Creating Your Safe Inner Sanctuary

Create a personal sanctuary within yourself, a place where you can feel welcomed, accepted, and free to simply be who you are. In this guided meditation, you'll use your imagination to create an inner refuge where you can rest, release judgment, and nurture self-love. You'll be guided to cultivate a sense of comfort, safety, and belonging, and discover a place within yourself you can return to whenever life feels overwhelming. You are already welcome there, fully accepted and without judgment. Just bring yourself and your imagination.
Music by ⁠White_Records⁠ from ⁠Pixabay

Transcript

Welcome to Whispers of the Heart. Guided meditations. I am your host and guide. Noriko Tanigawa There are times in life when we feel stuck, In situations where we don't feel safe. When the stress of life feels so overwhelming that we can hardly breathe. And yet, We feel we have nowhere to go. We hear people say. You should just leave, But we can't. We're not ready. The circumstances aren't right. And for now, We feel stuck. Feelings thrust. Unhappy. And unsafe. Changing your external circumstances takes time and patience, But changing our inner environment is only an imaginational way. And in those moments. Perhaps we can begin to create something within ourselves. A sanctuary. A place that belongs only to us. A place where we are welcomed exactly as we are, A place where we don't have to hide our feelings, Where we don't have to be strong, Where we don't have to earn love by being good enough. We can simply be ourselves. Imagine having a place within you. Where you can retreat. Whenever you need to. A place where you can rest. Where you can be heard. Where you can offer yourself the kindness you may have been missing. This place doesn't have to look a certain way. It doesn't have to be somewhere you've been before. It can be a place you create from your imagination. Shaped by what brings you a sense of comfort, Peace, And belonging. And perhaps, The most important thing about this sanctuary is not what it looks like, But how you are allowed to feel when you are there. You don't have to fix yourself. You don't have to push anything away. You don't have to judge yourself for what you feel. You're allowed to meet yourself. With understanding, With patience. And with love. Today. I invite you to begin creating your own inner sanctuary. A place you can return to wherever you need. A moment of refuge. A moment to reconnect with yourself. And a reminder that even in difficult times, You can practice offering yourself compassion. You may not always be able to change what is happening around you. Where you can begin to explore a different way of being with yourself. And this sanctuary can become a place where the practice begins. This is creating your safe inner sanctuary. And whenever you're ready. Let's begin. Find a comfortable seat. Or lie down. Make sure you bring anything and everything. To help you feel comfortable. Your favorite pillow or blanket, Your favorite candles or diffuser. Anything and everything to help you feel at home. In creating this beautiful inner sanctuary for yourself. Feel free to pause this meditation and get everything you need now. And whenever you're ready. Let's hit that pray button again. Let's get started. Allow your body to settle. In the comfortable position of your choice. Feel free to move around even in the middle of meditation. There is no rule that says You have to stay still. If you like moving around a little bit or change your position. Feel free to do so. Listen to your body. And allow your body to move. In whichever the position. You feel like in this moment. And as always, We are going to start our practice. By taking a deep breath in and out three times. Let's take a deep breath in. And breath out. Let's take another deep breath in. And breath out. And one more time, Let's take a deep breath in. And breath out. Allow you breath. To get back to normal. And witness your breath coming in and out. So today we are going to create. Our inner safe sanctuary. And this is practice that I used to do when I first started my meditation practice, Because I was in a situation where I didn't quite feel safe, But I also wasn't in a situation and circumstances that was good or safe for me to just get out of that. Situation were. Living arrangement. And sometimes it's. . . Easy for someone from outside to just say. Get out of this situation. And just leave. And the truth is that. . . Our lives are more complicated than just that, And it takes a little bit for us to just leave the situation. So if you're in one of those situations right now, I totally get it. And one thing I recommend is. . . Not to judge yourself too harshly. Or. . . To criticize. You for being in that situation right now. Or changes. Start from within. If you rush. The change, The external change by forcing it. You will soon get back through. Exactly the position that you were in. So this creating that inner safe sanctuary. Helps you to jumpstart the process of your inner change that ripples to outside. And believe it or not, Once you start practicing this, You will see. Your way out. And even if you are not in this difficult situation where you feel unsafe. We all need this moment sometimes. Where we belong. Need to retreat to ourselves. Maybe you had a stressful day or. . . You had difficult time in your relationships. Or you might be going through some difficult time yourself. For all those times, This safe inner sanctuary. Provides much needed. Place for you too. Breathe. Feel. And heal. Soul. Let's get started. I want you to place your attention to your heart. This is where you feel. And this is where you send and receive love. And this is where you feel your heartbeat. This is where your inner world starts. I want you to imagine this very core of your heart. There's this space that is very sacred to you, Only to you. This is where. You get to have your safe space. And no one can touch it. Even when. Life seemingly. Takes everything away from you. This sacred space in your heart. Is one thing. No one can ever take away. It's yours. And in this sacred space. I want you to. . . Create. This very safe haven for yourself. This is where. . . You get to have. Very honest. Conversation with yourself. You get to ask those difficult questions that you might avoid asking yourself. This is the space where. . . You can be totally honest. And not feel judged. This is a space where you can openly say that you don't like something or you love something. This is the place where you get to be vulnerable. You get to cry. You get to. . . Express your fear. Discomfort, Frustrations, Anger. And sometimes feel totally. . . Helpless or unseen. Or alone. Get to feel all that. And you're allowed to have all these emotions. Because this is a safe space where you are being held. Where you get to. Allow those energy to flow. So right now you might be imagining this empty space. I want to make sure that this is a space where you feel very, Very comfortable. So I want you to Imagine. The most comfortable couch, Chair, Bed, Whatever it is that you would like to have to make you feel very comfortable. I want you to imagine you're. . . Feeling that. Bed or couch. On your hand. I want you to really feel how that material feels. Maybe it's very soft fabric or. . . It could be leather or. . . It could feel something that's velvety. Whatever. Sure. Of this very comfy couch, Chair, Or bed. I want you to really, Really feel it. What color is it? Imagine your favorite color. And I want you to start adding things in this space that would make you feel comfortable. Is this? Inside a room. Or is it outside? Maybe in a park or it could be. . . Approach. Overlooking beautiful backyard. It could be in the middle of a campground, By the beach. By the lake. On top of the mountain, Wherever it is I want it to be. Imagine. Where you would feel really, Really safe. And if it's indoor. I'm going to imagine most cozy indoor setting you can think of. It could be a cottage by the beach. Log cabin in the mountain. Or it could be a big mansion. Tiny home. Whatever you can visualize and imagine. NemoYouTube! Start. Decorating the place a little bit more. Is there any table? If there's any table, What's on the table? What kind of drink would you have? To make you feel totally relaxed. Maybe you would like to have. Warm tea or hot chocolate. I want you to Think about your inner child. And a brink. At least one toy, Maybe a few toys. That your inner child would love. And place it in that space. Because this is the space for you. A new inner child. Love with you too. Imagine a wall. That is filled with pictures. Of all your happy moments there. You are safe here. You and your inner child are seeing. Held. Understood and loved. And no matter what is happening in your life. No matter how safe or unsafe you feel in your current life situation you can Always. Always. Come here. This is just one imagination away. People. May not see you, Or understand you, Or love you in a way. You would like. But you can. Keep that love. That you seek. In this safe sanctuary. You can give yourself that understanding you seek. And you can see yourself in a way that you want to be seen here. The way to. Just take it in this very safe and cozy feel. You feel so loved. Totally accept it. If you like. You can just be you. There's no expectations to be met. There's no need for you to be good enough. You can just allow yourself to be you. Now, I want you to look around this. Sanctuary you just created. Look around them too. Find three items that will help you remember this space. It could be a picture on the wall. It could be. . . One of your favorite books on the bookshelf. What could be a little trinket on the table? I could just be. The cologne, The cushion. The bronchic. Whatever it is. Think of three items and then I would to really. Create a very vivid picture. Picture. Of those items. So next time you want to come back here. Those are the three items that you think of. Those are like the keys to this space. Thinking of those three items. Unlocks the door to this space. So that it's easy for you to get back into the safe space. If you are, Say, Very upset. Or feeling unsafe. All you need to do. Is to find a quiet space for yourself where you can be alone. Close your eyes. And think of those three items. And you're back in this safe sanctuary. And you get to stay here as long as you need. And there is nothing you need to do. While you're inside here. And if you want, You can totally explore this place. Get to know more about it. And throughout the day you can think of those items that they are. You just remembered about your sanctuary. As a reminder that you're always safe. Always love. Always see. And always understood. Even if you feel other people don't. You do. You love yourself. You see yourself, You understand yourself, And you hold yourself. Let's take a deep breath in. And breathe out. I want you to feel the sense of safety you feel in this space. And feel the love. That's buzzing from the tip of your head all the way to the tip of your toes and your fingers. This is your true essence. We are all here to feel this unconditional love. And to spread and communicate this outward. To whomever is ready to receive it. So let's bring back this. Unconditional love and feeling of safety. Back into the physical realm. And know that when you go back to your regular life. Something inside of you has shifted. Even if you feel your situation and circumstances. Are so rigid. And you feel so trapped. This is how you change. Little by little. And by practicing this. Inner safe sanctuary. You will find. The same safety. Allah in your life situation and circumstances. The energy that you cultivate. In that sanctuary won't have to match. So you will naturally invite it into your life. Let's bring back this. And conditional love. Feeling of safety back into the physical life. Slowly release. We hold our toes and fingers. Rotate our wrists and ankles. Shake your head yes and no. Whenever we are ready. Slowly. Open your eyes. Welcome back. I hope you feel. . . The sense of grounding. And feeding love. Seeing and understood. This is really where the change starts. That's really by us cultivating. This safe space and start our healing process. If you know of anyone who could benefit from creating this Inner Safe Sanctuary, Please feel free to share this meditation with them. And If you haven't already, Please follow me so that you will be notified when I release the next update. Guided meditations. I would like to know how you felt, So please feel free to leave a review or rate this meditation. Thanks again for joining me on this healing journey and creating this inner peace. Safe sanctuary to gather. And as always I'm sending you all my love and support. I love you all. Thank you for listening. And I will see you next time.