Taking a moment to settle in.
Finding yourself in a comfortable position,
Whether you're seated upright in a chair or cross-legged or laying down.
Just taking a moment to settle into your body.
Drawing your attention inwards towards your breath.
And feeling the sensation of the breath on your nostrils.
As you breathe in and out through the nose.
And allowing the exhales to be a little bit longer than the inhales.
So as you inhale,
You can gently feel your body expanding.
And feeling your body soften and settle in on the exhale.
And you can start to imagine this light floating sensation.
As though you're floating on a soft,
Warm cloud.
Really feeling the way this soft,
Warm cloud so perfectly supports you.
In a way that makes you feel safe and secure.
Really feeling the way that this cloud supports your legs and your back,
And the back of your head.
So that there's something you can release into a little bit.
You don't need to work so hard to hold yourself up.
Really supported by this soft,
Warm cloud.
In a way that makes you feel calm and relaxed.
And I'll count from five to one.
And as I do,
This cloud will carry you off to a safe place.
A place that's designed just for you to feel so safe and so secure.
So floating off to that safe place as I count.
Five.
Floating along.
Four.
Gently floating.
Three.
Two.
And one.
Landing in the safe place.
Feeling safe and secure.
Really letting that in.
Really letting in how that feels in your body.
To feel so safe and secure in a safe place.
And now imagine a scene of yourself as a young child.
Growing up with this set of ideal parent figures.
These ideal parent figures who are so perfectly suited to you and your nature.
And just from their energy,
Just from their body language,
The way that they inhabit their bodies,
You can feel how warm and friendly and supportive they are for you.
And how deeply interested in you that they are.
They're so very interested and attuned to everything that you do.
And not in a way that's over-involved.
They still have their own bodies,
Their own sense of self,
And you have your own sense of self.
And they see that.
They see that independence in you.
And they want to encourage that.
And they're so fully accepting of you exactly as you are.
Just you being who you are brings them so much joy.
They're so delighted in just your being.
The fact that you are their child makes them very happy.
It fills them with joy.
It fills them with love.
Just the fact that you are their child.
And because they're so delighted in just your being exactly the way that you are,
It takes away any pressure to need to perform or do anything to try to please them.
You can really just come back to your own state of mind.
Because it's clear their love is there and it's not going anywhere.
And they can even reassure you of this in a very direct way.
They're right here for you.
They're always right here for you.
In a way that they can be this really secure,
Base for you.
That no matter where you go,
No matter where you look,
They're always right there for you whenever you need them.
And because you have this really secure,
Consistent,
Solid base of support,
This frees you up to notice the world around you.
Because you don't need to check to see if the ideal parent figures are still there.
You know they're there.
And so you can look around and explore and engage in the world around you.
And there's space for you to move,
For you to explore.
And even if you go some distance away from the ideal parent figures,
They're still very attuned to the environment,
Making sure that everything is safe for you.
So you never need to worry about managing anything.
Everything is taken care of so you can engage with and explore the world in any way that you want to.
In a way that draws your curiosity,
That draws your attention.
And if you ever feel like you need this close proximity to the ideal parent figures again,
They're right there and you can always go right back to them.
Really feeling what that's like to be able to explore and engage in the world.
And to feel that these ideal parent figures are very encouraging of the ways that you explore.
They brought you into the world to support you and encourage you and be willing to witness to all the ways that you grow and develop and learn.
Now changing the scene and imagining a scene where you're still a young child and you're learning something new.
You're exploring something new.
It may be a developmental milestone of,
For example,
Learning to read,
Learning to walk.
It could be an interest of learning to dance or make art or sing or any way that you could possibly express yourself.
Imagining a scene where you're learning something new and these ideal parent figures meet that exploration and that curiosity with such warmth and support.
And you can see that even when it's something totally new to you and maybe you make a mistake or maybe there's something that you don't know quite how to do.
Their support for you stays exactly the same.
It's just as steady.
And they're very attuned to your needs as you learn and grow.
They can see times when you may need their support to help you to learn something and they can involve themselves in a way that feels good for you.
Really attuned to exactly the amount of space that you need.
And they can also see when you need more space,
When you need to be more independent and learn things for yourself.
They don't have an agenda of trying to get you to learn as quickly as possible.
They're just here to support the conditions that allow your own learning and your own curiosity to naturally bloom.
Really letting that in.
What it's like to have this solid,
Steady,
Attuned support from these ideal parent figures as you explore and learn and grow.
Now imagining another scene where you're learning something new as a slightly older child.
And as a slightly older child,
You learn,
Grow,
And explore something new.
Feeling how these ideal parent figures are very interested,
But not over-involved.
They're interested and supportive in a way that gives you just the right amount of space and feeling how this encouragement of your exploration,
This encouragement of your play,
This is the overall tone of the relationship.
Anytime you want to explore something new,
You really feel that freedom and that independence to do so.
So you can become engaged and interested in the process of learning.
Not just the outcome or the goal of needing to get somewhere,
Of learning the skill.
These ideal parent figures support you in just the right way that this very process of learning feels enjoyable and playful.
Really letting in how supported you feel as you do because of that support from these ideal parent figures.
Really letting in what that's like.
Now making an imprint of how that feels.
Noticing that felt sense of support in your body.
And carrying that felt sense with you into the present room as I count from five to one.
And when I reach one,
You'll be awake and present in the room and settling in that experience.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
And one.
Awake and present in the room,
Settling in that experience.
