.
And then notice your body as a whole.
Allow your body to sink a little deeper and follow your natural breath here.
Notice any sensations in your entire body.
As you inhale,
The earth rises up to hold you.
And as you exhale,
You fall deeper into the earth.
As you breathe,
Imagine yourself sitting under the night sky.
The stars shine vividly above you.
You are safe.
You are secure and you are relaxed.
You look around and you take in all that you are seeing.
The stars,
The surroundings,
What you are wearing,
How you're sitting.
You notice the smells and sounds all around you.
Think of a part of yourself that you want to explore.
What is that emotion behind that?
Name it.
Breathe into this emotion so that you can see it clearly.
Now,
You're going to invite this emotion to become a figure in your mind's eye.
It can be a person,
An animal,
Or a thing.
Now imagine and feel yourself as your divine,
Beautiful self.
Your highest self shining bright and tall across this figure.
Feel your compassion as if you were the most forgiving creature fill you up.
You look at your figure,
You smile,
And you warmly say,
You are welcome here.
Tell me what you have to say.
And simply,
Without judgment,
Hear what it says.
Release any tension or resistance you have to allowing this.
Once this figure has said what it has needed to say,
Look at it with compassion and say,
I accept you.
You belong in this space.
You belong with me.
I accept you.
You belong in this space.
You belong with me.
Look at this figure and see if anything changes.
And then ask the figure what it needs.
As a compassionate being,
See yourself providing that need.
Notice and see if the figure has changed in any way.
In doing this,
You have freed and healed a part of yourself.
Hug this figure with compassion and become whole.
You feel gratitude for this figure and emotion.
Bless yourself for bringing the shadow part of yourself to the surface to be healed.
You begin to notice yourself back in the room and look around.
Notice your breath as it fills your belly,
Lung,
And rib cage.
Notice the parts of your body that are touching the earth and feel the air on your skin.
You begin to sit up when you're ready and place your hands at heart center.
And thank you for participating in this shadow meditation.
