Welcome,
Welcome my friend.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
Let's really make yourself very comfortable.
Let your eyes close gently,
Or allow your gaze to soften toward the ground.
Let's begin with a deep breath,
And on your next breath,
I invite you to let your shoulders melt down away from the ears.
You might also tip your chin a little bit down to create some space in your spine.
So,
Let's begin this journey,
This powerful journey into self-love.
Perhaps there was a time when you didn't know you were searching for self-love.
Perhaps you were a child,
Completely unselfconscious and whole,
Long before the world taught you to measure yourself against truly impossible standards.
That sense of wholeness lives within you,
Wading beneath layers,
Layers of self-judgment and doubt.
So breathe in,
And notice how your breath asks nothing of you,
Nothing at all.
It enters and leaves,
Flowing in and out,
Accepting you exactly as you are in this moment.
So,
My friend,
The journey to self-love is not a straight path.
It winds through valleys,
Valleys of old wounds,
Climbing mountains of resistance,
And sometimes it circles back to places you thought you'd already left behind.
They surprise you.
You think to yourself,
This again?
Really?
Yes,
Really.
And this is not a failure.
This is the nature,
This is the nature of the journey,
My friend.
And on the journey,
You may encounter the voice that says you are not enough,
Not thin enough,
Strong enough,
Successful enough,
Kind enough,
Healed enough.
I invite you to notice this voice,
If it appears,
Without fighting it.
It is speaking from fear,
From old protections that once tried to keep you safe by keeping you small.
So,
Just breathe.
Your breath doesn't judge whether you're breathing correctly.
It simply sustains and nourishes you.
Self-love is not a destination you arrive at one day,
Certificate in hand.
It is a daily choice to speak to yourself just as you would to someone you cherish.
It is the gentle,
Not now,
Or no thank you,
To criticism that does not serve.
It is the pause,
The pause you take before you dismiss your own needs as somehow less important than anyone else's.
And some days,
Some days,
My friend,
Self-love looks like rest,
When our productivity culture screams that you should be doing more,
Accomplishing more.
And other days,
It looks like courage,
Setting a boundary,
Speaking up,
Saying the thing that's uncomfortable,
And letting go of what no longer serves you.
It is both the grand gesture and the quiet moment of not abandoning yourself when things get hard.
So,
Take a breath and let this in,
My friend.
You are on the journey,
Home,
The journey home to self-love.
And you will forget.
You will fall back into old patterns,
Rejecting yourself,
Criticizing,
Comparing,
Perhaps even diminishing yourself.
And this,
Too,
Is part of the path home.
Self-love.
Self-love includes loving the parts of you that sometimes forget how to love yourself.
It includes compassion for your own learning and patience with your own unfolding.
Shining compassion and patience inside takes practice.
Each time you notice you've wandered into self-criticism,
You have a choice,
My friend,
You have a choice.
You can spiral further down,
Or you can simply say,
I see you,
Come back.
And gracefully,
Gently,
Begin again.
So,
What's true is,
You are not a project to be completed.
And you are not broken.
You are not broken in any way,
My friend.
You don't need fixing,
And you are already lovable.
You are a living,
Breathing human being.
Yes,
You are imperfect.
And yes,
You are evolving,
Doing your best from moment to moment with what you know.
And your worthiness,
Your worthiness is not conditional.
It does not depend on your comfort.
You were born worthy.
You,
My friend,
Were born worthy,
Born lovable,
Just as you are.
No matter what you do,
Whether you fail or succeed,
The fundamental truth is you are worthy.
You are lovable.
I have an invitation for you,
My friend.
As you're sitting here now,
Breathing,
Alive,
I wonder if you would be willing to extend just a small measure of gentleness toward yourself.
Not because you've earned it,
Simply because you're here,
Because you're showing up,
Because you matter.
Yes,
You matter.
I invite you to place one hand on your heart if it feels good.
Notice the steady rhythm,
The rhythm of your heart,
Your body,
Working tirelessly to keep you alive,
Asking nothing in return but care.
Take a moment,
Offer thanks,
See if you can thank yourself for making it this far and surviving everything,
All the challenges,
Tests,
All the pain you've made it this far.
Take a moment,
Offer some thanks to yourself.
Breathing this in,
Breathing this in,
My friend.
The journey to self-love continues your whole life long.
Yes,
There will be setbacks and breakthroughs,
Perhaps dark nights of the soul and bright dawns.
With each small choice that you make to treat yourself with kindness,
You are building a new relationship with the one person who will be with you for your entire life,
Yourself.
And as you exhale,
As you exhale,
Imagine releasing one tiny judgment you may have been carrying,
Just one.
And as you exhale,
Imagine releasing it and letting it go,
Letting it go.
Take your time,
Soak in this feeling,
Trusting that you are walking on the path to self-love.
And when you're ready,
Gently come back,
Wiggle your fingers and toes,
And then let your eyes come open,
Seeing freshly.
The journey continues,
My friend,
And you are worthy of every step,
You are worthy of every step.
Thank you for practicing,
Thank you for practicing with me today.
I invite you to practice this meditation for 7 days.
The subconscious mind learns through repetition.
And please,
Reach out to me and let me know how it goes.
I'm here with you on the journey.
Thank you.
