This guided meditation is geared towards self-compassion and forgiveness.
Oftentimes we go through our day with our inner critic dominating our worlds,
Believing and buying into this story that we're not good enough or that we messed up in some way.
Thoughts will pop into our minds as we're trying to fall asleep of how we should have done something differently.
Beginning by finding yourself a comfortable,
Dignified position,
Adjusting your posture where your back is straight,
Upright,
But not tense or rigid or forced.
So just allowing your shoulders to drop down a little bit.
You gaze at your eyes to drop down,
Or closing your eyes if you're comfortable.
And centering your body,
Feeling the weight of your body pressing down in your chair or on the ground in your bed.
And if there's any area,
Any shift in posture you want to make,
Or any area of tension,
Just allowing yourself to make that adjustment or loosening your muscles a little bit.
And taking a few deep breaths,
Grounding yourself in as you inhale.
And as you slowly exhale out,
Pushing the air out,
Allowing your body to relax.
Inhale,
Centering on the breath.
And exhale,
Relaxing.
Taking one more deep breath in,
Centering,
Grounding yourself,
And slowly exhaling out,
Releasing,
Relaxing.
Allowing the body now to breathe naturally at its own pace,
Your body resuming its natural state.
Turning your attention now into your thoughts,
Your feelings.
Observing what weight is being carried in your mind,
And what thoughts are distracting you from this present moment.
And as you scan through,
As you observe your thoughts,
Finding something,
An area in your life or a thought where it might be helpful to offer yourself some compassion.
This could be a time when you were overly critical of yourself,
Or it might be when you felt you were wrong in some way.
Any regrets,
Any ideas that you have of feeling not good enough,
Not enough.
Noticing where do you feel this idea,
This thought in your body.
Beginning to observe these feelings as best you can,
And noticing them in an objective way.
What is it like to allow space for something that's uncomfortable,
Or some spot in yourself that you feel vulnerable or critical?
And as you examine this feeling,
Also begin to accept that this is a thought,
This is a feeling.
This is a story that you've told yourself,
And allowing it to be here.
It can help sometimes to say,
It's okay,
Whatever it is,
It's already here.
Or,
This is how it is right now.
And as you make space for these thoughts,
These feelings,
As you accept them into your conscious mind,
Start to investigate,
Is there a vulnerable part of you,
A part of you that feels misunderstood or not seen?
Connect this part of you with your physical form.
Scanning,
Observing in your body where you feel this emotion,
This thought.
Sometimes there might be tightness at the throat,
A burning at the chest,
The heart,
Tension in the hands,
The shoulders.
What are these sensations like for you?
As you're examining the physical form,
Sometimes it can help to offer yourself kindness by placing your hands on the area where you're feeling this emotion.
Either putting your hands on your heart,
Or resting them on your shoulders,
Your face,
Your eyes.
Perhaps also just having a mental image of yourself being held,
Being held in kindness,
Being held in understanding.
As you picture yourself being held in new light,
Being understood,
Being accepted,
Perhaps there are some kind words you can offer,
Such as telling yourself it's okay.
I care about you.
I feel the suffering you're going through and I'm sorry.
Whatever words resonate with you,
Whatever words you can offer yourself,
Just repeating them softly in your mind.
And it's natural for the mind to wonder.
If it does,
Just gently bringing it back.
You can always use your breath as a way to guide you,
Ground you back.
Back to offering yourself kindness,
Security,
Protection.
Imagine this warmth pouring into yourself and allowing yourself to observe,
To feel what it's like,
To feel held,
To feel accepted,
Understood,
To offer these things to yourself.
And very gradually,
When you're ready,
Bringing your attention back into the world around you,
The sounds,
The sights,
The smells,
Opening your eyes when you're ready and gently stretching your body.
