Most of us have a voice inside that questions us,
Judges us,
Or pushes us too hard.
Over time,
That inner critic can influence how we see ourselves,
Often without us realizing it.
In this meditation,
You'll engage with that voice and begin to form a more understanding and supportive relationship with your inner critic.
This meditation is a guided visualization with quiet pauses throughout,
Which will give you space to have your own conversation.
Let's get started.
I'm inviting you to find a position that feels most supportive,
Whether that's sitting or lying down.
Feel free to be a little finicky here,
To fidget a little,
Until you feel like you can settle in for a bit.
And when and as you're ready,
Closing your eyes or finding a soft gaze,
Coming to the space of the breath.
Feeling the rise and fall of the chest and the rhythm of the heartbeat,
And while keeping the awareness centered in the heart here,
Expanding it to take in the whole body.
Feeling the feet where they're placed on the surface beneath you,
The bottom where it's connected to the seat,
And really feeling into the connection with the earth here,
With the surface that is more solid than you,
That supports you and keeps you grounded.
And letting that awareness of being grounded here,
Of having roots,
Support you to straighten the spine,
Raise the tip of the head to the sky,
And in doing so,
Dropping the shoulders,
Opening up the heart space,
Softening the belly,
And finding the hands,
Stretching them open and out,
And then placing them wherever you'd like to feel held.
And again,
Tuning into the rise and fall of the chest,
The rhythm of the heartbeat,
And the feeling of being supported.
Invite an opening to your mind here,
Doing this by observing the thoughts,
Observing the voices of the mind,
As if they were players in your own personal theater.
And I want to invite you to stay in this place of safety that we've hopefully created together,
While bringing forth the player,
The voice,
That tends to be most critical.
Bringing the inner critic here,
Into the spotlight of the mind.
Do you notice,
Does your inner critic have a face,
A shape,
A specific tone of voice?
And what are the usual lines that that critic delivers?
Often our inner critics tend to follow a sort of script.
What's yours?
Seeing if you can approach this with curiosity here,
A sense of detached interest,
Asking yourself,
What does my inner critic typically have to say?
And seeing if you can view the response to that,
As if whatever it is,
Is simply lines in a play,
Simply a script that that critic reads from.
And notice if here,
Through the witnessing of it,
You can give some space to those words.
They're only lines after all.
What does my inner critic typically have to say?
And now zooming out a little,
Taking in the inner critic as a voice,
As a thought,
That's simply delivering words.
Asking yourself another question here.
What role does my inner critic play?
Observing here with curiosity,
A level of detached interest.
What role or roles does my inner critic typically play?
Staying in the safe space,
Tuning inwards a little bit more here,
And asking the question,
When my inner critic speaks,
When it plays its roles,
How do I respond?
Just staying curious here.
How is it that I respond to my inner critic's voice?
And what feelings is that response coming from?
Just accepting whatever it is that arises here.
Now I want to invite you to look at the inner critic,
Whatever form it's taken within you,
Or address yourself to its voice,
And share what's come up for you.
When you say this,
I feel this way.
And as you share it,
See if you can take responsibility for the feelings,
While still being vulnerable about how you feel.
You can say it either in your head or out loud,
And repeating whatever it is that you hear the inner critic telling you,
And then sharing your feelings in kind.
And when you say this,
I feel this way.
See what you notice.
Do you see a difference in the critic?
How do you feel having shared those words?
Is there an answer that comes back?
And now I want to invite you to consider that perhaps the way you see that critic isn't actually how that critic wants to be seen.
What is it that the critic really wants to say to you,
And maybe can't?
What role is it that that critic is really trying to play?
What if that critic is coming off as a villain,
When it's really trying to be the hero?
I want to invite you to ask your critic a question here.
What is it that you really want to say to me,
But can't?
What is it that you're trying to protect me from,
That's creating this hardness between us?
And seeing if you can really open up to the answer that comes.
Maybe even telling that critic,
I'm listening here.
I'm open to hearing what you have to say.
And finally I want to invite you to thank the critic for sharing whatever it is that they have to share with you.
This may be hard.
Recognizing that this does not mean accepting the words that that critic presents.
But just accepting that they have something to say,
And they're probably going to say it anyway.
And so thanking that critic for being there,
Because that critic is a part of you.
And by opening up to it,
Creating dialogue,
Listening,
And sharing,
You may begin to start building a relationship.
There may be wisdom and counsel beneath those barbed words that may come to the surface when that critic feels like you're ready to listen.
And just taking whatever last moments you need here,
Maybe placing your hands over your chest or giving yourself a little hug.
For having the courage to show up and voice your feeling,
And to give your feelings a voice.
And when and as you're ready,
Opening your eyes and bringing some love forward into your day.
Thank you for meditating with me.
