Affirming Your Worth

This talk and meditation will assist you into understanding why affirmations work. The process that Mary Teresa explains is a profound way of letting go of the voice inside your head that says you can't do it. Allow yourself to focus first on what you don't want and replace it with what you do want. Join Mary on the journey to enhance your practice.

Transcript

I am not here by accident.

I am here by divine appointment.

It has taken me six months,

But I am now published on Insight Timer,

A meditation app available to everyone for free.

Those of you who know me or have taken my meditation class know just how much being published on this site means to me.

It is not so much that I am published that I am going to talk about this morning,

But overcoming the fear I experienced during this process.

The fear,

Anxiety,

And the feeling of unworthiness that I allowed my inner critic to say to me at one point paralyzed me into thinking that I was not worthy.

Hey,

I know the strategies,

Many of them,

To overcome this.

I even teach them.

Yet,

I experienced it anyway.

What I know for sure is that whenever I do have these perfectly human reactions,

There is something I can do.

I can go into the stillness.

I realized long ago that when I settle in,

When I feel the fear and anxiety first,

I allow myself to experience it.

I check in,

And it usually physically hurts.

I know I must feel this hurt in order to know what it is that I don't want to feel.

I must confront the feelings in order to replace it with what I do want.

I had to look in the mirror,

And sometimes that isn't so pretty.

What was I thinking?

Well,

I was thinking things like,

I am not good enough.

Where do I get off thinking that anyone would listen and actually learn from me?

Who really would be inspired by my meditation?

Does anybody really care?

I had to sit with this.

I had to feel this anxiety.

The feel was very real.

What is normal for me is usually to ignore the problem,

And it'll go away.

So I didn't do anything after my initial interest.

I allowed the doubt to take over.

Let me back up.

When I get inspiration to do something,

It is usually a very strong voice,

Not necessarily my inner voice,

But another very clear voice speaking actual words.

No vision,

No colors,

Sounds,

Or smells,

Just a very strong voice.

It happened when I felt called to become a licensed Unity teacher.

I was sitting in this very sanctuary right over there,

And the voice said,

You are ready.

I want you.

That voice took me to Unity Village,

And I became a licensed Unity teacher in 2001.

This same voice told me to work on meditations and teach the Unity process to others.

This same voice led me to our Chaplain program.

Well,

Back to now.

After sitting with the feeling of anxiety and unworthiness in my stillness,

I realized that I needed to overcome fear.

The fear that if I do this,

No one would really be helped.

And yes,

Seriously,

Who do I think I am to inspire others and assist them in their stillness?

In the stillness,

It came to me that I need to overcome my fear of not being accepted.

In the stillness,

I realized that I need to work on my worthiness and give myself the same compassion that I so freely give others.

I needed to overcome fear and embrace my worthiness by centering on self-compassion,

Self-acceptance.

I realized the old roommate in my head was not allowing me to love myself into feeling worthy.

Sounds simple,

Right?

Well,

It actually is.

I created a mantra to help me through this.

I overcome fear and I embrace worthiness.

I am an inspiration to others.

While that inner voice didn't believe it at first,

The more I voiced this to myself and the more I truly believed it,

By denying this fear was real for me,

I embraced my worthiness.

Let me be very,

Very clear.

I do not deny the reality of the feelings and the experiences I was having.

I only deny that they have power over me.

When I take myself through this process,

I look for signs.

Some that happened for me were a student asked me how they could find me on Insight Timer.

A chaplain said,

We need to get you on Insight Timer.

I had 23 in a Wednesday night meditation class.

Since I have published and when I share it,

Folks are very enthusiastic.

A woman in Sunday morning meditation offered to play the harp as background music and a very well-known photographer gave me permission to use her photos.

I have also had many positive feedback comments on this message board.

In unity,

This is called denial and affirmation.

The Fillmore's taught to never have an affirmation without first having a denial.

Often,

We can't move to the affirmation until we realize the influence which brought us to our desire.

So,

I am here to tell you that if you are struggling to reach a certain goal and feel that sense of unworthiness,

Please know all of us feel that same way at some point.

We are all human,

Even your teachers.

I struggled with fear,

Anxiety,

Unworthiness,

And I came to realize my purpose is much more important than those negative feelings.

For me,

Denials and affirmation were my ticket out.

I teach this in my meditation class.

So now,

Let's go through this exercise.

Let's put this into practice.

Before we begin,

Have your journal close or have something to write on within arm's reach.

Most likely,

You will want to remember what you will come up with during this exercise and practice.

What we are about to do may be uncomfortable at first,

But the goal is to bring you some comfort from the situation that is troubling you.

Now,

From your center and from that place where you find stillness within,

Let us breathe deep and release all the energies that brought you here to this now moment.

Connect with your breath in the way that calms you most.

Breathe into this moment and look for that space that allows your mind to rest.

Then allow your thoughts to stay there for a moment.

As you breathe,

Allow your body to relax and let your eyes close.

Let your mind rest and allow your jaw to draw open just a little.

This signals your body to continue to relax.

Even if this next step is painful,

Allow yourself to bring up a situation that is troubling you right now.

Let it come across your mind just like you were watching a movie.

Make no judgment at this point.

Allow yourself to identify what is actually happening.

Let yourself bring to mind what you are feeling.

What knee-jerk reaction?

What trigger?

What emotion are you feeling when you think of this situation?

Name it and claim it.

Feel free to pause this recording so you can write down what you are feeling.

This is an important step.

Identify the feeling you are now experiencing.

Is it anger,

Fear,

Anxiety,

Sadness,

Loneliness,

Unworthiness?

Write this down or remember it in only one or two words.

Feel the feeling.

Now imagine the situation resolved,

Done,

Finished,

Accomplished.

How would you feel when it is done or over?

What is it that you would rather be feeling?

Feel free to pause the recording again so you can write down what you would rather be feeling.

Name it in just a few words.

Is it joy,

Being accomplished,

Loved,

Full of heart?

Write it down.

Now state the first feeling in denial form.

Remember,

We never deny the reality of the situation or the feelings of human condition.

We deny that it has any power over us that we cannot overcome.

For example,

There is no fear or unworthiness.

It does not exist.

Try to keep it simple.

Now bring your attention around to what it is you do want.

Claim it.

Is it worthiness,

Love,

Purpose?

Again,

Try to keep it to just a few words.

Now state these feelings using the pronoun I.

For example,

I overcome fear and I embrace worthiness.

I make healthy choices.

You will most likely wish to write this down.

Feel free to pause this recording if you need to.

Once you identify what it is that you don't want,

Embrace what it is that you do want.

Feel it.

What do you want?

Now state this in an I am statement.

For example,

I am loved.

I am worthy.

I move freely to embrace my health.

Or I am an inspiration to others.

Now you will put this all together in denial and affirmation.

For example,

I overcome fear.

I embrace worthiness and I am an inspiration to others.

Or food has no power over me.

I make healthy choices and I am strong and worthy.

Keeping this short will help you to remember.

You may need to refer to your journal or your notes,

But when it is repeated over and over,

It will become a part of your practice and you will overcome whatever negative situation you are facing.

The purpose of this exercise is to get in touch with the influence of our desire.

We are made to move on from negative thinking.

Even when we do this,

We can overcome it.

Now take a moment to give yourself some grace and gratitude for going through this process.

It's not always easy,

But you have given yourself a gift.

Again,

Thank your beautiful soul for making that next step into your practice.

Remember to breathe deeply,

Experience completely,

And feel freely.

Continue to repeat your denial and affirmation,

Knowing that you will work through your situation,

Knowing that you are loved.

Thank you,

Dear friend,

For sharing this experience with me.

Reviews

Great meditation and talk. So relatable!

Much love! Thank you for sharing your light! 💜✨

Wonderful guidance & instruction. Clearly spoken. Good pace & very helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. 😊💕🙏